Designing the future of Build to Rent – Ebb&Flow
By: Arcadis
Arcadis, a leading global company delivering sustainable architecture, engineering and consultancy solutions for natural and built assets, has designed and delivered Ebb&Flow, a build-to-rent, mixed-use scheme in the centre of Reading.
Ebb&Flow is designed for an exceptional quality of living, placing operational excellence at its heart. It combines hospitality with meticulous design to create an authentic community in the heart of Reading. Ebb&Flow is a high-end, detailed-orientated amenity, providing the community with outstanding spaces, as well as creating an exciting platform for a year-round programme of events, wellbeing and partnerships – all set within the UK’s most exciting mixed-use schemes, Station Hill.
It is the first phase of the wider Station Hill redevelopment, which once complete, will be one of the largest regeneration projects in the South East of England, outside of London. It will deliver a live-work-play environment with new homes, workspace, retail, F&B and leisure spaces and an extensively landscaped public realm which will form a welcoming gateway to Reading.
Arcadis, with their client Lincoln MGT, (a joint venture between Lincoln Property Company and MGT Investment Management) and the wider project team faced several challenges.
The site, immediately to the south of Reading station, had been in need of redevelopment for around 20 years. Much of it was abandoned and in a state of disrepair, with some buildings already demolished. The site presented an unwelcoming image to visitors to Reading, and effectively acted as a barrier between the western part of the town and the station, impacting footfall and commercial activity across several streets. Whilst other developers had looked at options for the site, Lincoln MGT – working with Arcadis – were able to unlock its commercial potential by following a placemaking strategy focused on creating a town centre destination with a strong sense of place.
Arcadis’ initial design move was to masterplan the site with a purposeful route of plazas and a new street linking the station to the west end of Friar Street, south of the site. A new pedestrian bridge spans Garrard Street (a lower-level route that bisects the site). Car parking, back-of-house and service areas are accommodated at the lower-level, allowing the upper-level route to blossom with active frontages, landscape and places for leisure. The wider neighbourhood benefits from a scheme that is integrated with the network of streets and alleyways that characterise the centre of Reading.
Overall, the masterplan proposed circa 600,000 sq ft of office space, up to 1,200 homes, 4,500-6,000 jobs and two acres of public realm including a pocket park.
The first phase of the Station Hill development, Ebb&Flow, was completed in the early summer of 2024. It consists of two blocks overlooking the new Friars Walk and delivers 598 apartments for rent including studios, 1-, 2- and 3-bed apartments and duplex homes of various sizes to meet the diverse demand for high-quality homes to rent.
This accommodation is augmented with best-in-class social and amenity spaces, indoor and outdoor, including a 4,000 sq ft club lounge, demonstration kitchen, meeting spaces, private rooms, co-working space, a gym and outdoor terraces and courtyards, all with the purpose a creating a welcoming community at the heart of Station Hill.
Ebb&Flow is ranked Number One on ‘HomeViews’ as the best place to live in Reading and is in second place as the best place to live in South East England. It was recently named as a finalist at the Love to Rent Awards 2024 and is winner of the Residential Development of the Year category of the Royal Berkshire Property Awards 2024.
The design team included planning consultants DP9, landscape architects LDA, structural engineers Ramboll, MEP consultants Hoare Lea, specialist lighting DPA. The contractor was Midgard.
Photography by: Nick Caville
