Chips is the first Urban Splash residential development on the New Islington Millennium Village site and Architect Will Alsop’s first major residential development.

At nine storeys high, it zigzags along the edge of the Ashton Canal as a group of three-storey elements (‘Chips’) stacked one on top of the other. Each one takes a different route along the edge of the canal, producing overhanging or inset zones along the perimeter at the interface of each box. This creates a rich and interesting form both visually and structurally. There is a large basement providing car parking for the building and at ground level there is a triple height lobby, restaurant and studio space. Built on a peninsula site surrounded by canals, the building was completed in 2009 and in 2010 won an RIBA regional award and an IStructE National Commendation.

The building incorporates two, three storey high cantilevers, the longest being 12.6m, which added to the engineering challenge.