Waterloo Metro Quarter – Social Housing

Stable homes, embedded in the life of the city

Waterloo Metro Quarter – Social Housing

The Social Housing building at Waterloo Metro Quarter forms part of a transit-oriented development centred on the new Waterloo Metro Station. The precinct delivers genuine housing diversity while embedding everyday amenity above major public transport.

Positioned above the southern station box, the Social Housing building establishes a clear residential identity that mediates between the established neighbourhood and evolving mixed-use precinct. It provides 70 dwellings – from studios to three- and four-bedroom apartments – accommodating approximately 100 residents within a connected community with immediate access to transport, green space and local services.

Responding to complex metro infrastructure constraints, the architecture is articulated into three volumes, reducing perceived scale to read as a collection of homes.

The façade is robust and deliberately residential. A restrained palette of brick, concrete and metal was selected for longevity and timelessness. Expressed concrete horizontals provide scale and integrated sun shading. Brick piers introduce warmth and texture, referencing the surrounding Waterloo context while offering vertical shading. Finer-grain elements – perforated aluminium balustrades and metal privacy screens – enhance environmental performance and privacy, contributing to a layered, human-scaled building skin.

Residential levels maximise daylight, ventilation and outlook. The typical floorplate contains nine apartments, with larger family dwellings on corners and studios consolidated along the eastern façade to optimise solar access. Open-ended corridors draw in natural light and fresh air, while recessed entry niches create individual address and soften circulation spaces.

The uppermost level provides shared amenities, including a sun-filled roof terrace and flexible communal room. Together, these spaces foster social connection and reinforce the building’s role as stable, long-term housing within a vibrant urban precinct.