As one of the first NKDC development schemes, the Council were keen to make this an exemplary scheme and indeed, the Council holds it up as an example of good local affordable housing with a wider community benefit of redeveloping a brown field site to regenerate and enhance the local environment.

The brief was to provide an attractive new housing scheme for families to replace an ageing, redundant care home building. The previous buildings had already been demolished and the development aims to reinstate the streetscape.

We proposed a contemporary development, creating an enclosed area around a central space, with curved forms that enhanced the built form. The double gables with glazed corners and projecting bays add visual interest to the elevations and create an architectural statement. The landscaped island in the centre of the shared access, breaks up the hard surfacing and also creates a focal point to the development.

Chaplin Farrant provided architectural, structural and civil engineering, Code for Sustainable Homes and energy assessors services.

The contract sum of below £1 million is quite low for a high quality scheme of 13 units, particularly for a Fabric First scheme. This is in part due to the design and construction input from Chaplin Farrant.

The scheme won a number of awards and made the finals of the National House Building Awards.