Celebrating Forest Road: Award-Winning Collaboration Between Art and Architecture
Hive Curates is delighted to celebrate the continued success of Forest Road, the landmark Walthamstow development by Pocket Living designed by Gort Scott, with Hive Curates commissioning and producing two murals by London-based Venezuelan artist Adriana Jaroslavsky.
Mural by Adriana Jaroslavsky commissioned by HC for Forest Road, Pocket Living, (building designed by Gort Scott) photography by Sarah Larby, Hive Curates, © 2025
The project has received outstanding recognition across the UK design and architecture scene, winning the Evening Standard New Homes Award 2024 (Best First-Time Buyer Home), the Brick Award 2024 (Medium Housing Development), and the Housing Design Award 2025 (Completed Scheme). It has also been shortlisted for multiple prestigious awards, including the AJ Awards 2025 (Housing Project up to £25m), British Homes Awards 2025 (Affordable Housing), The Pineapples 2025 (Building), The Planning Awards 2025 (Affordable Housing), First Time Buyer Readers’ Awards 2025 (Best First Time Buyer Apartment), RESI Awards 2025 (Development of the Year), and the Housebuilder Awards 2024 (Best Design for Four Storeys or More) a testament to its innovation, craftsmanship, and community value.
Mural by Adriana Jaroslavsky commissioned by HC for Forest Road, Pocket Living, (building designed by Gort Scott) photography by Sarah Larby, Hive Curates, © 2025
Forest Road transforms a once-neglected site into 90 affordable one-bedroom homes that combine thoughtful architecture with meaningful cultural collaboration. Drawing inspiration from Walthamstow’s Arts and Crafts heritage, Gort Scott’s design pairs buff brick and deep red tiles with a distinctive “ribbon” of curved concrete crowning the building. As Jon Astbury from Dezeen noted, “The building’s angled geometry and three-sidedness was a challenge that we turned into an opportunity – without it we wouldn’t have the dramatic lightwell and stair that provides the building’s central moment.”
Reflecting on the project’s broader impact, Marc Vlessing, CEO of Pocket Living, said:
“Forest Road E17 is a fantastic example of where we have transformed a small, under-utilised site into a place that first-time buyers can truly call home. We need many more Forest Roads to stop young Londoners from being locked out of homeownership.”
Mural by Adriana Jaroslavsky commissioned by HC for Forest Road, Pocket Living, (building designed by Gort Scott) photography by Sarah Larby, Hive Curates, © 2025
Working closely with Hive Curates and with the support of Pocket Living, artist Adriana Jaroslavsky created two site-specific murals that subtly animate the façades. Referencing Walthamstow’s historic “ghost signs,” her work incorporates pigments ground from local foraged materials collected from Lloyd Park, embedding the building’s past into its present form. “The murals feel like they’ve always belonged to the building,” says Gort Scott associate Andrew Tam, highlighting their seamless integration with the architecture.
As Adriana describes:
“Responding to the site’s unique geometry and how the building varies on each side of the intersecting roads, the artwork is inspired by the rhythm and sculptural quality of the building. Taking inspiration from modernism, abstraction, and the materiality of the structure, as well as conducting in-depth research into the work of William Morris as an acknowledgment of his impact in this area. The colours are inspired by palettes created during the community ‘Wild Pigment Foraging Workshops,’ situating the mural within the local biodiversity.”
A testament to creative collaboration, Forest Road demonstrates how art and architecture together can enrich the everyday. Hive Curates is proud to have played a part in bringing this vision to life and continues to champion projects that integrate culture, community, and design at every level.
