The design for the new scheme sets out to create a beautiful place to live, a sense of place and a small community in Ottershaw. The proposal provides 9 x 3/4 bed houses that are arranged around a communal park, garden and landscaped street. The houses are orientated to maximize views to the open country side, the sang, and also to
allow a sense of neighbourhood to emerge as each house is angled slightly to create an inviting and open relationship with the street.
The overall mass and built form on the site is in balance with the size of the site, and the low density development of houses is not an over development on the site in comparison to the current built forms. The houses have been designed to be two storey with a pitched roof chimney elements and arranged spatially around the street.
The houses are designed to sit in the landscape and be surrounded by nature, trees and planting, this will allow children to cycle and play and families to be convivial and safe. The street and cul de sac will allow pedestrians and cars, cycles to mix and co exist safely. A soft border of hedging and open low walls separating the street from the private gardens will allow for a gentle transition between private and public.
The use of the street and hard and soft landscaping is used in the local context and other developments in
Otthershaw. The approach is inspired by the arts and crafts period and the “surrey style” of C19 period.
Each house will have a cycle storage, bin storage and car ports which provide off street parking and storage.
Electric charing points will be used. Sustainable travel will be supported with cycle routes and a link to the Sang for walking in the country side. Furthermore, the use of cycles will also allow access to local shops and bus stops.
The orientation of the houses allows for maximum solar energy, natural light and a connection to nature with the views to the fields to the south of the site. A generous rear garden allows for play and entertainment as well as green houses and allotments. The health and well being of the community being linked to the out door spaces.
The individual houses are a range of layouts for flexibility and offer ground floor bedrooms for life time homes, flexible office spaces and double height spaces for light and natural ventilation. The interiors are to be built from natural and Danish inspired materials and features to provide a calm and healthy environment.
To further emphasize this the houses are to be highly sustainable and energy efficient. The use of timber frames, passive ventilation, and sustainable heat sources will be proposed.
We are aiming to create a contextual approach and design proposal that is contemporary and modern in its
construction and form but that is also sympathetic to the local vernacular and design guides. The use of light brick, and timber cladding will all relate to the local context and architectural approach.
