Europe’s tallest modular residential building delivers the next generation of communal living

Photography: Peter Landers, Paul Karalius and Taran Wilkhu

Designed by architects HTA, Enclave is a new 50 storey BTR (Build To Rent) residence in Croydon that claims to be the tallest volumetric modular residential building in Europe. Aligning with this impressive height was the client’s ambition for the residence to deliver the next generation of communal living: the amenity offering spans over 24,000 sq ft across 6 floors, providing an extensive offering for 815 apartments.

Inside, the material palette from interior designers Tigg+Coll is inspired by the architectural heritage of Croydon. Tied together by a strong mid-century feel, each level is given its own distinct identity, creating a series of homely and comfortable spaces that people want to inhabit.

“From the outset the client recognised the critical nature of the social spaces and fostering community within the development as key to its success, in both driving rentals and maintaining renewals,” says Tigg+Coll‘s Rachel Coll. “The critical challenge was to engender a community at such a scale, and within a very vertical building.”

By splitting the amenity across six floors the amenity areas were broken down into characterised floors, giving them their own specific identity and purpose – and helping to humanise the scale to a much more individual domestic experience. “As with all our residential projects of this nature we always consider how people want to occupy and exist in these spaces sometimes together, sometimes alongside each other and sometimes alone,” Coll continues. “We also consider adjacencies, how these activities overlap, physically and/or visually, creating natural touch points between residents and interaction and familiarity to create communities.”

In such a large building it was important too Tigg+Coll that a sense of home was created from the minute residents and guests entered the building. A green marble and brass reception desk with mid-century inspired wall panelling backdrop sets a welcoming and intimate tone, and across the core is a music room, an atmospherically dark and cosy space to relax or perform in.

Two further floors in the lower levels of the building offer coworking and leisure suites. Each of these floors is again broken down into smaller activity focused spaces allowing people to use as they want, and occupy in groups or as individuals. “Breaking down larger spaces and giving purpose to each area is a key design tool,” adds Coll, “always considering how people can inhabit spaces together or alone, or alone together.”

The coworking floor incorporates a large reading room, with adjacent large meeting rooms, each with a coffee point and mix of seating. The banquette window seat and low level worktables follows the façade and leads users through to a social kitchen and tea point and softer lounger seating.

A second tier of amenity is located on the top three floors of the building. A lower level of kitchens incorporates a large communal kitchen and dining area, which promote social interaction and allow events to be organised organically by the resident community. These social cooking spaces are offered in addition to the smaller individual kitchens in the apartments. In addition, a series of private dining kitchens and dining rooms provide residents the opportunity to hold dinner parties and utilise additional space outside their apartments.

The flagship top floor is envisaged as a daytime lounge and night-time event space. The two main rooms, the residents bar and lounge and the games room, wrap around a central cosy screening and gaming room. Working with both the daylight and impressive views out, the darker rooms that do not require light or views are located at the core. The games room is envisaged as an interactive social space for play with its built-in seat forming the spine along the rear edge overlooking proceedings and out to the impressive view. The material and colour palette on this floor is purposefully darker, to create a different mood from the floors below – comfortable during the day and elevated to a private member club feel by night.