Fish Island Mix-Use Building University Of Arts London / Henley Halebrown

Architects: Henley Halebrown
Area: 13405 m²
Year: 2022
Photographs: David Grandorge, Rory Gaylor
Interior Designer: 74 (post-planning)
Structural Engineer: Whitby Wood, Meinhardt
Services Engineers: Elementa Consulting, EDC
Landscape Architect: James Blake Associates, ACD Environmental
Project Manager: KS4
Planning consultant: Future Generation, Rolfe Judd
Transport Consultant: Motion, TPP
Acoustic Consultant: MLM, Sound Advice Acoustics
Daylight & Sunlight Consultant: eb7
Arboricultural consultant: Treavor Heaps Consultancy
Main Contractor: HG Construction
Category: Mixed Use Architecture, University, Dorms
Architect: Henley Halebrown
Project Architects: Craig Linnell, Stephanie Thum-Bonanno (Henley Halebrown)
Project Team: Gavin Hale-Brown, Simon Henley, Neil Rodgers, Benedetta Rogers, Jieun Jun, Bianca Soccetti (Henley Halebrown)
Client: Future Generation (pre-planning) / CA Ventures (post-planning)
Operator: Novel Student
University: University of the Arts London
Cost Consultant: K2 Consultancy, KS4
Agent: KS4
Principal Designer: Collaton Safety, Simply CDM
Approved Building Inspector: Clarke Banks Group
Fire Consultant: AESG, Orion Fire Engineering
Archaeological Consultant: Archaeology Collective
Community Engagement: Connect Consulting
Student Accommodation: Knight Frank
City: Hackney Wick
Country: United Kingdom

Fish Island mixed-use building designed by Henley Halebrown in Hackney Wick has expanded the educational and creative infrastructure of the area by integrating student housing, incubator workspaces, and community-oriented commercial space. Commissioned by the University of the Arts London, the scheme was divided into Fish Island West (2018) and Fish Island East (2021), transforming the former John Broadwood & Sons piano factory site. Fish Island West provides accommodation for 330 students, graduate workspaces, and public yards structured around dual courtyards. Fish Island East includes 204 additional student units, creative studios, and space for Stour Trust. The architectural language references the industrial heritage of the neighborhood, using masonry, brick piers, and concrete arched beams. The project reinforces the area’s creative identity while creating new public routes and layered social spaces. Completion dates span from 2024 to 2027.

Fish island mix-use building university of arts london / henley halebrown

Originally the site of the John Broadwood & Sons piano factory, Fish Island is a mixed-use development in Hackney Wick commissioned in two phases: Fish Island West (2018) and Fish Island East (2021). Designed by Henley Halebrown for the University of the Arts London, the project combines student housing, creative workspaces, and teaching environments across both phases. Fish Island West accommodates 330 students in 37 flats, organized around two internal courtyards. One is a private quadrangle garden reserved for residents, while the other is a public yard fronted by a five-story commercial building.

3000 9 1807 pln 00 12 — Fish Island Mix-Use Building University of Arts London / Henley Halebrown 35

This building provides incubator spaces for UAL graduates, with each level opening onto external working decks. The public yard acts as the first of two pedestrian routes across the scheme. Additionally, a west-facing public space opens towards the adjacent Algha Works and the entrance to the main residential block. Each floor typically houses seven flats, with bedrooms arranged along the perimeter of the block to ensure street-facing views. Communal kitchens and circulation spaces overlook the courtyards, centralizing social activity within the scheme. Fish Island East extends the program with 204 more student units, further workspace for UAL alumni, and a facility for Stour Trust, a local organization that offers affordable studios to creative practitioners.

The architectural strategy draws from the area’s industrial legacy of robust warehouse structures. Fish Island West is defined by a bold framework of brick piers and precast concrete arched beams. Window groupings of four within these openings reduce the facade’s repetitiveness and integrate bright colors as a nod to the area’s creative community. Fish Island East introduces a smaller grain on its street elevations, with alternating brick piers and spandrels emphasizing individual windows. Internal facades adopt a simpler brick treatment that defines distinct precincts. Simon Henley, founder of Henley Halebrown, explains that “Fish Island West has a 71-meter-long elevation to the street, with groups of four windows set within larger structural openings serving to significantly reduce the building’s repetitive nature. The colour also diffuses the scale of the building, as does the decision to build in masonry.”

3000 9 1807 sec aa 15 — Fish Island Mix-Use Building University of Arts London / Henley Halebrown 38

Fish Island West was completed in 2024 under the name Wick Park. Fish Island East secured planning approval in 2022 and is scheduled for completion in 2027. The development aims to foster a lasting creative community by intertwining student life, graduate entrepreneurship, and local cultural engagement.