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Carryduff Homes, Northern Ireland : Architecture

Carryduff Houses, Northern Ireland design by Paul Davis + Partners

25 Nov 2010

Carryduff Housing

Paul Davis + Partners Wins Sustainable Homes International Competition

Paul Davis + Partners has beaten off practices including RMJM, B3 & The Boyd Partnership in an international competition to design 70 homes, achieving code 5 of the Code for Sustainable Homes, in Carryduff, Northern Ireland.

picture from JF

The competition, run by the Royal Society of Ulster Architects in Belfast for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, generated a shortlist of 5 out of 61 entries, including teams from England, Scotland, Wales, N.Ireland, Republic of Ireland and Germany. The project is being funded by the Department of Social Development and will be built out by the Oaklee Homes Group.

Judging panel chairman Dickon Robinson, independent advisor on architecture, housing, property development, sustainability and urbanism to the government, said: “The panel applauded the sequence of landscaped spaces…..which responds gracefully to the topography. The approach to Code level 5 was carefully considered with an emphasis on passive solar heating with carefully orientated winter gardens. The presentation panels prepared by the Paul Davis team were the clearest submitted, making excellent use of sections through houses and site.”

pictures from JF

Pedro Roos, Design Partner at Paul Davis + Partners said: “Our masterplan concept centred on the need for the dwellings to maximise the use of the features of the existing site creating a design concept informed by three primary factors:

• The challenging natural topography of the site The buildings are carefully positioned to follow the natural undulations of the site – tiered across the existing site levels and contours to reduce the cut and fill on the site. • The very specific sustainability brief The principles of sound environmental design have been employed to utilise the natural passive design opportunities on the site. • PD+P’s intrinsic urban design and placemaking approach The creation of linked vibrant and active green spaces in order to create a community that is actively integrated into its surroundings and the village beyond.”

It was the team’s intention from the outset to use the existing landscape of the steep sloping site, set in farmland, in a suburban context on the edge of Carryduff village. The masterplan proposed a journey of spatial events through the site around which a series of housing clusters were arranged. These are made up of both social and affordable houses for sale, to the client’s brief, layered into the landscape with private, semi-private and public open spaces.

The design seeks to provide a variety of external spaces in order to bolster an ever changing sustainable community and catering for the variety of age groups who might occupy the development. A reed bed, wetland and attenuation pond also doubles as a ’outdoor classroom’ for the local school. A junior play space central to housing clusters around which a wildflower meadow lines the backyards of several terrace runs of houses. An open village green provides a kick-about space for youths. A community centre and garden allotments, furthermore provides an amenity for not just the development but to promote connections with the wider community.

The architecture of the houses is defined as much by their position on this unique site as by the brief to achieve a Code 5 Zero Carbon rating.

The site and building sections have been analysed in detail to ensure that dwellings further down the hill, going north, are spaced and arranged to afford positive solar gain in the winter months thus reducing energy demand.

Each of the 64 houses and the flats on site have a carefully orientated roofs set at 29 degrees south to achieve the maximum orientation for photo voltaic and solar thermal collection. As the site is predominantly south facing the dwelling clusters have been arranged to allow south light into the buildings and onto the facades.

PD+P’s passive design strategy hinged round the use of enclosed south facing wintergardens, which also provides flexible space for summer months and winter drying spaces. Whilst the built form responds to the placemaking aspirations of the proposal, the winter gardens are orientated independently to provide south facing aspect.

The houses are all designed to meet lifetime homes standards with accessible bathrooms, kitchens and specific storage requirements for dual functioning living and bedroom spaces.

Each house has been designed with an integral water ‘butt’ to collect rainwater, an air to water heat pump and low flow appliances. Dedicated bicycle storage and private amenity spaces are also provided, whilst site wide SUDs drainage has been employed as well as rainwater harvesting for reuse in WCs.

With PD+P expanding its core competition team, the project has just entered the next stage to develop the design and deliver the £8 million scheme over the next 30 months.

Professional Team: Paul Davis + Partners Architects + Urban Designers PHA Consult Environmental Services Consultants Eight Associates Code for Assessors Consarc Quantity Surveyors Cost Consultants Paul Hogarth Partnership Landscape Architects.

Paul Davis + Partners is a 60-strong London-based practice with a national and international portfolio. The practice is well known for its skilful integration of new buildings within historic urban environments, and for its expertise in high-end residential, commercial, cultural and mixed-use projects.

The firm’s long experience of designing award-winning buildings and creating masterplans for many of London’s historically important neighbourhoods has attracted clients seeking to create appropriate and sustainable new developments in historic cities around the world. Paul Davis + Partners is currently working on substantial projects in UK, China, Japan, Hong Kong and Italy.

Carryduff Housing images / information from Paul Davis + Partners

Paul Davis + Partners

Location: Carryduff, Northrn Ireland