Quintain Living launches its new sustainability-focused homes at Repton Gardens, its tenth Build to Rent scheme and most sustainable to date. The three new buildings – Cherry House, Birch House and Aspen House – that make up the Repton Gardens scheme has opened its doors to new residents in London’s Wembley Park.
The Cherry House building is home to the main entrance lobby. It also houses 10 work-from-home offices and a meeting room. These rentable ‘third places’ make up the largest work-from-home area on the Wembley Park estate so far, with Repton Gardens’ design factoring in new ways of living and working.
Outperforming leasing expectations, Repton Gardens offers 396 rental homes – a mix of studios, one, two, three and four bedroom apartments available in 40 different layouts. Designed with families and sharers in mind, the varying apartment designs encompass features such as half bedrooms for guests, work-from-home studies, recessed shelving, breakfast bars, a choice of U-shaped and L-shaped kitchens, studios with bedrooms separated by doors and more.
“Our goal with Repton Gardens is to support a wide range of renters to access the outstanding lifestyle on offer in Wembley Park. We’re here for individuals, couples, families with children, sharers, multi-generational families… our wide range of homes means that everyone can find something that suits their individual circumstances.”
Danielle Bayless, Chief Operating Officer, Quintain Living
Apartments at Repton Gardens are furnished in one of two palettes – garden and natural. They feature a mix of natural materials and shades of green, deep blue, grey, brown and stone. John Lewis & Partners has curated a special sustainable collection of furniture, including ‘sustainability hero’ products. These items – which include sofas, coffee tables, beds, bar stools, dining chairs and mattresses – were selected following a stringent review of characteristics such as origin of manufacture, material construction and recycling potential. The resulting selections are predominantly sourced from the UK or Europe using sustainable fabrics and/or processes.
In particular, handmade rattan armchairs, side tables and coffee tables contribute to a unique design within the homes. Rattan is an excellent choice in sustainability terms, as well as being a stylish and durable material. Due to its fast growth and harvest time, plus the fact that every part of the rattan vine is used, rattan outperforms more traditional woods used in furniture production and is an excellent companion crop.
Floors in all Repton Gardens apartments are cedar plank effect Amtico in kitchens and living areas, with grey ceramic tiles in bathrooms. Walls are neutral throughout each home, with a feature wall to add colour and depth. Kitchens feature natural oak laminate worktops with cabinets all in green in the natural palette homes and in green and grey in the garden palette apartments.
The design of the apartments creates a strong sense of bringing the outside inside. It also serves, along with the layout of the three buildings, to build a sense of the podium garden being the epicentre of the community.
Quintain Living’s most sustainable homes to date, the design concept for Repton Gardens has focused on natural, earthy colours and the use of natural products. Botanical living brings the outside in, with plants delivering enhanced air quality and a connection with nature throughout the building. In the podium garden, mounded groundworks have allowed for the planting of large, mature trees and shrubs, to support biodiversity. The tree species in the gardens (cherry, birch and aspen) mirror the buildings’ names.
“The design of Repton Gardens focuses on forward-thinking ideas about urban living. Life in the heart of a bustling urban area can still deliver that all-important connection with the natural world. You can see and feel this in action as you move through Repton Gardens.”
Danielle Bayless, Chief Operating Officer, Quintain Living
The Repton Gardens scheme also includes 1,000sqm of ground floor retail space and 1,200sqm earmarked for a GP surgery. Amenities include a club room with pool table, soft seating, TV area and bar with beer tap and wine. There is also a 1,150 sq ft gym overlooking the podium garden, while the garden itself includes four covered, hireable BBQ areas, two play areas and a lawn area. Cherry House and Birch House also feature roof terraces, including paved areas, artificial grass, sun loungers and seating.
Repton Gardens is named after Humphry Repton who was hired by the wealthy Page family back in 1792 to landscape their estate. It was on Repton’s advice that the family named the estate ‘Wembley Park’. Now, over two centuries later, Repton’s own name is being honoured in Repton Gardens – along with Humphry Repton Lane, which runs south of the development. Repton’s landscaping work remains influential to this day, inspiring the landscaping at both Repton Gardens and nearby Union Park.
