AWARD WINNING HOUSING DESIGNS HAVE THE 'WOW FACTOR'

8 Sep 2004 02:15 PM

The best of British housing design was recognised today, as minister for housing Keith Hill praised the winners of the Housing Design Awards - who are helping to drive forward design standards in the housing industry.

But the Government said that it also wants to see even more housebuilders embracing top quality design standards and producing housing developments that are innovative, fit well with their local surroundings, have the 'wow factor' and offer homes where people want to live.

Six Completed Scheme developments were honoured in this year's Housing Design Awards - with Abode, a Copthorn Homes development in Harlow, Essex, (one of the Government's four areas earmarked for growth) being named as the overall winner. Project Awards were also given to schemes that have detailed planning permission but may not yet be finished or occupied.

The winning schemes range from housing developments excelling in modern methods of construction through to high density housing schemes combining modern architecture with traditional themes.

Presenting the awards last night Keith Hill said:

"This year's winners not only demonstrate the high standards of design being achieved in housing, but show the range of innovative ideas and construction methods being used."

"I am really encouraged by the calibre of entries received this year, but I still want to see more housebuilders getting involved and bringing the 'wow factor' to housing developments across the country, and particularly in growth areas. I urge other developers to rise to the challenge set by this year's winners".

More than 100 entries were received for the Completed Schemes category with thirty making it to the short list. The six schemes that were announced as winners and upheld as models of excellent housing design are:

Abode, Harlow, Essex - Overall winner and best development by a medium sized housebuilder;
(Architect: Proctor & Matthews / Developer: Copthorn Homes) Brewery Square, London EC1 - Best development by a volume housebuilder
(Architect: Hamilton Associates / Developer: Berkeley Homes) Fulbrook Mews, London N19
(Architect: Spencer Martin Associates/ Developer: HL & SM Developments)
Garratt Lane, London SW18
(Architect: Sergison Bates/ Developer: Baylight Properties) Raines Court, London N16
(Architect: Alford Hall Monaghan Morris/ Developer: The Peabody Trust)
Stockbridge Lane, Donaghadee, Northern Ireland - Best development by a small housebuilder
(Architect: Twentytwo Over Seven/ Developer: Geddis Developments)

Graham Pye, Chairman of the Housing Design Awards, said:

"The constraints on brownfield sites seem to have spurred the development team on to intensify their design skills, and it is perhaps no coincidence that all the Award winners which fall into this category are this year sited in inner London, where the constraints are legendary. "

However the Assessors were also keen to note that building on greenfield sites is not an easy option either. Graham continued:

"Making a place which has real character from scratch is, if anything, rather harder than taking cues from the surrounding buildings and street layouts. That is why Abode and Stockbridge Lane are winners and why we have given mention to Taylor Woodrow's 'The Dairy' and Westbury Homes 'Home Farm' - one of this year's Project Winners."

The Housing Design Awards are sponsored by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, NHBC, the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Royal Town Planning Institute. Judges, including representatives from the four sponsors, assess designs against a wide range of criteria - from the relationship of the building to its surrounding and neighbourhood to the response of the developers to site constraints and opportunities.

The 2004 Housing Design Awards were presented by Keith Hill, Minister for Housing, at the Business Design Centre in Islington on Tuesday 7 September. These Awards form part of Housebuilding 2004 - the industry's new flagship event.

THE FOLLOWING HAVE WON 2004 HOUSING DESIGN AWARDS:

COMPLETED SCHEME AWARDS 2004

Abode, New Hall, Harlow
Overall Winner
Best Development by a medium sized housebuilder
Housing Design Award Project Winner - 2002
Architect: Proctor & Matthews
Developer: Copthorn Homes

What the judges said - 'responds to the requirements of 21st Century living with verve, imagination and skill
Thatch? In Harlow? Yes, and coloured render, weatherboard, slates and tiles as well, not to mention louvres, oriel windows and gabion walls. But this first phase of Copthorn Homes' parcel at Newhall pulls this potentially indigestible combination of textures off with remarkable success. The overall discipline of the planning, and the careful combination of different dwelling types, means this rich mix is used extremely subtly, and never without good reason. In fact, this is probably the most flexible set of house plans yet on the market, and arguably one with the best relationship between indoor and outdoor spaces to be found. The development combines a street of 3-story houses and flats fronting a boulevard; a matching 2-storey terrace fronting a smaller street; and a narrow spine street linking the two with mews court spurs off each side and alleyway access back to the main boulevard. Internal layouts provide flexible living accommodation suitable for sustainable development - so as domestic situations change the buildings can adapt to accommodate new living arrangements without the need to constantly move.

Brewery Square, Clerkenwell, London EC1

Best Development by a volume housebuilder

Architect: Hamilton Associates
Developer: Berkeley Homes

What the judges said - 'provides a focus and a centre of gravity which the area never possessed before'
A whole new urban quarter on the site of a former brewery. Much more than a sympathetic recreation of the existing urban grain: it provides a focus and a centre of gravity which the area never possessed before. The 198 flats form an irregular 5 to 8-storey wall round the square, which has as its centerpiece the old brewery offices. On the outer face, balconies and living rooms cantilever out over the pedestrian areas, clad in glass, zinc and copper. To the side, behind the brewery buildings, a smaller enclave provides the site for 6 town houses. The development is a significant step in urban regeneration.

Fulbrook Mews, Tuffnell Park, London N19

Architect: Spencer Martin Associates
Developer: HL & SM Developments

What the judges said - 'a crisp white wedge of imaginative townhouses'
This tiny scrap of land, left over from surrounding developments, seemed destined to remain a local eyesore until an enterprising architect (and co-developer) saw its potential. The constraints were enormous. Existing housing close to the frontage meant that preserving the privacy of new and existing residents would prove a major problem. But skilful design meant that all these obstacles could be overcome, with a crisp white wedge of 5 imaginative townhouses. The care and attention which has gone into the planning of this little block is reflected in the quality of the finishes and detailing. Best of all the building demonstrates that the most unlikely of brownfield sites can be brought back into use, and provide top quality housing which respects its surroundings, yet provides a striking and positive contribution to the inner city urban landscape.

Garratt Lane, Wandsworth, London SW18

Architect: Sergison Bates
Developer: Baylight Properties

What the judges said - 'utterly simple, and immensely pleasurable to experience'
The former paint factory which formed the basis for this development is hardly one of the most outstanding buildings. But the developer has a reputation for dealing successfully with unpromising material, and this subtle intervention has managed to transform a humdrum corner of a busy road into a well mannered model of urban design. The two original buildings, let for commercial use, now support an additional storey of timber-framed flats, strung along a winding walkway which bridges the gap between them. This is a street in the sky. But it is the wood - larch plywood - which makes this little street such a warm and unforgettable experience. It covers the ceiling, the walls, the doors, and even flows into the bathrooms to give them a sauna-like quality. By contrast, the exterior face of the building is clad in a grey fibrous cement rainscreen, punctuated by high quality purpose-built windows, arranged in an apparently casual fashion which conceals a very careful and studied piece of design.

Raines Court, London N16

Housing Design Award Project Award - 2001

Architect: Allford Hall Monaghan Morris
Developer: Peabody Trust

What the judges said - 'a triumphant vindication of an innovative development strategy'
A very successful scheme by the Peabody Trust using volumetric construction - essentially the assembly of dwellings from factory-finished boxes. The major constraint on this form of construction is the maximum width which road transportation to site will allow. But there is no such constraint on length, and the designers have exploited this to great advantage in this block of 61 affordable flats and live-work units. Factory construction means that the finishes and design quality of kitchens and bathrooms are of a very high standard, and this must be one of the factors which led to all these shared ownership flats being snapped up immediately by key workers, with a waiting list for refusals. Another must be the care which has been taken over security, in an area not know for its low crime rate. Despite an uncompromising location, this pioneering building offers views, sunlight, space and standards of thermal and acoustic insulation which it would be difficult to match anywhere else in the immediate area.

Stockbridge Lane, Donaghadee, Nr Belfast, Northern Ireland

Best Development by a small housebuilder

Architect: Twentytwo Over Seven
Developer: Geddis Developments

What the judges said: 'a settlement very much at ease in the landscape of North Down'
The straightforward plan, with variations, forms the basis for all four houses, gives complete flexibility to the living areas, and has proved capable of assimilating the very different ages and lifestyles of the various owners with remarkable ease. The grouping of the houses around a graveled courtyard is completely successful, combining privacy for residents with a rather special sense of place.

PROJECT AWARDS 2004

Arundel Square, London N7 (Architect: Pollard Thomas Edwards/ Developer Pollard Thomas Edwards & New Islington and Hackney Housing Association)
An ingenious solution to a difficult site that has been solved by the persistence of a local developer and housing association.

Beetham Tower, Manchester (Architect: Ian Simpson / Developer: The Beetham Organisation)
A 47 stories high, slim, rectangular, glass shaft with 23 stories of apartments, serviced by a double height 'sky lobby', stacked above a 19-storey hotel and a 3-storey commercial podium.

Coal Wharf Road, London W12 (Architect: B+Cet Delloye & Cartwright Pickard / Developer: Octavia Hill Housing Trust)
The first in a series of Anlgo-French collaborative projects with sites in London and Paris, aimed at bringing new thinking to the design of affordable housing in both countries.

Donnybrook Quarter, London E3 (Architect: Peter Barber / Developer: Circle 33 Housing Group & Old Ford Housing Association)
This competition winning scheme presents a very clear statement about inner city housing: it should be compact, car-free, and formed of streets and squares which foster public interaction.

Hawkesley Road, London N16 (Architect: Henning Stummel / Developer: Bernie Stovin)
Planning of a very high order, which demonstrates rigorous attention to sunlight, daylight, views and privacy - all factors which have become increasingly important in high density urban housing.

Home Farm, Ebrington, Gloucestershire (Architect: Percy Thomas Partnership / Developer: Westbury Homes)
A demonstration that sensitive additions to villages, in this case a small Cotswold village, require very much more than a simplisitic choice of 'matching' materials.

Newhall, Harlow, Essex (Architect: Roger Evans Associates / Developer: Moat Housing Group)
The first affordable housing scheme to be built at Newhall is a deceptively simple piece of design with highly effective internal planning which could well prove a prototype for larger developments.

West Hanningfield Road, Great Baddow, Chelmsford (Architect: Reeves Bailey / Developer: Taylor Woodrow)
A higher density and a brownfield context appear to have given a sharper edge to the planning of this development. The constraints of the site have generated a distinctive and convincing development with a very definite sense of place.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Further press information and images are available from:

Jacqui Power
McCann Erickson Public Relations
Tel: 0121 713 3772
Email: jacqui.power@europe.mccann.com

Copies of this year's Winners Book 'Home: A place to live 2004', priced 6.95 can be obtained from RIBA Enterprises, 15 Bonhill Street, London EC2P 2EA. Tel: 020 7256 7222. Fax: 020 7374 2737. Email: sales@ribabooks.com or are available on-line at
www.ribabookshop.com