Duval House

Duval House delivers a mixed-use scheme on vacant land, marking the first step of the wider Winstanley and York Road regeneration. The scheme is one of three buildings developed collectively as ‘Phase 0’, achieving rapid and unanimous consent in application. Duval House was built and occupied by the end of 2020, helping to kickstart the rest of the wider masterplan. It delivers 92 private sale homes, from studios to three-bedroom apartments, with commercial space currently used as the council’s regeneration site office. There is a resident’s lounge, workspace and a roof terrace with views over the Thames and beyond into London.

The tower, a thoughtful addition to the existing urban context, terminates a sequence of 3 existing ten-storey blocks, bookended by the 22-storey Sporle Court at the other end, all aligned on a diagonal axis. The tower floorplate, measuring a little over 25x25m, allows for five flats on each floor, including four corner apartments with inset corners that minimise the impact on the adjacent Sendall Court. These apartments also generate the full-height south facing loggia, a design element that not only incorporates balconies and solar shading but also establishes a strong motif for the tower on all four facades. This design ensures there is no rear elevation, a necessary adaptation given the projecting nature of the site.

The construction is RC frame with handset brick facades. The light grey and chalky brickwork were chosen both to align and contrast with the light concrete finish of the existing adjacent buildings. The dark brick picks out the spandrel panels, and the lighter brick emphasises the verticals, assisted by the deep reveals that catch the sun and lend depth to the simple repeating bay. The architecture has been a study in simplicity and understatement, achieving an elegant appearance whilst the overall height and massing herald the future of the new development that is now underway on the neighbouring estate.

As part of the Wandsworth Arts Festival 2024, HTA’s Communications team has worked with local historian Jeanne Rathbone of the Battersea Society, and the Winstanley & York Road regeneration team, to create a series of window displays celebrating famous women of Battersea.

The project showcases women who made a lasting impression locally, and nationally through the trailblazing work that they did in the community.

Twelve profiles of Battersea women feature across the ground floor windows of Duval House – the space that will become a commercial unit in the future, but is currently the home of the Wandsworth Rgeneration team.