From the gentle sound of fountains and blossom-filled gardens to hidden corners designed for quiet reflection, life at Coronation Square is beginning to bloom.
The new and buzzing neighbourhood in Leyton is a flagship partnership between Taylor Wimpey and Waltham Forest Council, and it is transforming into far more than a residential development. Once complete, Coronation Square will deliver 796 homes, half of them affordable, alongside a nursery, café, sports facilities, shops and generous public spaces designed to bring the community together.
And now, with hundreds of residents already settling in, the heart of the development is beginning to beat.
At the centre of Coronation Square sits a striking new market square, a thoughtfully designed public space framed by trees, planting and places to pause and rest amongst the hustle. Designed by award-winning landscape architects Outerspace, the space connects the homes with the surrounding amenities and the wider Leyton neighbourhood, creating what feels less like a traditional development and more like an urban oasis.
Last summer, the square truly came alive when it hosted the closing celebrations of Leyton Carnival. Music, colour and dancing filled the piazza as families gathered around the fountains and neighbours met beneath the trees, offering a glimpse of the vibrant community life the space was always intended to inspire.
The square unfolds across four distinct zones, each with its own atmosphere. At one end, a sensory garden wraps visitors in soft planting, birdsong and shaded seating, creating a pocket of calm away from the bustle of the city. Nearby, a quieter transition space offers room to sit beneath a generous tree canopy and simply watch the world go by.
The centrepiece, however, is the lively activity space, where interactive fountains create a playful focal point within the square. Parents relax nearby on loungers beneath the trees, while the open layout leaves space for future markets, performances and community events.
Leading the design was Alex Lowenhoff, who says the vision was always to create somewhere people would genuinely want to spend time.
“Our recent visits to Coronation Square have left us feeling immensely proud,” he said. “When the fountains are on, the piazza comes alive with screaming and giggling children, their parents watching on and socialising nearby.
“Others pause and wander through the sensory and blossom gardens, which frame the square with colour, texture and birdsong.
“Coronation Square is already becoming everything we hoped it could be: a place for all seasons, all ages and all of the community.”
Beyond the public square lies another layer of greenery: the residents’ communal podium garden, designed as a lush retreat above the city streets.
Inspired by neighbouring Coronation Gardens, the historic Victorian park beside the development, the elevated garden was conceived as a modern “green lung” woven into the heart of the buildings. Meandering planting, shaded pergolas and shared growing beds create spaces for residents to garden, gather and unwind among nature.
“The vision was always to create an immersive garden people could truly use,” said Alex. “Not somewhere that simply looks attractive from a window, but somewhere residents feel comfortable enough to spend real time in.”
That thinking shaped every detail of the design, from maximising sunlight and reducing wind exposure to layering the planting so the garden feels rich, soft and welcoming year-round.
Creating that sense of abundance above homes came with challenges. Trees had to be carefully positioned above structural beams, soil depths meticulously planned, and irrigation systems woven into the design, all to recreate the feeling of a thriving woodland ecosystem high above the ground.
The result is a landscape designed not only to look beautiful today, but to grow richer with time.
“That’s what excites us most,” Alex said. “In five years, the forest canopy will have matured, jasmine will climb across the pergolas, and the growing beds will be overflowing with cavolo nero and artichokes.”
Nature has been built into the development at every level, from bird and bat boxes integrated into the architecture to planting designed to support pollinators and biodiversity. But for the designers, the project is ultimately about people as much as plants.
“These spaces support what we call ‘Human-Nature’,” Alex explained. “They improve wellbeing, encourage social connection and help residents feel grounded in where they live, while also contributing to the wider urban forest.”
And in creative, community-minded Leyton, the approach feels perfectly at home.
“There’s a real culture here of people caring about their neighbourhood and wanting to shape places positively,” he said. “We see this garden as becoming part of that story.”
For more information, please visit www.taylorwimpey.co.uk/new-homes/leyton/coronation-square.
