The aim of the design is to create homes and neighbourhoods where people want to live and continue living as they grow older. To achieve this, we all need homes that are not only inviting, carefully planned, comfortable to live in and adaptable, but also homes that form parts of communities where people can interact, socialise and belong.
The architectˇ¦s starting point was to look at the current norm: rows of houses facing onto streets crammed with cars, with living rooms on the ground floor and bedrooms above. It was tried and tested, but not realising its full potential. So the architects thought about messing things up a bit: putting living rooms on the top floor to enjoy the light and take advantage of views, taking cars off the road, and creating spaces for people to stop and chat. They put the living areas on upper floors with direct access to the central communal area which covers and secures the parking below, while giving a safe place for children to play away from cars, and spaces for people to meet. Affordable accessibility is maintained to all units by providing a single stair and lift, which also encourages use of the deck and facilitates interaction of all residents whose homes face onto it. There are planters outside the kitchen to encourage the growing of vegetables and flowers. Key features
The homes have:
a heart where family life centres on the dining room table and kitchen
well proportioned rooms to allow for flexible furniture configurations and ample storage
a secondary entrance at ground level off the car parking. This adds greater flexibility in the use of bedroom spaces, for sub-letting rooms, a granny flat or separate office
a central staircase letting in ample natural light, with a large landing half-way up to make it safer for children and easier for less mobile people to navigate the stair. It is generously wide to allow for installation of a stair lift
ground floor bedrooms, which are naturally cooler, with the warmer rooms above, so less energy is wasted in heating/cooling.
double aspect so there is always the potential for cross ventilation. By adding roof lights to the top floor hot air is naturally expelled on warm days. Sustainability
The design uses the most up to date technologies and construction methods and materials. It aims to meet level 6 of the Code for Sustainable Homes and has:
rooftop planting with native species, which increases eco-diversity while retaining rainwater to reduce run-off
roof, walls and floors super-insulated with environmentally responsible insulation
smooth finished concrete floors with exposed soffits and thick solid blockwork structural walls to provide thermal mass, which will moderate internal temperatures while providing good sound insulation.
high performance composite triple glazing for excellent sound and thermal insulation
excellent airtightness to eliminate draughts, together with whole-house ventilation
rainwater harvesting for reuse in toilets and irrigation
photovoltaic panels and solar thermal pane on south-facing pitched roofs
a central computer hub to manage the houseˇ¦s systems and store music and data
wireless and wired internet throughout the house using accessible floor routes
flexibility in external cladding. Options include sustainably sourced timber, reclaimed brick or slate or render directly onto insulation.
Potential to connect to central district heating/power systems and take better advantage of ground source heating and communal rainwater harvesting where homes are developed as clusters.
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