This design has been developed with mixed communities in mind. The prime concern is developing places for sustainable communities borne out of the notion of the lifetime home. To facilitate this life cycle a mix of demographics needs to be included, creating a place where families, couples and singles of all ages can live in harmony. These new community ‘basins’ do not discriminate against culture, class, age or religion, but are intended to encourage vibrancy and diversity.
The package approach
Dwelling typologies co-exist within carefully framed ‘packages’. The benchmark for these packages is the four-bedroom house, with the family as nucleus, which is composed within a terrace of similar building types collectively acting as a plinth to support wider community activities. Apartments, annex flats and live-work spaces complete the whole, punctuated by ‘high spots’ acting as local landmarks.
Each package (terrace, apartment block, live-work unit) can be linked to an adjacent package defining an edge to the public realm, with shared amenity and active frontages. The conjoined packages create an enclosed inner space, or ‘heart’. The heart space is a shared private green garden jointly owned and managed by the homeowners, where children can play in safety. The creation of the interlinked package, or ‘daisy chain’, offers flexibility to suit different density requirements, so this model can be applied to rural, suburban, city fringe and urban locations. Four-bedroom house typologies
There are two dwelling typologies, both organised around the four-bedroom house. The principle in both is the scissor section, where levels split at a mid-point in the building plan creating a variety of connected spaces. The level change helps define space without the need for dividing walls. The overall composition enables a free flowing plan and ease of connectivity. This produces a house that can adapt easily to suit a growing family. The typology includes the potential for usually redundant spaces, such as garage, roof and attic, to be viable solutions for the changing family. At roof level, a semi-enclosed roof deck can be upgraded to create a fifth bedroom or study. This has no impact on the appearance of the house at street level, and the bedroom can be easily removed. The garage could become a winter garden, studio or annex. Environmental features
The scheme meets Code for Sustainable Homes level 4. Energy strategies incorporated include combined heat and power and photovoltaic panels. Resources demands are reduced by the consideration of:
• biodiversity and green roofs
• enhanced insulation
• rain and waste water harvesting
• sustainable and recycled materials
• pollution control
• waste recycling and composting
• intelligent climate control
• solar gathering
• ground source heat pumps. |
