West London, UK
Urban strategy and concept design
Racecourse Together is a study of community infrastructure on the Racecourse Estate in West London. The study scoped opportunities for enhanced and new community space at Racecourse based on spatial analysis of the estate and local engagement.
A series of sited proposals were presented within the report. These included the Floating Community Room, a grants programme to support a network of indoor spaces suitable for informal gathering and organised community activity which has been implemented by LBEaling, and the Fourth Court, the transformation of a quad of storage sheds with drying lines.
The quad of storage sheds between the residential towers, Churchill and Hill Court, on the edge of Northolt Park was originally intended to serve residents' needs by taking storage and routine domestic tasks such as laundry out of homes where there was limited space. It is currently in use but degraded. The fourth court project retains and reimagines the quad as an active community space that will continue to support the domestic routines of those who live closest.
Alongside residents’ storage and drying lines, the site is adapted to hold a range of programmes including an art store, youth club, sports base and greening. A hall is introduced at the end of the quad that opens in to the courtyard and on to the park; a simple, social space for informal gathering. The layout enables activities to overlap and allows for fluid movement between interior and exterior space.
The Racecourse Together report and the stage 2 design development of the Fourth Court project were commissioned by LB Ealing.