Type/size: 33 Bed Residential Care-home for Dementia

Location: Tile Hill, Coventry

Status: Completed 2017

Contract Value: £3.9 Million

Construction Type: Traditional masonry

Client: Accord Housing Association (In-house scheme)

Awards:  

Best Supported/ Sheltered Housing Scheme- Housing Excellence Awards 2017 (Shortlisted)

Scheme Overview:

Arden Grove is a Dementia Care scheme built for Accords Care & Support team located in the Coventry suburb of Tile Hill.

The basic principle of design for Arden Grove was to provide environments that are a home first and a place where care is delivered second. The development of 33 one bedroomed flats is divided into communities of 11 individuals who are each served by a dedicated staff team. Each community is designed around a communal space containing a communal lounge, kitchen, dining space, spa facility and snug area. The communities are designed to be domestic in scale and obstacle free, each community being accessed by their own front door.

The communal space provides a focal point for the creation of meaningful activity and social contact for staff and residents. An example of this is the preparation of the communal meal which takes place daily, with staff and residents involved in the menu planning, food preparation, cooking and clearing away.

All communities have access to outside space in the form of a ground floor garden or via an upper floor terrace, allowing residents to experience the changing seasons. Experiencing the transition of seasons and the change from day to night is key in helping Dementia residents orientate themselve in terms of time.

The building is configured in a rectangular form creating a dual active lookout space for the resident accommodation facing the surrounding main road and central courtyard. The building is also situated at the corner of Torrington Avenue creating a continous frontage and a focal point vista to the site.

Type/size: Phase 1 x40 residential dwellings & Phase 2 x80 residential dwellings & apartments

Location: Walsall

Status: Phase 1 Completed 2015 & Phase 2 Completed 2017

Contract Value:  £12.5 million

Construction Type: MMC- OSM Timber panelised system (Eco 200 by Local Homes)

Client: Accord Housing Association (In-house scheme)

Awards:  

Innovative Development of the Year, Top Sixty Developments - Inside Housing Awards 2014 (Highly commended)

Scheme Overview:

Beechdale is a 100% affordable housing scheme located in the Walsall. The scheme has been developed, designed and constructed using Accord’s in-house regeneration, architecture and construction teams which are a unique capability based within the framework of a social landlord. The houses are built in Accord’s timber frame factory (Local Homes) which produces low carbon homes designed using fabric first principles.

The proposal for 120 new dwellings (split over two phases) is sited on a former school site located in Beechdale which is a mixture of light industry and residential. The site has two access points and is naturally enclosed with trees/hedgerow providing a safe, secure and sheltered environment

The phase 1 layout consists of 10 x 2 bed 3 person units, 20 x 3 bed 5 person units and 10 x 4 bed 7 person units, with access from two entrances off Remington Avenue. The development consists of 15 x 2 semi-detached units 1 terrace of 4 units and 1 terrace of 5 units and 1 detached unit. The houses are all constructed from timber framing, made across the road at Accord’s Local Homes factory on Stephenson Avenue. They are all clad in a combination of horizontal or vertical timber cladding, brick and render.

The streetscape has been created with a hierarchy. The main entry access road is a tarmacadam finished surface with a dedicated block paved footpath and frontage parking to the first 6 units. This leads into a block paved communal parking area and then onto a shared space with a vehicle turning point for refuse commercial and emergency vehicles, before leading onto the block paved shared surface area with adjacent perpendicular parking servicing the units parallel to the towpath.

The shared surface areas we define as home zone and amenity spaces as the surfaces will be shared by pedestrians and vehicles.
Surface materials have been carefully considered in terms of their carbon footprint, maintenance, aesthetics and their contribution to sustainable urban drainage (SUDS).

A range of paving and road surface products have been put forward for the roads and parking and public footpaths based on the tegular range. Slabs will form the private footpath material within gardens and a higher quality concrete sett and slab with be utilised in the public spaces. The emphasis in these spaces is to provide a free draining material that might encourage informal play.

Grass will be used in public areas to provide some relief to the hard surfaces together with shrub planting beds etc. Lighting will be used in the form of up lighting and bollards to highlight path areas at low level rather than uniform overhead lights.

Type/size: 112 residential dwellings

Location: Wolverhampton

Status: Completed 2018

Contract Value: £11.5 Million

Construction Type: MMC- OSM Timber panelised system (Eco 200 by Local Homes) & traditonal masonry

Client: Accord Housing Association (In-house scheme)

Awards:

Offsite Project of the Year Award- Celebrating Construction Awards 2019 (Finalist)

Best Social/ Affordable Housing – Built in Quality Awards 2018 (Winner)

Development of the Year- UK Housing Awards 2018 (Finalist)

Scheme Overview:

Woden Road is a 100% affordable housing scheme located in the City of Wolverhampton. The scheme has been developed, designed and constructed using Accord’s in-house regeneration, architecture and construction teams which are a unique capability based within the framework of a social landlord. The houses are built in Accord’s timber frame factory (Local Homes) which produces low carbon homes designed using fabric first principles.

The proposal for 112 new dwellings is sited on a ex-industrial site located in the suburb of Heath Town which is a mixture of light industry and residential. The site has a single point of access and is naturally enclosed with trees/hedgerow providing a safe, secure and sheltered environment.

The site layout is based on a hierarchy of routes to encourage the shared use of space by both pedestrians and vehicles creating an informal street scene with its own distinct character. The main avenue is broken up by two tree lined public squares to encourage shared use between pedestrian and road users with routes subtly demarcated with flush kerbs and edging. Secondary cul-de-sacs run off this main circulation route and are linked together in places by shared zones and private parking courtyards.

This network of streets consists of a non-standard configuration with footpaths separated from the highways with street parking & landscaping. This is to provide a clear distinction between vehicle and pedestrian areas and to create an environment which is not dominated by the cars, where pedestrians have equal use of the street. By moving away from a formal highway the intention is to encourage motorists to drive at a slower speed and more cautiously and to provide a comfortable environment for pedestrians where they do not feel intimidated by traffic. This approach has been supported by the local authority and we have worked with their highway department to obtain adoption of not only the highway and pavement but all parking, street trees and landscaping.

The houses are configured in a series of terraces and semi-detached units alongside 3 storey apartments that serve as a landmark building to address both the site and the adjacent bowling green. Gable ends are fenestrated with either corner windows or front doors to create a strong dual frontage which marks prominent corners and windows are full height and elongated to give the impression of a taller facade to replicate the Victorian proportions of existing adjacent properties.

The material palette consists of a fusion of traditional and modern textures with a mixture of brick, fibre cement cladding and slate tiles. Panels of projecting brickwork sit within the buff, red and black tones of the facing materials which are lifted with the introduction of terracotta and stone green slate roof tiles. The placement of brick versus fully clad units has been considered so they are placed in particular parts of the site to help reinforce different identities.

In summary Woden Road has been a ambitious scheme for the team and a opportunity for us to test out a new layout design, palette of materials and landscaping strategy.

Type/size: 27 residential dwellings

Location: West Bromwich

Status: Completed 2017

Contract Value: £3.8 Million

Construction Type: MMC- OSM Timber panelised system (Eco 200 by Local Homes)

Client: Accord Housing Association (In-house scheme)

Awards:  

Best New Affordable Housing Scheme- Housing Excellence Awards 2017 (Shortlisted)

Scheme Overview:

Eastern Gateway is a mixture of affordable housing and outright sale located in West Bromwich town centre. The scheme has been developed, designed and constructed using Accord’s in-house Regeneration, Architectural and Construction teams which are a unique capability based within the framework of a social landlord. The apartments / commercial element are built in Accord’s timber frame factory (Local Homes) which produces low carbon homes designed using fabric first principles with the houses being built using traditional brick / block methods.

The proposal is for 27 new dwellings. The layout consists of 2No 3 and 4 bed units and 25No 2 bed apartments.

The proposed apartment block on the corner of Bull and High Streets is critical in defining the eastern gateway of the town centre and in this location is viewed from four directions. For this reason also needs to be a striking building that makes a positive statement when entering and leaving the town centre through Dartmouth square. The rear of the proposed building reflects the palette of the residential development of which it faces, while the street facing elevations use colour and materials to make a positive statement both as a gateway building into the centre of town and announcing the Urban 180 development.

The proposal is a modern three storey apartment building combined with a ground floor retail / commercial social enterprise space, with the building set back to the apartments along High Street to provide a space for planter boxes and a paved defensible space with a dwarf brick wall and railings along the edge of pavement and the retail space forward to meet back of pavement.

The design principles of the previous phases have been carried through into phase 3. This phase adds two additional houses and extends the adoption of the road, providing direct access to the new apartment building private car parking court. The site affords 2 aspects: the public realm facing High and Bull Streets and the rear private courtyard, enclosed by a paladin fence, facing the residential houses of phase 2 of the development.

Type/size: 63 residential dwellings

Location: West Bromwich

Status: Phase 1 completed 2014 - Phase 2 completed 2016

Contract Value: £7.8Million

Construction Type: Traditional masonry

Client: Accord Housing Association (In-house scheme)

Awards: 

Best Social or Affordable New Housing Development - LABC Awards 2014 (Winner)

Scheme Overview:

Eastern Gateway is a mixture of affordable housing and outright sale located in West Bromwich town centre. The scheme has been developed and designed using Accord’s in-house regeneration and Architecture teams with the construction element outsourced. The houses are built using traditional brick / block methods.

The proposal is for 63 new dwellings. The layout consists of 52No 3 and 4 bed units and 11No 2 bed apartments.

The character of the existing neighbourhood is one of well-established Victorian and Edwardian streets of terraced homes of a very high density with no in-curtilage parking. All of the surrounding streets appear to be of a similar 20mph or 30mph zone thus promoting quite a close community.

This type of streetscape does not always lend itself to provide appropriate car parking solutions however the proposal seeks to maintain a reasonable density in line with the existing urban grain whilst promoting public, shared and appropriate private amenity and defensible spaces.

Penetrations to the site are kept to a minimum with the majority of in-curtilage car parking provided to the frontage. This is more traditional however the width of Overend Street does not allow for street parking but due to the depth of the site it is possible to pull back the frontage of the terraces to a new building line which allows in-curtilage car parking to the front.

The main vehicular access to the site seeks to do two things; it provides a new boulevard street linking High Street and Overend Street whilst providing segregated vehicular and pedestrian access through the site. It also allows access to the rear of additional plots that are able to complement the existing neighbourhood character at the rear of existing shops.

This existing gap between shops on High Street, being the former access to the car park, is wide enough to allow an adequate vista through the site with visual links into the new public realm and access through to Overend Street.

Two more penetrations are afforded from Overend Street serving phase 1 and phase 2. These penetrations not only provide access to the rear of private defensible space but more importantly, give access to public open space and additional car parking. These spaces are not meant to be rear courtyard parking clusters but more open space; their boundaries between public and private transparent to allow one’s amenity space to spill out into a public area if required.

This gives the feeling of separation between blocks and reduces overlooking whilst enhancing spaces where people can meet and children can play. They are not so much designated play areas but look to rekindle the village green aspect.

Car parking has been very carefully thought out with a density of 1 to 1.5 in line with planning policy but also integrated carefully within the built form so as not to dominate. The landscape strategy enhancing this vision and will be dealt with in a later section of this document.

The existing neighbourhood character of terraced housing, whilst not directly bounding the site, is within visual comparison being two and a half to three storeys high. It is deemed appropriate to maintain this scale of property, particularly on the boundaries of the site in places on Overend Street and of course to the flatted developments on High Street and to the corner of Bull Street and Overend Street. This in no way competes with the surroundings but ensures that the relationship with scale is not lost.

The footprints of the proposed dwellings are efficient and well thought out, promoting visual relief with very modern but contemporary feel elevations which are striking and create a quality of kerb appeal.

This is important in an area not only dominated by historic industrial use but also, in some cases, by a lower quality of new build developments typical of the 1980’s and 1990’s which has done nothing to enhance this part of West Bromwich.
With striking roof lines, quality cladding materials and high quality public realm and boundary treatments, it is hoped that this development will bring a new and refreshed feel to this part of the town.

The Eastern Gateway scheme has been designed so that the Architecture and Landscape sit comfortably together. Rear gardens overlook public spaces to create a safe village atmosphere. Paved surfaces are extensive to enhance the feeling of open space.
Street furniture and lighting has been carefully selected together with tree species and planting to provide an attractive setting for residents. A simple palette of materials and colours will help to limit future maintenance problems and again create a greater feeling of space and unity.

The public spaces have a coherent selection of materials and textures that will provide a setting for informal play and relaxation. Seating areas are provided and also spheres and boulders that can provide more informal seating for children and teenagers.

Fencing to rear gardens overlooking public spaces will be a simple low bespoke galvanised mesh fence with timber posts. Thus, allowing views out for residents and extending the feeling of space within the site. Solid panels and screen fencing will be used where adjacent neighbours require a greater degree of privacy. Railings and gates are limited to rear gated car parking courts and to punctuate entrances into the site.

Type/size: 13 residential bungalows including 10 supported living units

Location: Wombourne, South Staffordshire

Status: Completed 2018

Contract Value: £1.7 Million

Construction Type: MMC- OSM Timber panelised system (Eco 200 by Local Homes)

Client: Accord Housing Association (In-house scheme)

Awards:  

Best Social or Affordable New Housing Development – West Midlands LABC Awards (Winner)

Best Social or Affordable New Housing Development– Grand Final LABC Awards (Finalist)

Scheme Overview:

Oakwood Gardens is a hybrid scheme with a mixture of supported living and private residential dwellings within a secluded cul-de-sac and tree lined setting in Wombourne, South Staffordshire. Accord worked in association with Stafford County Council in order to develop the criteria for the supported living element of the scheme which would house people with both physical and mental impairments.

The site was previously occupied by the Brookside Hostel which had been vacant for a number of years and is immediately adjacent to the Cherry Trees School. There were a number of site constraints to consider which included a significant belt of mature trees to the north & west boundaries to the site, a steep slope at the point of entry off Brook Road and the proximity to the school. The enclosed nature of the scheme with tree lined views did however provide a secluded, quiet and secure setting which was perfect for a supported living scheme.

There were also issues regarding existing parking at Brook Road and access for construction traffic to enter the site via a network of tight streets. The main concern was that our development would exacerbate these existing issues and we undertook extensive consultation with the school, local residents and councillors to find appropriate solutions. These included additional off street parking bays for existing residents and a specialised construction traffic management plan with temporary access via the school grounds to access our development during the build stages.

Other constraints included buried services to avoid, areas of made ground and the proximity to the Wom Brook watercourse which is home to Water Voles which are a protected species. The above constraints have influenced the placement of the units on the site and influenced the highway, levels and drainage strategies. The vehicular access is predefined and the site naturally screened from its surroundings. The space required to reroute the existing sewers has provided the opportunity to create a communal courtyard garden for the supported living element whilst the tree lined boundaries create a green backdrop for the development.

The brief was to provide a hybrid scheme comprising of 1) a self-contained supported living bungalow scheme of 10 units and 2) 3x general needs bungalows. There is also an integrated resource unit for one single care provider to utilise and we worked closely with the country council to design a scheme which could meet the needs of a variety of end users whilst providing flexibility to future proof the scheme for different uses. This included looking at alternative room/unit layouts for the resource unit and larger 2 bed bungalows to provide the option of live in carers, independent living (with separate front doors) and wheelchair accessibility.

The site layout has been split into two sections:

1) The public areas & general needs housing- This is the shared ownership part of the site with 3x bungalows with private driveways and rear gardens, all accessible from the new highway and hammerhead.

2) The supported living scheme- This is the supported living aspect consisting of 10 units built around a communal garden. The 9 bungalows & resource unit will be securely enclosed from the public highway with gated pedestrian access to the gardens/courtyard. Visitor parking & bin storage is provided off the new hammerhead and a public entrance to the resource centre for visitors is accessible from the public realm. The majority of units are accessed through the gated courtyard but three bungalows to the front of the development (plots 4-6) have the option of independent entrances and access to adjacent disabled parking bays. This is to provide as much flexibility as possible to meet the needs of a range of different end users with different levels of care & independence.

The bungalows are configured in a series of terraces and semi-detached units which are all single storey ranging from 57-63 Sqm in size. The bungalows will all be constructed using a timber frame panelised system made at the LoCaL Homes factory and built to Lifetime Homes and Building Regulation Part M4(2) standards for accessibility/adaptability.

In terms of appearance the facades are simple with a domestic/suburban feel to provide a homely and relaxed environment. The supported living units are proposed to be fully clad with NorClad timber laid horizontally and vertically with pitched roofs with gable features. Large full height windows are provided to bring as much light into the properties to avoid dark rooms from the surrounding trees. Large timber pergola style porches are proposed to mark entrances and provide shelter for residents to use. Gable features are placed to help absorb any level changes at party wall with eaves and ridges lines running through where possible to avoid steps at the roof line. The shared ownership units are of a similar aesthetic but with sections of brickwork to distinguish them from the supported living aspect.

The communal courtyard garden has been planted with low maintenance shrub planting in areas of bark chippings. Footpaths and private patio areas have been finished with Tegula block paving with tactile paving at entrances. Gradients across gardens/footpaths meet Lifetime Homes standards with level thresholds and access platforms into units. Areas under root protection zones have been planted with wild flower meadow grass mix and box hedgerows around private patios have been planted to provide defensible space and reinforce the boundary between public and private space. Species such as Lonicera Box hedging provide an evergreen frontage which is low maintenance and of immediate visual impact. Narrow shrub beds also provide a mix of ornamental shrubs & perennial planting.

Despite the small scale of the site this was a challenging scheme with a number of constraints to overcome which provided opportunities to look at different ways to arrange the dwellings with the tree lined aspect enhancing our proposals for the better.

Type/size: 38 residential dwellings ( 26 houses & 12 apartments)

Location: West Bromwich

Status: Completed 2014

Contract Value: £4.5 Million

Construction Type: MMC- OSM Timber panelised system (Eco 200 by Local Homes) and traditional masonry

Client: Accord Housing Association (In-house scheme)

Awards: 

Social or Affordable Housing Award - LABC’s (Local Authority Building Control) West Midlands Regional Building Excellence Awards 2015 (Winner)

Best Design category - National Housing Awards 2014 (Highly commended)

Best Green Scheme - 24 Housing Awards 2014 (Highly commended)

Scheme Overview:

Beaconview is a residential development of 26 houses and 12 apartments on a parcel of brownfield land in West Bromwich.

The proposals re-established the residential use of this highly constrained site, where issues regarding levels, drainage easements and Japanese knotweed had to be considered.

The scheme has been developed, designed and constructed using Accord’s in-house regeneration, architecture and construction teams which are a unique capability based within the framework of a social landlord. The houses are built in Accord’s timber frame factory (Local Homes) which produces low carbon homes designed using fabric first principles. All units adopted the Eco200 Local homes timber frame panel with the site achieving a code level 4 for sustainability.

Type/size: 10 high performance carbo neutral residential dwellings

Location:  North Littleton, Evesham

Status: Completed 2014

Contract Value: £1.4 million

Construction Type: MMC- OSM Timber panelised system (Eco 200 by Local Homes)

Client: Rooftop Housing Association  

Scheme Overview:

This development at North Littleton, Evesham comprises of 10 new residential dwelling houses built to 'Code for Sustainable Homes' level 6 Standard.

This scheme was built using Accord’s timber frame factory (Local Homes) which produces low carbon homes designed using fabric first principles.

The scheme was developed on a greenfield site adjacent to an existing residential area to meet affordable housing need as part of the South Worcestershire Development Plan. This showcase scheme uses renewable technology and a highly insulated building fabric to provide a sustainable low impact development which enhances the ecological value of the existing area.

Type/size: 62 residential dwellings

Location: Daw End, Walsall

Status: Completed 2018

Contract Value: £6.5 Million

Construction Type: MMC- OSM Timber panelised system (Eco 100 by Local Homes)

Client: Accord Housing Association (In-house scheme) in association with Seddons Construction

Awards:  

Social Housing Development of the Year- The Bricks awards 2018 (Highly Commended)

Scheme Overview:

Floyds Lane is a 63 unit 100% social housing scheme based in Walsall with a combination of both houses and apartments. The scheme was built for Accord Housing Association and designed in association with Seddons who were the contractor for the scheme.

The site used to house the premises of the Daw End Special School which was demolished in 2010 and had been vacant for a number of years before it was purchased by Accord. The site was relatively flat and regular in shape with residential housing to the north and east, a community centre to the west and grazing grassland to the south. Further south is the Park Lime Pits Nature Reserve which is a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC).

The final proposals consisted of 39 houses (a mixture of 2-3 bedroom properties) and 24 apartments within one three storey block. The houses were configured in a series of terraces and semi-detached units which are all two storey ranging from 75 to 82 Sqm in size. The apartments are three storey with two stair cores serving 12 apartments each.

The houses were built in Accord’s timber frame factory (LoCAL Homes) which produces low carbon homes designed using fabric first principles. The houses were constructed using the ECO 100 timber frame system with an outer brick skin whilst the apartments were traditional masonry construction.

The layout has been arranged to address the existing frontages whilst continuing the existing building line on Floyds Lane whilst also enclosing vulnerable boundaries to existing rear gardens to adjacent houses. The layout is formed out of 3 blocks of housing and a block of apartments with amenity space which is arranged around the new highway network. The apartments are located in the far south-west corner to reduce the impact of the three storeys building on the surrounding dwellings and to take advantage of the views across the open space beyond the southern boundary.

In terms of the elevations the roof geometry is pitched, approx 35 degrees with clipped eaves and slim line gutters. The façades are simple and skinned in brickwork with subtle banding details to the first floors. Large full height windows with opaque panels are arranged to bring as much light as possible into the dwellings whilst providing a balance between solid and void. Red brick was chosen for the majority of the houses especially the ones fronting onto Floyds Lane to reflect the local architectural vernacular whilst a buff brick was proposed for the apartments and houses opposite which are further into the site. Two roof tiles along with the two brick types was proposed to provide some variety to the elevations and arranged to give certain parts of the site their own identity.

The highway layout consists of a linear section of adoptable highway running from north to south to gain access into the main body of the site. A hammerhead to accommodate refuse and fire appliance accessibility is also provided. This leads to two smaller sections of highway; one providing a small vehicle hammerhead for plots 16-19 and the other leading to a parking courtyard for the apartments. The 2m pavement continues along the northern edge of the parking courtyard/shared surface to provide a pedestrian link to the public right of way to the western boundary.

Low maintenance hedgerow and shrub planting is provided to frontages which are enclosed with estate railings. Each unit has at least 1 parking space. The 2 beds have 1- 2 spaces per dwelling, the 3 beds have 2 spaces per dwelling and the apartment have 1 space each with 4x visitor spaces across the site. This results in a total of 91 spaces for 63 dwellings which is a ratio of 144%. This allowed us to avoid areas of dense parking and obtain a better ratio of hard vs soft landscaping. This ratio also allowed us to spread out the driveway and crossover points to create opportunities for on street visitor parking and the planting of street trees.

In terms of site constraints there was an existing storm sewer running through the southern section of the site which was incorporated into the new drainage proposals and an existing pumping station. The pumping station was redundant and replaced with a private one to serve the new dwellings. There was dense vegetation to the southern boundary which provided natural screening and privacy for the site and we have situated our houses to avoid any associated Root Protection Zones.

The public right of way to the west boundary was a vulnerable open boundary and security concern for the site and so we placed our new dwellings to address this footpath to create an active frontage for natural surveillance. The car park to the west is also well used and noisy hence we proposed a buffer zone of trees and shrub planting to help alleviate this as well as screening the views across. Defensive planting around the south-west corner of the site is also significant to help maintain privacy for the residents in the apartments located there.

The site was open on two sides (north & west) with unrestricted views via Floyds Lane and the community centre car park. There were no physical boundaries on these sides with only partially screening due to a scattering of trees along the main frontage on Floyds Lane. The proposals secured the site on these two open frontages with housing addressing these boundaries whilst providing permeability for pedestrians via several connecting footpaths.

We also carried out public consultation with Seddons at the adjacent community centre to keep the local residents updated on our progress. There was support for the development as since the site was vacant it had become used as a traveller’s site and local residents were keen to see the site redeveloped.

Type/size: 18 residential dwellings

Location: Darlaston

Status: Completed 2018

Contract Value: £2 Million

Construction Type: Traditional masonry

Client: Accord Housing Association (In-house scheme)

Scheme Overview:

Favourite House is new build apartment block of 18 units located in Darlaston. It was designed and built for Accord Housing Association to replace an existing building on the site which was no longer fit for residential use.

The redevelopment sits on the corner of Bilston Street and Church Street and is located within a largely residential area on the northern edge of Darlaston town centre. The site was previously occupied by existing flats (called Favourite House) and a smaller commercial property, with the Darlaston “Sons and daughters of rest” social club adjoining the property on its eastern boundary.

The original Favourite House was a large three storey Victorian building standing on the same footprint as the new proposal. During both planning and local neighbourhood consultation we had to demonstrate that our building would be to a similar height and massing as the original to avoid an adverse effect on the surrounding residential properties. Especially in terms of overlooking/overshadowing but at the same time provide a landmark building for this corner plot.

The new proposals consist of a 50/50 split of 1 and 2 bedroom apartments with two stairwell cores for access over three storeys. All apartments are 100% affordable rent in tenure.

The new building is formed in a l-shape to address the two main street frontages with a rear parking courtyard and amenity space accessed via a vehicular entrance adjacent to the “Sons and daughters of rest” building. The building line is set back by at least 1200mm to provide a buffer zone between the pavement and habitable rooms at ground floor level with railings and defensive shrub planting to reinforce this. The north-east part of the site accommodates the relocation of an existing sub-station which is accessible from the street.

Materials for the parking and access road have been carefully considered and arranged in the style of a shared surface space to minimise the impact on the amenity space. This approach provides a pleasant view and a visual extension of the communal gardens.

Inspiration for the elevational style came from the prominent gable ends and tall windows proportions of the surrounding Victorian properties and we have attempted to recreate this but in a more contemporary way. The flats are three storey in scale with the top floor stepping down to 2.5 storeys with box dormer windows on the outer wings of the plan to reduce the height alongside adjacent buildings as requested by the planners during pre-application discussions. A contemporary mono-pitch gable feature is proposed to highlight the corners units types with shallow eaves to create a seamless appearance between the roof and wall. A variety of roof heights and a stepped frontage provides visual interest along the street with sections of the façade projecting and breaking through the eaves line.

A combination of brick with areas of black horizontal cladding is provided with lighter cladding for the projecting façade elements. The roof is tiled in mock slate, curtain walling highlights the stairwells and dark grey window frames contrast with the different cladding materials.

Type/size: Refurbishment of car park structure into 6 unique residential dwellings

Location: Walsall

Status: Completed 2017

Contract Value: £0.9 million

Construction Type: Traditional masonry/ refurb

Client: Accord Housing Association (In-house scheme)

Scheme Overview:

Sister Dora is a resident refurbishment development of 6x 2 bed 4 persons single storey houses via the conversion of an existing carparking block. The intention was to retain the majority of the existing car parking structure due to its decorative front façade.

The Conversion of this redundant carparking block provided a number of benefits:

A) Provide much needed affordable housing.
B) Removed the risk for anti-social activity surrounding the
redundant parking block, which has been a persistent, ongoing
issue for local residents.
C) Provided natural passive surveillance of the parking court and
increased use of this area once houses were occupied.
D) Enhanced the outlook for existing residents.

The properties are accessed via the original arched openings to the subterranean car park which now house spacious open plan living areas to front of the properties. To provide natural daylight into the centre of new dwellings a central lightwell has been provided with windows into the bedrooms at the rear. This also provides access to the roof terrace gardens above via a external staircase and has space for a informal seating area within the stairwell.

This was a challenging refurbishment project for Indesign which provided a opporunity to create some unique roof terraced properties and regenerate a site which had previously experienced a range of anti social problems.

Type/size: 40 residential dwellings

Location: Bilston, Wolverhampton

Status: Completed 2018

Contract Value: £4.8 Million

Construction Type: MMC- OSM Timber panelised system (Eco 200 by Local Homes) & traditional masonry

Client: Accord Housing Association (In-house scheme)

Awards: 

Affordable Housing Scheme of the Year - 24Housing Awards 2019 (Finalist) 

Best approach to modular construction - Inside Housing Development Awards 2019 (Finalist)

Scheme Overview:

Portobello is 100% affordable rent housing scheme with a cluster of bungalows and a four storey apartment block. Located on a prominent spot near to Bilston Town Centre this site showcased both off and onsite construction methodologies.

Type/size: 90 Bed Residential Care-home for Dementia (Stirling Centre of Excellence)

Location: Fradley, Lichfield

Status: Completed June 2021

Contract Value: £9.3 Million

Construction Type: Traditional Masonry

Client: Accord Housing Association (In-house scheme) in association with Engie Construction

Scheme Overview:

Bowbrook Dementia Care is a 90 bed residential care home which has been designed to be a Stirling Centre of Excellence specialising in Dementia Care. This scheme is being designed for Accords Care & Support department in association with Engie who are the main contractor.

The site is located within the village of Fradley in Staffordshire which is 5 miles north-east of the city of Lichfield. The site was part of Bridge Farm previously used for agricultural land and before that formed part of the RAF Lichfield Air Base during the Second World War. The site has been split into two sections with the east part accommodating the Dementia Care centre and the west for a private housing development by Accord called Kings Meadow. Both developments were submitted as a joint application to the Local Authority.

Key site constraints include an existing gas easement to the northern boundary, proximity to neighbouring properties and the accessibility in and across the site and the impact on the surrounding road network.

As the development is classed as a ‘Strategic Project’ we were invited to attend a Project Team Meeting (PTM) with the local authority and present our outline proposals to the Strategic Project Team. This was attended by representatives from the planning department, local councillors and senior management. We discussed the proposals to provide both private for sale housing and a 90 bed residential care home with a connecting area of public open space in the middle which both typologies address.

The care provision element is as a result of the planned closure of three existing care homes within the Staffordshire district as they are unable to provide the specialist care required for Dementia residents. Two replacement units have been commissioned by the county council which Accord Housing Association will be delivering and managing going forward, the second one being for this site in Fradley. They will be designed to the ‘Dementia Centres of Excellence’ standard to provide the highest level of care.

Following the pre-application process the project brief and unit numbers were finalised as follows:

• 63 x private for sale houses (To be developed/designed/constructed by Accord Housing Associations and sold to the open market)

• 90 x bed residential home for Dementia Care (To be developed/designed by Accord Housing Association and built out by Engie in association with Staffordshire County Council)

The Residential Care Home consists of 3 x two storey clusters arranged around a single storey central hub containing the staff and visitor facilities. Each cluster contains 15x resident bedrooms arranged around a central courtyard and contains their own communal living facilities including kitchen, dining and assisted bathrooms.

Each element as its own vehicular access via opposite ends of the site and is separated via a large area of public open space- the village green. Both the housing and Care Home address the village green and have pedestrian access across it to reach other parts of the site.

The Residential Care Home again despite its large footprint size is of a domestic scale and appearance to complement its surroundings. The building mass is broken up with projections and relief in the building line and reinforced with the inclusion of central courtyard gardens and a roof terrace. It will be built using traditional masonry construction in brickwork to complement the housing element and existing neighbourhood.

The elevation strategy is based on familiar elements associated with a dwelling such as the chimney stack, pitched roof, traditional materials, brickwork and tile. It was important that the Care Home did not look institutionalised or commercial but instead looked like a residential dwelling. Windows are generously proportioned to allow maximum daylight into resident’s bedrooms and are grouped together in panels with a decorative window surround to replicate the appearance and rhythm of bay windows across the façade. Subtle materials changes such as tile hanging and coloured render are proposed to work in harmony with the chosen brick and tile colour in a warm palette of terracotta and red tones. Projecting brick banding and sills are proposed underneath ground and first floor windows with simple GRP canopies framing entrances. With quality facing materials, generous gardens and high quality public realm and boundary treatments we hope that this development will be a welcome addition to the village of Fradley.

Dementia Design

The Residential Care Home will be developed by Symphony which is a consortium made up of Accord Housing Association and Engie (formerly Keepmoat) to develop a Dementia Centre of Excellence for Staffordshire County Council. This care home will be designed to the Stirling University Gold Standard accreditation which is an auditing process to test the quality and success of Dementia design within a scheme.

During the design process we have worked closely with the design team at Stirling to refine the design concept for the care home, obtaining detailed feedback on the building layout and internal arrangements.

It is critical that the building layout assists residents with navigation and movement around the internal and external spaces. Physical and sensory impairments must be considered resulting in a comfortable and stress-free environment for its users.

Fradley Dementia consists of 3x two storey clusters arranged around a single storey central hub. The central hub will have a main entrance off the Worthing Road entrance via the private car park and a secondary entrance will lead out towards the village green and housing development- pedestrian access only. The central hub will house the staff and welfare facilities such as office space, laundry and catering kitchen. It will also accommodate a bistro café for use by residents, staff, family member and visitors. This can be used as an events space for residents and there is potential that this could also be open to the wider public.

Each cluster will have 15x private resident bedrooms with assisted ensuite arranged around a central courtyard garden. A loop circulation route will link the bedrooms to the homezone space which contains the communal living facilities. These facilities will allow each cluster to function as its own self-sufficient community with kitchen, dining and living rooms designed to be of a domestic scale to replicate the appearance of a house. Main meals will be prepared in the catering kitchen and delivered to each homezone so residents can eat within their own community.

The innovative cluster model design will offer our customers the opportunity to live within a small household setting. The design offers the very best environment to support people with dementia allowing them to make sense of their surroundings. Each unit will have only one front door and the space will be divided into lounge, dining, kitchen and bedroom spaces. These areas will be decorated in a sympathetic domestic manner and will have items such as a central fireplace, dining table and comfortable chairs so that customers understand the functions of the space.

The clusters will be designed to provide flexible use of both communal and individual accommodation, to allow services to meet the changing needs of the community in which they are located.

Key design considerations for the clusters include:
* Open plan layouts to increase visibility.
* Landmarks to assist people with wayfinding. E.g furniture layouts, focal points etc.
* Design of corridors to lead to meaningful destinations. Avoid dead ends and allow for a continuous loop of circulation.
* Use of natural light and bright, well-lit corridors.
* Flooring covering to be consistent in colour & texture.
* Use of colour coding and contrast to help define spaces for ease of navigation.
* Communal areas of a domestic scale to provide a homely and comfortable environment for residents.
* Seating at regular intervals to provide opportunities for rest.
* Access and views to outside space provides seasonal variation in daylight and views. Internal courtyards to allow for external views from all bedroom entrances.
* Opportunities for sensory planting in central courtyard.

Type/size: 14 single occupancy residential dwellings with innovative kitchen/bathroom pods

Location: Bilston, Wolverhampton

Status: Completed June 2020

Contract Value: TBC

Construction Type: MMC- OSM Timber panelised system (Eco 200 by Local Homes)

Client: Accord Housing Association (In-house scheme)

Awards:

Best approach to modular construction - Inside Housing Development Awards 2019 (Finalist)

Scheme Overview:

Mill Street is a scheme showcasing a new housing model for affordable starter homes consisting of 14 single occupancy dwellings.

Type/size: 63 residential dwellings

Location: Fradley, Lichfield

Status: On site, completion due 2021

Contract Value: £8.4 Million

Construction Type: MMC- OSM Timber panelised system (Eco 100 & 200 by Local Homes)

Client: Accord Housing Association (In-house scheme)

Scheme Overview:

Kings Meadow is a mixed tenure residential housing scheme which comprises of 63 houses with a mixture of 2, 3 & 4 bedroom dwellings.

The site is located with the village of Fradley in Staffordshire which is 5 miles north-east of the city of Lichfield. The site was part of Bridge Farm previously used for agricultural land and before that formed part of the RAF Lichfield Air Base during the Second World War. The site has been split into two sections with the west part accommodating private housing and the east part accommodating a Dementia Care centre which is also being built out by Accord in association with Engie and Staffordshire County Council. Both developments were submitted as a joint application to the Local Authority.

Key site constraints include an existing gas easement to the northern boundary, proximity to neighbouring properties and the accessibility in and across the site and the impact on the surrounding road network. The above constraints have influenced the highway network, levels and drainage strategies across the site and provided opportunities for us to create focal features within the confines of the site.

As the development is classed as a ‘Strategic Project’ we were invited to attend a Project Team Meeting (PTM) with the local authority and present our outline proposals to the Strategic Project Team. This was attended by representatives from the planning department, local councillors and senior management. We discussed the proposals to provide both private for sale housing and a 90 bed residential care home with a connecting area of public open space in the middle which both typologies address.

Following the pre-application process the project brief and unit numbers were finalised as follows:
• 63 x private for sale houses (To be developed/designed/constructed by Accord Housing Associations and sold to the open market) consisting of 27x 2 beds, 28x 3 bed and 8x 4 bed houses.

The houses are configured in a series of terraces and semi-detached units with a small number of larger detached 4 beds. All are two storeys in height and of a domestic scale/appearance.
All houses front onto either adoptable or private sections of highway with dual frontages to address corners as opposed to having a blank gable. The majority of units have 2 parking spaces with generous sized rear gardens with front to rear access for refuse storage/collection. Houses have been placed so they conform to the local authority’s guidelines in relation to separation distances, garden size and parking ratio.

The housing will be constructed using a timber frame panelised system made in Accord Housing Associations factory- Local Homes. The timber frame will be clad in brickwork or render in-keeping with the surrounding architectural vernacular.

In terms of massing the proposals are all 2 storey in height and of domestic appearance with pitched roofs and brick facades. Ridge and eaves height are similar throughout the development with strong dominant gable ends which are fenestrated with either windows or front doors.

The streetscape has been created within a hierarchy with conventional highway leading to smaller private driveways and shared surfaces. These are broken up with proposed street landscaping and pockets of public open space. The main access road from Baker Drive is 5.5m wide with 2m wide pavement on either side. This leads to a central square feature in block paving which leads to secondary sections of highway. The road alignment has been staggered to provide a chicane effect to slow down traffic supported by narrowing of the highway and traffic calming build outs with tree planting. Pedestrian cross over points are also indicated to allow for the safe navigation of pedestrians across the site.

Sections of private highway are proposed to serve no more than 5 dwellings using a shared surface arrangement, with flush kerbs and subtle road demarcations. These will be demarcated in a different colour tarmac with a block paved access strip at the entrances. The entrance off Worthington Road leads to a private car park for the Care Home only. We are currently proposing that the main sections of highway detailed above will be offered for adoption and the smaller private driveways will be maintained by the Accord. Surface materials have been carefully considered in terms of their carbon footprint, maintenance, aesthetics and their contribution to sustainable urban drainage (SUDS). All private parking bays will be paved using permeable block paving to support the drainage strategy with small feature areas such as the central square in block paving also. Adoptable highway will be constructed to adoptable standard with a tarmac finish and areas of private driveway will be surfaced in a contrasting coloured tarmac.

Tree planting will be used in public areas to provide some relief to the hard surfaces together with shrub planting beds etc. Lighting will be used in the form of up lighting and bollards to highlight path areas at low level rather than uniform overhead lights.

The elevations for the houses have large full height windows with box bay window and juliette balcony features to provide visual relief across the street scene with a modern but domestic feel. As the site is relatively enclosed from the surrounding area it can stand alone with its own identity with subtle connections to the surrounding local vernacular- such as the use of red multi toned brickwork and chimneys to reflect the neighbouring housing estate.

The character of the site proposals naturally breaks down into a series of smaller areas which allow for a range of landscape identities to be formed and reinforced through the use of different planting regimes. Front gardens will be turfed with shrub planting and hedgerow proposed on vulnerable boundaries to define ownership and enhance security. Semi-mature trees are proposed along the street scene and within the pockets of public open space along with amenity planting consisting of a mix of low maintenance shrubs and perennial planting. The placement of trees and planting build outs is important to soften the street scape but also to provide a low maintenance but green environment for future residents.

The central public open space (The Village Green) will be turfed and have a children’s play area to encourage resident interactive which will be formed using natural materials such as timber logs, large boulders and tree stumps etc.

With quality facing materials, generous gardens and high quality public realm and boundary treatments we hope that this development will be a welcome addition to the village of Fradley.

Type/size: 24 residential apartments

Location: Bilston, Wolverhampton

Status: Completed May 2021

Contract Value: £2.7 Million

Construction Type: MMC- OSM Timber panelised system (Eco 200 by Local Homes)

Client: Accord Housing Association (In-house scheme)

Scheme Overview:

Springvale is a new build apartment block comprising of 24x one and two bedroom units. The scheme is located near to Bilston town centre and sits on a site which used to house office accommodation for Heatun Housing Association. The scheme brief was to demolish the existing buildings on site and replace them with a new apartment block for 100% social rent.

The key constraints present on the site include the presence of large and mature trees along the two frontages. This mature vegetation and trees provide natural screening and privacy to the site and the apartment block has been positioned to avoid any Root Protection Zones. As well as providing a visual buffer they also provide an acoustic buffer against the busy traffic on Millfields Road and capture any pollution from the roadways.

The adjacent site is also under development to provide new housing and nursery care facilities and the new proposals have been considered in terms of their impact on the eastern boundary and building line. The adjacent application also flagged up that there are 7 mine shafts present on the neighbouring site which has led us to undertake detailed investigation works including a Coal Authority Report and further Mine Investigations as part of the GI report to ascertain if there are any underground shafts within our red line boundary. Initial reports and historical maps suggest that there are none. The ground investigation report also highlighted unstable ground as a result of the historic coal mining in the area and has confirmed that stabilisation works comprising of drilling & pressure grouting was required.

The above constraints and opportunities have influenced the placement of the apartments on the site and influenced positioning of entrances, car parking and landscape. These have been further influenced by the pre-application discussions we undertook with the local authority and highways department.

The final proposals consist of 8 apartments per floor split 50/50 in terms of type. The 1 Beds are 46 Sqm and the 2 Beds 58 Sqm in size and are served by two stairwells. These stairwells serve 4x apartments per floor keeping the circulation to a minimum and providing an efficient layout design. There are dual entrances front and back with curtain glazing to provide natural day light into the circulation zones.

The apartments will all be constructed using a timber frame panelised system made at the LoCaL Homes factory. This will be the full panelised ECO 200 system which will be clad in rainscreen cladding and brickwork.

The vehicle entrance is located at the rear of the site where the resident/visitor parking is situated with private amenity space and storage for waste and cycling. The building is set back to avoid the existing trees providing a green and spacious frontage for the development.

The three storey building is of a rectangular shape with two central stairwells providing recess and projection along the facade. The roof will be low pitch sitting within a parapet wall. The facade comprises of two main materials which are brick and rainscreen cladding. The red brick will be used predominately on the ground floor level rising up to full height on the two side gables. The rainscreen cladding is placed centrally full height with boxed projections on either side of the stairwells to the Millfields Road facade.

Large full height windows are provided to bring as much light into the properties to avoid dark rooms from the surrounding trees. They are ceiling height windows with opaque panels at the head and sill with aluminium surrounds to a number of windows to create a feature within the cladded areas.

The material palette uses red brick which is in-keeping with the local architectural vernacular of the area with natural, earthy colours for the cladding in a stone/concrete texture which complement the brick tones and work well against the green and leafy backdrop of the site. The cladding colours are proposed in lighter tones and hues to brighten the facade on this prominent corner plot.

Type/size: 74 residential dwellings – 49 flats & 26 townhouses

Location: Redditch, Worcestershire

Status: Under Construction

Construction Type: MMC- OSM Timber panelised system (Eco 100 by Local Homes)

Contract Value: £10.4 Million

Client: Accord Housing Association (In-house scheme)

Scheme Overview:

The scheme is in a prominent location next to Redditch train station consisting of a apartment block and row of Townhouses facing onto Edward Street. It is part of larger development of 94 homes and office space for Redditch Co-operative Homes (Accord) to be built by Accord using timber panels from LoCal Homes.

Victoria Works is a 100% affordable new housing scheme of 74 dwellings and is located on the site known as Victoria Works which is bounded by Britten Street to the west and Edward Street to the east and in close proximity to the train station. Until very recently, the majority of the site was occupied by a large rectangular, flat-roofed grey brick warehouse building.

It is worth mentioning that the area developed principally in the 19th century with a series of larger scale factories, industrial premises and housing. This has however been fragmented, and the area now is a mix of residential dwellings, predominantly detached or semi-detached which include examples of both 20th century designs and remnants of 19th century villas and industrial premises such as the locally listed Ashleigh Works, which is situated to the southern boundary of the site and is a key remnant of the historic streetscape that developed in the 19th century.

The proposed layout maximises the site by having a vehicular and pedestrian entrance off Edward Street, with the apartment block to the south facing Edward Street and the parking court at the back, plus the two rows of terraced townhouses facing both Edward and Britten Streets with the internal mews in-between. It is worth noting the existing level difference of 2.5-3metres between the two parallel streets which was a main site constraint and informed the design of the layout and the access points.

The apartment block comprises 49 flats in total with a mix of 19 1-bed and 30 2-bed apartments plus additional space for plant equipment and bike storage, whilst the two rows of townhouses accommodate 20 2-bed and 6 3-bed houses. The externals and landscaping have been carefully designed to enhance the character of the scheme with the use of block paving, timber slatted bin shelters and soft landscaping and planting.

The external appearance of the buildings has been designed to follow a contemporary approach which has looked to draw on some of the visual and spatial elements of the area’s industrial heritage without being overly pastiche. The material palette consists of a fusion of traditional and modern textures with a mixture of brick, fibre cement cladding and slate tiles. Panels of recessed brickwork featuring a secondary brick colour sit within the façade walls and emphasise the verticality of the design which is also enhanced by the full height heritage style windows.

In summary, Victoria Works is an ambitious scheme which has been thoughtfully designed and detailed to a high standard, which will surely lift the character of the area once built through its contemporary design and innovative approach whilst tying up with the context and respecting the local industrial heritage.

Type/size: Apartments and office space

Location: Redditch, Worcestershire

Status: Planning Approved

Contract Value: TBC

Construction Type: MMC- OSM Timber panelised system (Eco 100 & 200 by Local Homes)

Client: Accord Housing Association (In-house scheme)

Scheme Overview:

The scheme is in a prominent location next to Redditch train station, consisting of two small apartment buildings centred around a landscaped parking court. The blocks houses 19 apartments for affordable rent and office space for Redditch Cooperative Homes.

It is part of a larger development of 94 homes and office space for Redditch Co-operative Homes (Accord), near Redditch town centre; to be built by Accord using timber panels from LoCal Homes.

The first building is designed to respect the areas past industrial heritage in red brick and large workshop style windows; in juxtaposition the second building in a contemporary style to be a test building for low plastic construction.

The experimental low plastic apartment block of 12 one bed flats is partially EU funded, allowing Accord to research the reduction and removal of plastic in a real world large scale project; paving the way for a future of plastic free construction.

Type/size: 184 dwellings – 164 houses & 20 flats

Location: Former Northicote School, Bushbury, Wolverhampton

Status: Planning approved

Contract Value: £27.5 Million

Construction Type: MMC- OSM Timber panelised system (Eco 200 by Local Homes)

Client: WV Living

Scheme Overview:

Northicote is a new housing scheme located within the Bushbury area of Wolverhampton. The scheme has been designed and is being constructed using Accord’s in-house architecture and construction teams which are a unique capability based within the framework of a social landlord. The houses are built in Accord’s timber frame factory (LoCaL Homes) which produces low carbon homes designed using fabric first principles.

The proposal for 184 dwellings is located on the former Northicote school site, a semi-circular shaped site contained by Northwood Park Road and bordered to the south by Northwood Park. The former school was demolished in 2018 only leaving some trees and grassland on the site before the start of the development.

The immediate vicinity is predominantly residential with a mixture of 2-3 storey dwellings with a low density massing. The site is surrounded by estates built at similar time and in the same style, with a road layout of urban blocks and cul-de-sacs. The local vernacular architecture is generally a mixture of 1940-50s red brick semi-detached houses with terracotta colour plain tile roofs, with some rendered houses.
Northwood Park dates from the construction of the whole estate, and incorporates a wooded area that predates it. Also, the park area consists of sport pitches, mostly grass land and additionally there are two children’s play areas.

The proposed highway layout responds to the site geometry and constraints by splitting the site into two connected halves and creating six new vehicular access points, with two new internal vertical roads and three new horizontal roads. There is a speed limit of 20mph within the estate and the internal road junctions will feature raised tables with block paving for traffic calming.

The relationship with the park is quite important from an urban design point of view and we have benefitted from this by creating a strong frontage of large houses overlooking the park, with a shared link / cyclepath running along the park’s boundary. The vertical roads that cross the site also ensure views towards the park from the distance.

Careful consideration has been given to the proposed street scenes, particularly towards Northwood Park Road where a strong and continuous frontage of houses has been created to face the road and mimic the opposite houses. Internally within the estate the position of the houses has been designed to make the most of the public space, with every house located at a corner being dual aspect and providing full height windows to both elevations, as opposed to having blank gable walls and unsurveilled areas.

The development comprises 164 houses with a mix of 2-bed, 3-bed and 4-bed houses. 26 of these will be affordable, being pepper-potted across the site and tenure-blind externally ensuring a successful integration amongst the sale units. The development also comprises 20 flats with a mix of 1-bed and 2-bed flats, all of which will be affordable and featuring a secure communal garden.

The design has retained as many of the existing trees as possible within the constraints of a new development, with especial consideration to the large trees of the north of site now being part of the proposed ‘wooded area’, a green amenity space towards the periphery road and the bus stop.

The external appearance of the buildings has been designed to respect and preserve the local character of the context of Bushbury, this is why all of the proposed houses are 2 storeys in height and have a domestic appearance featuring pitched roofs with slates and brick facades. In addition, a more contemporary language has been introduced through some elements such as the aluminium surrounds to windows, eaves trims, boxed gutters, door canopies, full height openings or fibre cement cladded areas.

The external areas particularly the front of the houses have been carefully detailed with block paving and the soft landscaped areas will provide opportunities for new trees and shrubs, enhancing the public realm and the experience for the pedestrians walking along the footpaths.

In summary, Northicote is a scheme thoughtfully designed and tailored for Bushbury, with the objective of addressing the housing shortage in the area for local residents particularly regarding the lack of offer of new build homes, and which will for certain have a positive impact in the surrounding neighbourhoods and communities.

Type/size: 79 residential dwellings

Location: Redditch, Worcestershire

Status: Completed 2013

Contract Value: £8 Million

Client: Redditch Cooperative Homes

Construction Type: MMC- OSM Timber panelised system (Eco 200 by Local Homes)

Awards: Outstanding Development of the Year award- UK Housing Awards 2015

Scheme Overview:

This scheme was designed in association with a housing cooperative with a community led ethos enabling residents to involved in every stage of the design/construction process.

This former school site has been transformed from a derelict waste ground to a modern and innovative housing development consisting of 79 new houses and apartment block with a series of public open spaces, onsite orchard and allotment to encourage community interaction. The homes were built to 'Code for Sustainable Homes' level 4 Standard and there are also 2x carbon netural eco homes included on the site which meet CFSH level 6.

The houses are built in Accord’s timber frame factory (Local Homes) which produces low carbon homes designed using fabric first principles.

Type/size: 22 residential dwellings

Location: Bushbury, Wolverhampton

Status: Completed 2013

Contract Value: TBC

Construction Type: MMC- OSM Timber panelised system (Eco 200 by Local Homes)

Client: Accord Housing Association (In-house scheme)

Scheme Overview:

This scheme involved the regeneration of a derelict piece of land to accommodate 22 terraced and semi-detached houses. The proposals consist of 19 x 2 bed 4 person and 3 x 3 bedroom 5 person houses that make full use of the available area whist maintaining the spacing and format of the existing estate layout which flanks the site on all sides.

The proposed units were constucted in Accord’s timber frame factory (Local Homes)s factory using a closed panel timber frame system which is a highly insulated product using fabric first principles.

The houses have been finished with timber cladding in different colours and render. Some of the units have juliette balconies and timber louvered canopies along with other architectural detailing.

The Bushbury scheme has been designed so that the Architecture and Landscape sit comfortably together. Block paved driveways with defined carparking spaces to the front of each dwelling help to create private space whilst seperating the garden. Paved parking and planting areas create an attractive frontage to each dwelling.

Type/size: Whole House Wrap Refurb schemes. Range from single house to apartment block

Location: Across the midlands

Status: Completed from 2016-2021

Contract Value: Varies

Construction Type: Whole House Wrap facade upgrade using MMC- OSM Timber panelised system (Eco 200 by Local Homes)

Client: Accord Housing Association (In-house scheme)

Scheme Overview:

A series of schemes inspired by the Energiesprong retrofit projects which take place predominantly across the Netherlands. Existing building facades are transformed to improve the appearance and energy efficiency of resident’s homes. Utilising the Local Homes Eco 200 system the existing properties are overclad in these highly insulated timber frame panels to reduce fuel bills and improve fabric u-values

Type/size: 23 residential dwellings

Location: Middle Littleton, Evesham

Status: Completed 2022

Contract Value: £3.2 million (combined value for 2x sites)

Construction Type: MMC- OSM Timber panelised system (Eco 200 by Local Homes)

Client: Rooftop Housing Association

Scheme Overview:

Middle Littleton is a 100% affordable housing scheme located in the Evesham Village of Middle Littleton.

It consists of two adjacent sites on the same road. The principal site had ten existing ‘airey houses’ (post war pre-fabs), which were no longer fit for purpose and the second site is a disused garage plot.

The project cleared the existing structures and provided 23 modern and efficient homes. The site is a mix of housing types, with bungalows, maisonettes, and family homes of different sizes, to meet the specific housing needs of the village and giving accommodation for all life stages.

The new construction was styled in cladding board to reflect the historical airey houses of the site which still remain elsewhere in the road, but with modern large windows and contemporary styling. The site had several constraints including existing services and a public right of way running through. The site was planned to utilise the rural location, opening views to the countryside and local landmarks, giving a defined route to the pedestrian route through the site. It respected the existing building line and reduced the density at the rear of the site to respect neighbouring properties. Every home has off road parking and a generous garden.

Offsite timber frame construction was used to minimise disruption to residents. The new properties are energy efficient with higher insulation and air tightness than building regulations and utilises energy saving MVHR. Every property has photovoltaic panels to generate their own electricity and EV charging sockets.