The proposed development at High Street Quarter is set to create a major, new urban space in Hounslow, a linear town, which evolved over the years along its main thoroughfare and now features a vibrant High Street but has no obvious place to mark its geographical centre.

Conceived as a part of Wilson Bowden and Barratt London’s winning bid, the new scheme comprises 528 new homes, a multiscreen cinema, new shops and restaurants, laid out around a central square, which not only provides a new heart for the town but also an amenity area for residents.

The square has been designed by tp bennett as a semi-circular, secluded place for alfresco dining, set next to a flexible space able to accommodate a variety of uses, ranging from cultural and religious festivals to seasonal sport events, including kabaddi, a South Asian game popular in Hounslow.

Situated at the heart of the square is a new cinema, clad in gold tinted aluminium. Its monumental form is backlit at night and perforated in a complex pattern that reflects both the area’s links to light industry and its cultural diversity, which are represented by computer punchcard perforations superimposed over a traditional motif originating from the Indian subcontinent. References to local cultural diversity continue into the facades of the apartment blocks, some of which take inspiration from Polish wycinanki (cut paper) patterns, while others mimic traditional North African fabric designs.