The first images of Gehry's revised King Alfred scheme have been released today
These are the first images of international architect Frank Gehry’s revised King Alfred scheme in Brighton.
Gehry was sent back to the drawing board on the highly controversial project, after a mauling from both Cabe and English Heritage.
But the man who counts actor Brad Pitt as one of his sidekicks can now progress with the £300m mixed-use development after Brighton and Hove Council last night gave its seal of approval to the new designs, following a special meeting of the policy and resources committee.
The key changes to the design mostly address issues about massing and the height of the perimeter buildings. Two of the buildings have been reduced by two storeys and now feature a curved roof to sit better next to the sports centre, designed by HOK Sport.
The two towers have increased in height by three storeys and the colour of the buildings has been changed to white from the previous multi-coloured palette. All the affordable homes now have a balcony, but the number of units has fallen from 280 to 276.
Gehry and his team have also added more sustainability features: solar panels on the mid-size buildings, two wind turbines, green walls, shingle roofs and rainwater collection.
Josh Arghiros, managing director of developer Karis, said he was pleased with the design changes. He said: “The revised proposals demonstrate that we have listened very carefully to all the feedback we have received and this has been invaluable in helping us to develop new enhanced proposals that meet the needs and aspirations of the local community. It’s full steam ahead now and we look forward to delivering this world class scheme for Brighton and Hove.”
The scheme will now be submitted for planning approval in the coming months.
