Raines Dairy

A £5m multi-storey volumetric housing scheme for the Peabody Trust. This innovative project uses prefabricated construction techniques to maximise quality by utilising off site construction under factory conditions.

Three six storey blocks are arranged around a central access core. Two front blocks house 41 two bedroom apartments while eight live/work units make up the ground floor storey. The rear block comprise of 11 three bedroom family apartments. A planted enclosed rear courtyard provides both amenity space and car parking.


Dalston Lane

A three storey block of 18 two-bedroom flats and six one-bedroom flats is set back above a plinth of retail units, following the dominant urban form this side of Dalston Lane. A planted semi-enclosed rear courtyard provides servicing areas to the shops and car-parking.

North-facing bedrooms are expressed in h punched façade to Dalston Lane, with south-facing living and eating spaces arranged along a glazed elevation opening on to deep planted, steel frame and mesh balconies. The low level street elevation comprises glass and steel framed retail frontages contained at each end by deep-blue glazed brick flank walls. Folds in the brickwork form entrance points to the flats.

The high level Dalston Lane elevation is rendered, with the grid of expansion joints coloured in a chequerboard pattern and punctuated by generous deep set windows.


Cloth Hall Street Leeds

A £6.5m retail and residential development for Welbeck Land, adjacent to the Grade 1 listed
Corn Exchange.

The building, situated in a conservation area, draws design inspiration from the prevalent Victorian brick warehouses and ceramic faience of the shopping arcades.

Four storeys of residential apartments wrap around the triangular site to form a private courtyard at first floor level above ground and basement retail units. The courtyard serves as a private space with external access walkways to each apartments.


CASPAR

Situated on a 2000m2 brownfield site in the centre of Birmingham, the scheme consists of two rectangular blocks each housing 23 units. The blocks are unified by a 20m high central glazed courtyard. Staggered through this courtyard are access bridges linking each unit but allowing daylight to penetrate through to the ground floor. At first floor the plan incorporates a generous gathering space which serves onto a communal balcony which is designed to encourage mingling, and to provide security and privacy.

This pioneering building prototype provides rented homes, built with subsidy, for smaller households in city centre locations. The scheme design accommodates present and future demographic, environmental and social needs and has proved that it is a commercially feasible venture for future housing design.