'The Forest'

Four floors of forgotten office space become the city's most ambitious residential transformation. Nature included.

2025
Commercial Residential
The Forest mixed-use development with red brick facade, vertical green living walls, and street-level retail spaces

A once tired office block turned into living landmark — a place where architecture and ecology share a postcode. It’s smart, sustainable, and unapologetically green. Because when cities evolve, buildings should too.

Overview

Picture living in the heart of a thriving city, but your house looks like something lifted straight from the amazon (sort of). A concierge that knows your name. Your gym is downstairs, not across town. 'The Forest' takes everything frustrating about city living and fixes it. This isn't about cramming flats into an old office block—it's about creating 73 homes where urbanity and tranquility meet, where brutalist bones get dressed in contemporary cladding, where the morning commute means taking the lift downstairs.

Location

Derby City Centre

Status

Under Construction

Client

T&T Asset Group

Services

Architectural Design

Planning

3D Visualisation

Area

15,000 sqft

The Forest mixed-use development at dusk featuring vertical green wall, illuminated signage, and modern brick facade

We’d say “bringing the outside in,” but that phrase has suffered enough. We’re just covering a building in plants because, frankly, it looks brilliant.

Thousands of square metres of concrete frame, structurally perfect but aesthetically....challenged. Rather than demolish and start again (environmentally criminal, financially foolish), we're wrapping it up. 'Stone' rainscreen cladding and Travertine finished render bring the building into the 21st century without breaking the clients bank account; premium finishes cleverly designed to use what's there already. But the show-stopper? Living walls that climb five storeys, turning service cores into vertical gardens. Actual gardens. Growing. Changing.

Modern open-plan apartment with grey sofa, pink cushions, blue kitchen cabinets, herringbone wood flooring, and dining area
Modern open-plan living space with kitchen, dining area, cream sofa, herringbone wood flooring, and teal cabinetry
Modern building lobby with stone reception desk, brass pendant lights, mailboxes, security turnstiles, and natural light
Modern fitness studio with wood-paneled walls, oval LED mirrors, yoga mats, and cardio equipment with motivational wall text

The concierge desk isn't for show—it's for parcels, problems, and making life smoother. The gym means no more January queues or intimidating weight sections. Private dining room for when your flat's too intimate but restaurants too public. Meeting rooms and breakout spaces with booth seating for everything from morning coffee to evening drinks. This is infrastructure for modern living, not tick-box amenities.

73 Homes. Not just Houses.

Studios where you can swing more than a cat. One-beds with kitchens for people who cook, not just reheat. Two-beds where the second bedroom fits a bed without the furniture Tetris. Storage that...exists. And lots of windows. Let's just say you won't need the big light at 3pm.

The living walls provide natural cooling and improve air quality—you'll breathe the difference. Enhanced thermal performance through intelligent facade design means lower bills, not just lower emissions. Dedicated basement parking, cycle storage and even a place for scooters. This isn't about saving the planet (though that's nice). It's about saving money and breathing better.

The Forest mixed-use building exterior at dusk featuring brick and dark metal facade with vertical green wall accent
Aerial view of proposed multi-story brick apartment building integrated into dense urban neighborhood with historic rowhouses
Modern fitness studio with wood slat walls, three oval backlit mirrors, colorful yoga mats, kettlebells, and woman stretching
Modern lounge area called The Forest featuring curved tan seating, living green wall, wood slat panels, and abundant plants
The Forest building exterior featuring vertical green living wall with white lettering and red brick facade with balconies
Floorplans
Architectural line drawing of a ground-floor plan showing bedroom, living, dining and two-car garage layout
Architectural floor plan showing bedrooms, bathrooms, staircase, and an outlined future expansion area
Client Feedback

"JSA worked with us through a complicated and time sensitive planning process to get our project off the ground. They worked from a very commercially focused brief but were still able to deliver an attractive, bold and beautiful design within our budget."

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Ready To Talk?

How it works (Because "get in touch" shouldn't feel like a leap of faith)

01. Talk One conversation to understand your project, your budget, and whether we're the right fit. No obligation. No sales pitch.

02. Design Everything built around your brief. We sketch, develop, and refine — with check-ins before anything is fixed. You stay in control without getting buried in the detail.

03. Deliver Through planning, building regs, and into construction. We handle the process. You make the decisions that matter.

Get in touch today