Eccleston Yards by Buckley Gray Yeoman

Eccleston Yards in London was presented at the AT Awards live finals on 20 September 2023 to a jury comprising Rab Bennetts, Juliette Morgan, Neil Thomas, Peter Bishop, Nana Biamah-Ofosu, and Chair Isabel Allen. Read about how the project has stood the test of time.

Credit: Matt Chisnall

Completed
2018

Designed by Buckley Gray Yeoman, Eccleston Yards is part of a larger masterplan to reactivate a previously derelict and disused London mechanics yard into a thriving mixed-use development. Located between Victoria and Belgravia, the project includes retail and gallery spaces at ground level, as well as a public courtyard and new pedestrian routes through the site. Enticing people through a space with very little street presence was one of the main challenges for the design team.

“Our interventions centre on the experience at ground floor”, explains the architect, “with visitors led through the scheme by a unifying ‘carpet’ of concrete paving.” Retail units housed within restored industrial buildings serve to activate the public realm. This increases permeability through the site and leads to the central landscaped courtyard, which is conceived as an ‘anteroom’ for the whole development. The provision of power and lighting, together with raised interlocking planters that act as seating, enable the courtyard to host events throughout the year.

Credit: Matt Chisnall

The scheme has continued to thrive since completion, attracting a wide variety of people from locals of all ages, to visitors, tourists, and shoppers. Added to this, there is a strong sense of community between the site’s occupiers, which has been facilitated in part by the general manager and building manager. Local artists have been invited to paint murals, further enlivening the space. A programme of events centred on wellbeing, sport, culture and leisure activate the courtyard year-round ensuring footfall doesn’t drop in the winter.

Overall, the project exemplifies an environmentally conscious approach, integrating biophilic design with repurposing structures, sustainable practices, tenant well-being, and ongoing monitoring, in line with client Grosvenor’s ‘Living Cities’ philosophy.