We are thrilled to announce that Westmead has been shortlisted in the "Completed" category at the 2026 Housing Design Awards @housingdesignawards_uk
Recently completed in Westbourne Park, this project delivers 65 100% affordable certified AECB CarbonLite homes for Westminster City Council. We had the pleasure of sharing the scheme with the Housing Design Awards judging team and were incredibly grateful to have been welcomed into some of the residents homes. So wonderful to see how they have made it so warm and homely.
Sustainability & Performance
Westmead isn't just about capacity - it’s about quality. Informed by Passivhaus principles and achieving AECB CarbonLite certification, the design prioritises long-term energy reduction and resident comfort. Westmead provides an example of how low carbon sustainable homes can be delivered within the confines of local authority and budgetary requirements.
From the early design stages to the official ribbon-cutting with future residents and Council leadership, this project represents a massive collaborative effort including @willmottdixon@citywestminster Etude and @turkington_martin
We’re incredibly proud to see this commitment to high-performance local authority housing recognized on a national stage.
📸 Anthony Coleman @anthony_coleman_photo
Last Friday our Director Arita Morris was invited to a discussion about London and Vienna's approach to public housing as part of @nlalondon Cities programme.
Morris reflected 'There was much to learn from both city’s approach – many similar challenges but Vienna enjoys an enviable culture of public housing being for a large section of society – not just those on the lowest income. From London, Caroline Harper Managing Director of @befirstregeneration and Dagenham spoke about the regeneration scheme equivalent to a new small town. London has much to celebrate; innovation (sometimes out of necessity), creativity and mixed use as a critical element of urban life.
Vienna has a fantastic heritage in public housing which continues today. Thankyou to the team from Vienna for sharing your insights - Johannes Lutter Head of Future Cities Department, UIV Urban Innovation Vienna GmbH Kurt Hofstetter Head of Unit for Strategic Projects, Housing Research and International Relations (Municipal Department for Housing), City of Vienna, Sabine Pollak Co-Founder and Architect, Köb&Pollak Architektur, Andrea Steiner Head of New Building Management (development and control), Sozialbau AG.'
We are incredibly proud to announce our second shortlist: Albert Jacob House in the “Award for Planning for Affordable Housing” category at the 2026 Planning Awards.
A council-led development for Tower Hamlets, providing 53 homes for social rent alongside five commercial units. Over half of the new homes are three and four bedroom family dwellings, directly addressing Tower Hamlets’ acute need for larger affordable accommodation.
As with all our work, it’s not just about the building but the opportunity for a step change in neighbourhood placemaking. Improvements extend into the wider Digby Estate, transforming a section of road for new open spaces, children’s play, with pedestrian routes and the reinstatement of historic Bacton Walk.
Through close engagement with the local planning authority and a clear understanding of borough and London-wide housing priorities, the scheme has been carefully shaped to maximise affordable housing delivery while responding sensitively to its urban context.
LBTH Head of Planning praised the design as a "joyous" and "well-considered piece of architecture" that exhibits true "delight." This recognition is a testament to the care, attention, and love poured into the design.
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CGL TEAM: Simon Child | Chris Gilligan | Dani Reed | Jess Thomson | Elaine Browne | Joel Pacini
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PROJECT TEAM:
Client | @towerhamletsnow
Visualisers | @secchi_smith
Landscape Architects | @statoncohen_ltd
Planning Consultants | @ntaplanning
Structural Engineers | @conisbee_uk
M&E Engineers | Greenguage
Fire Engineers | Hydrock
Transport Consultants | Pulsar Transport Planner
Sustainability Consultants | Greenguage
We are incredibly proud to announce that St George’s Leisure Centre has been shortlisted for the “Best Use of Arts, Culture or Sport in Placemaking” category at the 2026 Planning Awards.
This project is a benchmark for integrated urban design, delivering:
- 30 new affordable homes (69% family-sized).
- A state-of-the-art leisure centre.
- Significant enhancements to St George’s Gardens.
St George’s Leisure Centre represents a transformative investment in the health, wellbeing, and civic life of Tower Hamlets. It combines a new leisure and wellness building, public gardens, and affordable housing to form a unified civic and community destination. The project provides physical, environmental, and social wellbeing as a model for future health-based placemaking initiatives.
This recognition is a testament to the hard work of our team and our fantastic collaborators, LA Architects and @farrer_huxley . We are honoured to continue our partnership with the @towerhamletsnow to deliver meaningful spaces for the community. Images by @secchi_smith
It can be easier to forget to look back and reflect on some of our historic project successes.
A prime example of this is The Canal Building completed in the early 2000s as a fantastic example of deep retrofit sparking the way for wider regeneration of the local area. We were pleased to see The Canal Building recalled as a 2023 favourite by AT ‘Test of Time’ Awards Panel Chair Lee Mallett. @leemalletto@arch_today
“A favourite, however, was Shoreditch-based Child Graddon Lewis’ 2000 conversion of Art Deco landmark, The Canal Building, on the Islington/Shoreditch border into apartments and workspace. It now provides 35
apartments, 45 live-work units and 1,100 sqm of workspace and has proved a catalyst for the area’s wider regeneration. It also demonstrates the benefits of relaxing the straitjacket of traditional use-classes.”
The Canal Building is a landmark retrofit carried out in 2000 but still resonating loudly in our portfolio today providing a blueprint for complex mixed-use and retrofit schemes which is adapted and built upon for similar projects.
Revisiting and reappraising this scheme was a rewarding and informative experience for us. The scheme breathed new life into a historically important building serving as a catalyst for the wider renewal of the canal-side area. The well-maintained planters and rooftop spaces that residents have fostered over the years echo the original ethos and intentions for the residential community.
A high proportion of residents and businesses that occupy the ground floor remain the same now as they did when we first completed the project. ‘Business in the Community’ (@bitc_uk ) a charity that connect businesses with youth are the original tenants and renewed their lease in 2023.
At CGL we are dedicated to design buildings that aren’t just for today and last a lifetime evolving and changing shape with the occupying communities. The Canal Building project was lead by our now director James Felstead working with CGL founder Michael Lewis @michaellewis
Following a brilliant International Women’s Day event hosted by @furnishingfutures earlier this month, we’ve committed to supporting their mission through a series of corporate volunteering sessions over the coming months.
We wanted to spotlight this fantastic organisation, which transforms empty and often unsafe accommodation into beautiful, fully furnished homes for women and children rebuilding their lives after domestic abuse - creating spaces that offer dignity and a fresh start.
As a practice that works extensively in social housing, we see every day how thoughtful, well-designed homes can support stability, wellbeing and opportunity. We’re looking forward to spending time with the team and supporting such important work.
Huge congratulations to our colleagues, Daniel and Joel, on successfully completing their Part 3s in the last 6 months! A massive milestone in any architectural career, and we couldn’t be prouder of the hard work and dedication they’ve shown. We’re excited to see them stepping into the next phase of their careers and look forward to the bright futures ahead of them at CGL.
Our mixed-use scheme in the heart of Uxbridge will deliver a mix of uses that support the growth of Uxbridge, including a hotel, new retail and co-living accommodation.
The exciting new Co-Living development will broaden the housing offer in Uxbridge introducing high quality residential right next to the tube station. This thoughtfully designed development strives to support a balanced urban environment where people can live work and connect right in the heart of the community.
At the core of this ambitious development is a significant new landscaped public courtyard that will become a
vibrant focal point for the town centre. The new courtyard establishes a tranquil space for residents and visitors
alike, complemented by improved pedestrian connections through the town centre.
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CGL TEAM: James Felstead | Aaron Down | Shalini Makdani | Daniel Jordan | Uxue Ojanguren
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PROJECT TEAM:
Client | DNA
Planning Consultants | @savills
Landscape Architects | @oobe_landscape (Edinbrugh)
Structural Engineers | Edgece
M&E Engineers | @ridgellp
Fire Engineers | Jensen Hughes
Transport Consultants | @caneparo_associates
Engagement Consultants | Cratus Visualisers | @secchi_smith
Our mixed-use scheme in the heart of Uxbridge will deliver a mix of uses that support the growth of Uxbridge, including a hotel, new retail and co-living accommodation.
Occupying a prime anchor point on the High Street, the Hotel uses a singular composite form to create a rhythmic, tactile façade. Its elevation protrudes, using depth and relief to catch shifting light and shadow.
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CGL TEAM: James Felstead | Aaron Down | Shalini Makdani | Daniel Jordan | Uxue Ojanguren
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PROJECT TEAM:
Client | DNA
Planning Consultants | @savills
Landscape Architects | @oobe_landscape (Edinbrugh)
Structural Engineers | Edgece
M&E Engineers | @ridgellp
Fire Engineers | Jensen Hughes
Transport Consultants | @caneparo_associates
Engagement Consultants | Cratus Visualisers | @secchi_smith
This week we'll be looking at our transformative mixed-use scheme in the heart of Uxbridge. The proposals will deliver a mix of uses that support the economic growth of Uxbridge, including the provision of a hotel, new high quality retail and purpose built for rent, co-living accommodation.
At the core of this ambitious development is a significant new landscaped public courtyard that will become a
vibrant focal point for the town centre. The new courtyard establishes a tranquil space for residents and visitors
alike, complemented by improved pedestrian connections through the town centre.
The project achieved planning permission from the London Borough of Hillingdon on April 2025.
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CGL TEAM: James Felstead | Aaron Down | Shalini Makdani | Daniel Jordan | Uxue Ojanguren
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PROJECT TEAM:
Client | DNA
Planning Consultants | @savills
Landscape Architects | @oobe_landscape (Edinbrugh)
Structural Engineers | Edgece
M&E Engineers | @ridgellp
Fire Engineers | Jensen Hughes
Transport Consultants | @caneparo_associates
Engagement Consultants | Cratus
Two years since completion, Tower Court remains a project we are incredibly proud of.
Delivered for Hackney Council with Countryside Properties, the scheme brings together social rent, shared ownership and private sale homes in Clapton. It has since received multiple awards, including recognition from the Civic Trust Awards.
Originally designed at planning stage by Adam Khan Architects, in collaboration with muf architecture/art and Daisy Froud, we were proud to lead the delivery of the scheme and bring the vision to life on site.
As Mayor Philip Glanville said at completion:
“With Hackney facing a severe housing crisis and over 13,000 people waiting for a Council home, the delivery of Tower Court is further proof that we’re doing everything we can to provide the genuinely affordable housing we need…”
Designed with sensitivity to the local Haredi Jewish community as well as the wider Clapton neighbourhood, the scheme’s public realm creates generous shared spaces that knit the development into its context.
Another successful collaboration between CGL and Hackney, and we look forward to returning to site this year at Pedro Street to deliver 26 new affordable homes.
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CGL TEAM: Arita Morris | Alex Solomon | Arun Baybars | Bartosz Dudzikowski
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PROJECT TEAM:
Client | London Borough of Hackney
Contractor | Countryside Properties
Design Guardians | Adan Khan Architects
Landscape Architects | Muf Architecture
Structural Engineers | Ellis & Moore
M&E Engineers | AWA Building Services
Sustainability Consultants | AECOM
Photography & Sketch | Alex Solomon
To mark International Women’s Day that was recognised last Sunday, we’re celebrating the women across our studio who help shape our practice and the built environment that we have responsibility to contribute to.
Women make up 57% of our team, with representation across every level of the practice:
• Directors: 40% women
• Architects: 55% women
• Architectural Assistants: 67% women
Across the UK profession, women represent around 31% of registered architects.
While architecture still has work to do as a profession, we’re proud to see strong female representation across our studio and remain committed to supporting the next generation of women in architecture with mentoring, support and career progression.
#InternationalWomensDay #WomenInArchitecture
