Allies and Morrison Experiments with Housing Types in Its London Mega-project

Too often, a new development can come across as generic and sterile. It rarely acknowledges the history and context of a place, or does so in ham-fisted, superficial ways that lack substance. Keybridge, a hybrid housing project in South East London by Allies and Morrison, escapes that pitfall by relating very specifically and materially to its history and setting.

“We wanted to be part of this,” says Alfredo Caraballo, project lead and a partner at the firm, as he shows me around. He points to a handsome place of worship (St Anne and All Saints Church) and a series of Victorian red-brick terraced shops on South Lambeth Road to distinguish these from a rather motley cluster of new skyscrapers on the other side and to the north of the…