HTA Design completes Europe’s tallest modular residential tower in Croydon, UK


The building houses many affordable apartments and evokes the typical 1950s and 1960s buildings of South London, but with an innovative structure.

College Road. Croydon, Uk. Photography by Simon Toplis. Image courtesy of  HTA Design.

College Road. Croydon, Uk. Photography by Simon Toplis. Image courtesy of  HTA Design.

College Road. Croydon, Uk. Photography by Simon Toplis. Image courtesy of  HTA Design.

College Road. Croydon, Uk. Photography by Simon Toplis. Image courtesy of  HTA Design.

College Road. Croydon, Uk. Photography by Simon Toplis. Image courtesy of  HTA Design.

College Road. Croydon, Uk. Photography by Simon Toplis. Image courtesy of  HTA Design.

College Road. Croydon, Uk. Photography by Simon Toplis. Image courtesy of  HTA Design.

College Road. Croydon, Uk. Photography by Simon Toplis. Image courtesy of  HTA Design.

College Road. Croydon, Uk. Photography by Simon Toplis. Image courtesy of  HTA Design.

College Road. Croydon, Uk. Photography by Simon Toplis. Image courtesy of  HTA Design.

College Road. Croydon, Uk. Photography by Simon Toplis. Image courtesy of  HTA Design.

College Road. Croydon, Uk. Photography by Simon Toplis. Image courtesy of  HTA Design.

British architecture studio HTA Design has completed in Croydon, UK, Europe’s tallest residential tower developed using volumetric construction methods: College Road.

The 163-meter-tall residential building is composed of two adjoining 50 and 35-story towers classed in ceramic. The geometric facade recalls developments built across south London in the 1950s and 60s, in particular the brutalist NLA Tower by Richard Seifert. HTA Design, in fact, aimed to create a building that had an appearance linked to the architectural heritage of Croydon but was achieved through modular construction. The project was therefore realized using 1,725 volumetric modular units arranged around a core and a concrete foundation.

The shorter tower houses 120 affordable apartments, while the taller one hosts 817 rental units and amenity spaces, including a podcast studio, a spa, a gym, a coworking space, and a garden on the rooftop. The interior design was designed in collaboration with Tigg + Coll Architects.

College Road. Croydon, Uk.

Photography by Simon Toplis. Image courtesy of  HTA Design.

College Road. Croydon, Uk.

Photography by Simon Toplis. Image courtesy of  HTA Design.

College Road. Croydon, Uk.

Photography by Simon Toplis. Image courtesy of  HTA Design.

College Road. Croydon, Uk.

Photography by Simon Toplis. Image courtesy of  HTA Design.

College Road. Croydon, Uk.

Photography by Simon Toplis. Image courtesy of  HTA Design.

College Road. Croydon, Uk.

Photography by Simon Toplis. Image courtesy of  HTA Design.

College Road. Croydon, Uk.

Photography by Simon Toplis. Image courtesy of  HTA Design.

College Road. Croydon, Uk.

Photography by Simon Toplis. Image courtesy of  HTA Design.

College Road. Croydon, Uk.

Photography by Simon Toplis. Image courtesy of  HTA Design.

College Road. Croydon, Uk.

Photography by Simon Toplis. Image courtesy of  HTA Design.

College Road. Croydon, Uk.

Photography by Simon Toplis. Image courtesy of  HTA Design.

College Road. Croydon, Uk.

Photography by Simon Toplis. Image courtesy of  HTA Design.