Neave Brown’s 1978 Alexandra Estate vision, initially dubbed 'Costa del Alexandra' after the sunny Costa del Sol, has gradually weathered. As it aged, so did its residents and the UK. With retirees projected to grow 20-25% by 2050, these issues, coupled with likely-reduced pensions and care, social isolation and climate change, paint an unappealing picture of retirement on the estate.

'Nueva Costa del Alexandra 2050' builds upon the original council-led model to create intergenerational retirement cohousing across the railway behind the estate. The scheme redevelops the undesirable site into a carbon-offset building for High Speed Two (HS2), designed and built by like-minded socially isolated elderly Camden residents. Network Rail will provide most construction materials, from disused railway sleepers to rail-side coppice wood from HS2’s construction, enhancing the circular economy of materials to continue carbon offsetting intents. The active ageing cohousing will be powered by waste HS2 heat.

Here, older residents pursue an active lifestyle of agricultural leisure within a controlled microclimate. This mostly occurs in 'communal courtyards' between residential units that host social activities including spillover gatherings, after school programmes and skill sharing. Active ageing extends from coppice wood workshops to rooftop greenhouses, prolonging lives of interdependent support and care.