Slender apartment block by Amin Taha Architects features a timber structure and wicker balconies
Wicker balconies project from the brick facade of this apartment block in north London, which was designed by Amin Taha Architects with a cross-laminated timber structure.
The six-storey gabled block was designed by London-based Amin Taha Architects to slot between a pair of detached brick buildings in Barretts Grove, Stoke Newington, hosting six apartments.
![Barretts Grove by Amin Taha Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2016/09/barretts-grove-groupwork-and-amin-taha-architects-london-uk-residential-architecture_dezeen_2364_col_1-852x1277.jpg)
A slender rectilinear volume is affixed to the rear of the street-facing gabled block. Together they house three two-bedroom flats, two three-bedroom flats set over two floors and a studio apartment.
![Barretts Grove by Amin Taha Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2016/09/barretts-grove-groupwork-and-amin-taha-architects-london-uk-residential-architecture_dezeen_2364_col_5-852x1277.jpg)
The architects chose to give the building a structure of cross-laminated timber (CLT) – a type of engineered wood consisting layers of laminated timber sections, which offers a more sustainable alternative to concrete and steel.
But this framework is enveloped by a facade of perforated brickwork to match neighbouring buildings.
![Barretts Grove by Amin Taha Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2016/09/barretts-grove-groupwork-and-amin-taha-architects-london-uk-residential-architecture_dezeen_2364_col_16-852x1277.jpg)
"If the overall building form is intended to help complete the parade, it and its detailing is also architectonically driven by a choice of superstructure suited to residential use then developed to a smaller domestic and tactile scale," said the architects.
"The double-stacked and open-bond of brickwork states the envelope is not load bearing, but a screen enveloping the whole building including the roof," they added.
![Barretts Grove by Amin Taha Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2016/09/barretts-grove-groupwork-and-amin-taha-architects-london-uk-residential-architecture_dezeen_2364_col_10-852x1277.jpg)
The street-facing facade is punctured by large windows with deep bronzed frames.
Wicker-covered balconies project from every other window to provide residents with private outdoor space.
![Barretts Grove by Amin Taha Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2016/09/barretts-grove-groupwork-and-amin-taha-architects-london-uk-residential-architecture_dezeen_2364_col_9-852x1277.jpg)
Inside, elements of both the CLT and brick structures are left exposed. The CLT panels are varnished and joined by timber seats, shelving units, doors and stairs.
![Barretts Grove by Amin Taha Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2016/09/barretts-grove-groupwork-and-amin-taha-architects-london-uk-residential-architecture_dezeen_2364_col_14-852x1277.jpg)
"The ability of the CLT to serve as structure and finish removed the need for plaster-boarded walls, suspended ceilings, cornices, skirtings, tiling and paint; reducing by 15 per cent the embodied carbon of the building, its construction cost and time on site," explained the architects.
![Barretts Grove by Amin Taha Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2016/09/barretts-grove-groupwork-and-amin-taha-architects-london-uk-residential-architecture_dezeen_2364_col_13-852x568.jpg)
"Timber also has inherently more robust and is perhaps a better and warmer domestic aesthetic," they added.
![Barretts Grove by Amin Taha Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2016/09/barretts-grove-groupwork-and-amin-taha-architects-london-uk-residential-architecture_dezeen_2364_col_7-852x568.jpg)
New types of engineered timber – including CLT – are considerably stronger than their regular wood counterparts and are allowing architects to build bigger and higher than ever.
![Barretts Grove by Amin Taha Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2016/09/barretts-grove-groupwork-and-amin-taha-architects-london-uk-residential-architecture_dezeen_2364_col_6-852x1278.jpg)
Other firms are now vying for the title, and earlier this summer Waugh Thistleton topped out the world's largest cross-laminated timber structure – also in east London.
![Barretts Grove by Amin Taha Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2016/09/barretts-grove-groupwork-and-amin-taha-architects-london-uk-residential-architecture_dezeen_2364_col_3-852x1278.jpg)
Elsewhere, building regulations are being updated to permit wooden buildings of new heights. In January 2016, Australia updated its building regulations to allow timber-framed structures of up to eight storeys in height for the first time.
Photography is by Tim Soar.
Project credits:
Architect: Groupwork, Dale Elliott, Sam Douek, Nerissa Yeung, Amin Taha
Client: Cobstar Developments
Structural engineer: Webb Yates
M&E consultant: Syntegra
Fire engineering: Optimise
Acoustic engineering: Syntegra
Project manager: Groupwork
CDM coordinator: Syntegra
Building inspector: MLM
Main contractor: Ecore Construction
![Barretts Grove by Amin Taha Architects](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2016/09/barretts-grove-groupwork-and-amin-taha-architects-london-uk-residential-architecture_dezeen_site-plan_1_.gif)
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