The proposal has been developed and designed with the objective that the new scheme has a sense of place, and that it creates a new avenue of dwellings that foster a sense of community and conviviality.
The ten new houses are arranged to provide an articulated and staggered front elevation which creates a series of front gardens and communal areas to meet ones neighbour. This staggering also provides more facade/elevations than a standard terrace, and a strong concept with the roof form and geometry being exposed and celebrated. This roof form is as a result of studying the local context and the use of a roof that comes to the top of the ground floor datum.
To further provide a different and hierarchy of spaces to the front of the house, a covered entrance and canopy arrangement is proposed. This element creates a semi private area to the front of the house, which can be used to sit in or to grow plants, flowers and herbs in. The front gardens providing a softened edge
between the road and the houses.
At roof level we propose a dormer type structure for the top floor bedrooms. This again takes reference from the local context and the use of the strong roof form. The dormer adds to the rhythm of the street and the undulating roof profile which breaks up the mass and profile of the houses, much as the staggering in plan does.
To further enhance the area and make the avenue, and street welcoming we have landscaped the road with a stone that flows into the private areas and pathways, this new blanket of stone allows the communal areas to feel larger and more welcoming. Trees and planting are used throughout for each house.
The houses have been positioned carefully to retain the trees that have to be kept, and to provide a well planned series of houses and landscaping. The layout is split into two sections with three houses to the right of the new access road and seven to the left in a longer terrace.
The layout has gone through various iterations to provide a balanced and attractive place to live.
The houses have been grouped into pairs with gaps between to allow for rear garden access. Each pair is then staggered along the new avenue or street to provide the frontages with articulation, variety and a public to private buffer space that has planting, trees and flowers, along with a softer delineation between the road and private spaces. The houses are grouped in a set of 7 and a set of 3.
Each house has a front area of hard and soft landscaping and a rear garden with trees to the northern edge. A bin store and cycle store are provided on each rear garden of the houses.
The houses are orientated north south to allow for good daylight and sunlight to pass into the spaces. The position of the windows and openings has been thought about to aid with daylight and to reduce any overlooking.
Parking for 10 cars with 2 visiting bays has been provided at the northern edge of the site.
A new access road leads from Firs drive between number 18 and 20 Firs Drive. Planting around the site, and in-between the spaces has been encouraged and integrated.
