Kings Crescent Estate is located in the north west corner of Hackney, adjacent to Clissold Park. Previous development plans had been delayed in 2000 which resulted in significant areas of the estate being demolished and hoarded off, adding further to the sense of despair and disconnection with the neighbouring community.

Instead of the usual demolition and rebuild model for large-scale estate regeneration, Hackney Council was keen to show that combining community with local authority-led development is the way forward in creating a robust estate regeneration scheme.

From the outset, collaborative working with the community was fundamental. Focus on community engagement, training, employment and upskilling became just as important as the construction. A viable but ambitious scheme was created that put engagement with the residents at the heart of the design process. The design approach was to reconnect the estate back into the neighbourhood.

Kings Crescent Estate is a success story. The project has retained the best buildings of the existing estate whilst providing new homes for existing residents.

Kings Crescent Estate provides an exemplar model for delivering new and refurbished housing and public realm within existing estates, paving the way for other boroughs to follow.