The Foundry Project Kent images, Modern Southeast England mixed-use building, UK homes design

The Foundry Project in Kent, Southeast England

4 January 2026

Architects: EHAD | Elija Halil Architecture and Design

Location: Chatham High Street, Kent, Southeast England, United Kingdom

Images: EHAD

The Foundry Project, UK

Set within the dense fabric of Chatham High Street, The Foundry Project introduces a building shaped by control, proportion, and material depth. The design establishes a clear architectural presence through measured massing and a disciplined façade, positioning itself as a calm and deliberate intervention within a constantly active urban environment. Rather than competing for attention, the building asserts its identity through clarity and composure. It reads as a fixed element within a setting defined by movement and change.

The project emerges from a close reading of the High Street and its rhythms. Movement, proximity, and compression inform the architectural response, resulting in a building that feels grounded in its setting while maintaining a strong sense of autonomy. The architecture does not attempt to replicate its surroundings, but instead engages them through scale, alignment, and spatial order. This approach allows the building to relate to its context without dissolving into it.

The form is organised as two vertically expressed volumes, separated to reduce perceived mass and introduce depth across the elevation. This separation creates moments of light and shadow that shift throughout the day, giving the building a sense of quiet movement. The vertical emphasis reinforces the street rhythm while allowing the overall composition to remain legible and controlled. The gap between volumes introduces visual relief within the continuous frontage.

This massing strategy allows the building to be read at multiple scales. From a distance, it presents a cohesive silhouette within the High Street. At closer range, its articulation becomes more apparent, revealing depth, texture, and proportion that respond directly to the pedestrian experience. The architecture rewards slower movement and closer observation.

At ground level, a sequence of arched openings establishes a strong relationship with the street. These openings frame views, encourage permeability, and support a continuous engagement with pedestrian movement. The arches introduce a sense of rhythm and repetition, grounding the building in the everyday life of the High Street without relying on transparency alone. They provide definition at street level while maintaining enclosure.

A landscaped threshold extends the public realm toward the building edge. Tree planting and integrated seating soften the transition between street and structure, creating moments of pause within an otherwise linear and fast moving environment. This space is conceived as part of the street itself, reinforcing the building’s civic presence rather than separating it from its surroundings. The threshold supports both movement and lingering.

Material expression is central to the architectural language. Brick forms the primary material, selected for its weight, durability, and capacity to express depth. Deep vertical piers and recessed glazing create a layered façade that registers light and shadow across the day, allowing the building to change subtly without losing its identity. The material strategy reinforces permanence rather than surface effect.

The architecture avoids applied decoration. Character is achieved through proportion, repetition, and material continuity. The façade reads as robust and resolved, designed to weather time rather than resist it. Lighter architectural elements at roof level complete the composition, providing contrast while maintaining overall coherence. New interventions remain legible within the overall form.

The Foundry Project is conceived as a stable architectural framework rather than a fixed or overly prescriptive object. Its clarity of form allows for flexibility over time while preserving a strong and recognisable presence. The building is intended to endure as part of the High Street, adapting quietly to change without losing its architectural integrity. It is designed to remain relevant as the surrounding context evolves.