Community Dwellings, Suffolk
From an invited shortlist, David was asked to submit strategies for the development of community dwellings within a plot on the periphery of a small market town in Suffolk.
The site is within the grounds of a country estate on the outskirts of the town.
The client wanted to investigate how he could develop a corner of the estate for the local community.
After studying local planning requirements, a masterplan was designed. This consisted of new build low-density housing and associated community facilities housed within existing agricultural barn buildings. The dwellings were organised around existing mature planting and natural ponds, which were incorporated into a sustainable drainage system (SuDS).
Cycleways, bridleways and footpaths were prioritised over vehicular access routes, thereby reinforcing a sense of community, natural surveillance and human scale.
Site orientation and relationships with the existing context were essential to the design strategy. Each dwelling was designed to have a South West facing private courtyard, communal garden and seating to the public facing elevations.
Precedents were drawn from regional modernist housing developments and research into providing community orientated public realm.
