Design Codes
Representing the second phase of residential development at Prince Philips Barracks, the new neighbourhood at phase 2, is ideally located to take advantage of its proximity to the local schools and the town centre, to deliver a mix of family homes and apartments. The nature of the scheme is to provide a higher density, contemporary designed ‘home zone’ typology that achieves a density of up to 50dph, allowing pedestrian/cycle routes to schools around and through the site.
The concept of an urban ‘home zone’ aims to create a direct relationship between the buildings and external spaces, providing external community space on the door-steps for residents and allowing home life to extend into the public realm. The Design Code and team, pushed hard for the development of a parkside crescent frontage, which has been carried into the RMA design stage, and developed further, placing innovative ‘garden rooms’ on this edge that interface with the public space of the park and the private gardens behind.
The Design Code defines the principles to guide future detailed designs, to provide reassurance to the client and the Local Authority that detailed proposals will provide quality and appropriate design. The Code is designed to define overall character and detailed design principles, which often set out simple measures that can create a variety in character, whilst integrating developers’ commercial considerations.
Acting as design champion, Urban Place Lab collaborated with Taylor Wimpey to progress the scheme from Design Code to reserved matters application stage, following an expedited planning process founded upon the approved Design Code having established the key principles so that the Local Authority could fast-track compliant detailed designs.