What was the initial brief?

To develop a semi-rural site into 80 new affordable, sustainable and low energy 2, 3 and 4 bed properties to support local housing needs, as well as complement the adjacent greenbelt.

How we did it

The site has residential lanes to the east and west, existing housing and gardens to the north and an open greenbelt to the south.

This site provided an ideal orientation for a low energy housing development, with sustainability at the core.

This allowed us to work with the client, sustainable housing developer – CZero, to develop a scheme that sensitively and unobtrusively fit into the local environment and landscape.

The scheme reinstated the village green, as well as created a new wildlife habitat with native trees and shrubs, pond and wetland area.

The design of the buildings followed the exemplar Passivhaus standard allowing residents to reduce energy consumption by around 80%.

With our design we also put people first, allowing children to play in designated home zone streets, as well as demote the prominence of the car.

Careful consideration to use of local materials was also important as this enabled us to distill qualities that are common to the site.

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