Ireland Portfolio - Levitt Bernstein

Housing Portfolio

Levitt Bernstein

We have specialised in the design of new homes since our founding in 1968, and continue to work on projects of all shapes and sizes across the country, from large estate regenerations to small new build developments. As well as general needs housing, we have particular expertise in creating student accommodation, homes for elderly people and those with specialist needs.

Every one of our projects starts with the people we’re designing for and we work side-by-side with communities and clients from the very outset; engaging in consultation throughout the development process to create new, sustainable communities.

From our offices in London and Manchester, our urban designers, landscape architects and interior designers enable us to look holistically at all projects, providing the expertise to deal with both the macro scale masterplanning and micro scale detailing both inside and outside the buildings.

As well as designing new homes, we set standards and shape opinion within the sector. We regularly contribute to books, papers, guidelines and reports; have undertaken significant commissions for Homes England and DLUHC, and produced design guides for local authorities and housing associations.

Scott Tallon Walker

We create ever evolving spaces with a simplicity and consistency to our design.

We have an award-winning track record not just of excellence in architecture, but of creating efficient, fit for purpose buildings that are highly valued by their users.

From our offices in Dublin, London, Galway and Cork, we begin each project seeking innovation and the potential for adding value.

By understanding our client’s stated goals and what good building design can bring to a site, what image it can create for its owners, how it can be flexible and set an example for innovation, we can then create a great place with which to engage.

Our unrivalled track record of delivery of the very largest construction projects in the country adds value and provides confidence to ambitious clients conceiving the next generation of major residential developments to meet the needs of our growing urban population.

Dorset Street

Dublin

Dublin City Council

Category: Social Housing

No of Dwellings: 163

Density: 136 dw/ha

Status: Tender

This project is a comprehensive phased redevelopment of the urban block bounded by Dorset Street, Upper Dominick Street and St Mary’s Place in Dublin. The existing 1.2 ha site comprises four five-storey flat blocks and a playschool (now closed) which form Dorset Street and Mary’s Place social housing scheme.

The existing buildings will be demolished in two phases. The proposed development will be managed by Dublin City Council and comprises 163 homes within four buildings and one terrace. This includes seven houses, 11 duplexes and 145 apartments. A boxing club, multi-use childcare facility, commercial space and café will also be provided, alongside associated car and cycle parking and public and private open spaces.

Ballymun Housing

Dublin

Ballymun Regeneration Ltd

Category: Social Housing

No of Dwellings: 95

Status: Complete

After d evelopment of the masterplan, we subsequently designed 95 new houses as part of the first phase of regeneration. The scheme has created a new main street to link with the adjacent area, lined with two and three storey family homes with front and rear gardens, and three storey corner apartment buildings. Also along the new street are smaller single storey houses, which are super-insulated to reduce energy consumption, built to Lifetime Homes standards and able to accommodate people with disabilities.

The Motorworks Quarter is a tender for a mixed use development which includes different character areas that vary in scale, landscape and architectural features. Although the design creates a destination, this is a permeable development which reaches out and into the immediate neighbourhood. Taller buildings are located at strategic locations to frame vistas, maximising long distance views, and reinforcing and complimenting the existing tower of the historic former VW factory. The masterplan celebrates the historic former VW factory as the architectural centrepiece and social heart of the new neighbourhood.

Motorworks Site

Dublin D|RES

Category: Private Sale + BTR

No of Dwellings: Circa 2100

Status: Competition

Our proposals for the redevelopment of this key site in central Dublin set out to provide commercial space, a community facility, new public realm and approximately 130 new homes. By reconfiguring and extending the existing buildings, the scheme provides sustainable high quality homes without the need for major demolition. Our placemaking-led approach would form three new private courtyard spaces to the rear and an attractive new pedestrian route located behind the street trees. Rigorous community and stakeholder engagement strategies would underpin the design process at all stages to ensure new development responds sensitively to resident priorities and phasing minimises decanting impacts.

Constitution Hill

Sillogue, Dublin

Dublin City Council

Category: Social Housing + Retrofit

No of Dwellings: 136

Density: 191 dw/ha

Status: Competition

Emmet Road

Inchicore, Dublin

Dublin City Council

Category: Social Housing

No of Dwellings: 550

Density: 137.5 dw/ha

Status: Competition

Our bid for the regeneration of the existing housing estate sought to create a strong sense of place for the overall site through the creation of three new public spaces, each with their own distinct character, designed to respond sensitively to their existing context and reinforce links to the surrounding area. The central route forms an integrated blue-green network with wild meadow plantations which connect into these key spaces and the 484 new homes. ‘Richmond Green’ would provide a focal point for the development with café spaces, an extending canopy for outdoor events and an innovative new community hub building housing the new library and sports facilities.

St Annes Court

Dublin

Dublin City Council

Category: Older Persons Housing

No of Dwellings: 91

Status: Competition

Being mindful that older people often spend more of their time inside, our proposals for this specialist housing scheme are centred on the concept of bringing the outside in. Maximising views out to local green spaces and mature trees give residents a connection to nature, the changing seasons and activity on the surrounding streets. A generous, beautifully landscaped courtyard at the heart of the 103 homes provide residents an additional outlook with opportunities to see neighbours and friends, watch wildlife and grow their own plants. We have also incorporated places for social interaction through the public café and community rooms, shared access galleries and practical spaces including the laundry.

Bunratty Road

Dublin

Dublin City Council

Category: Social Housing

No of Dwellings: 78

Density: 70 dw/ha

Status: Completed

This scheme is a series of new apartment buildings and family houses on a site facing Oscar Traynor Road, a relatively busy street located near the airport. The scheme provides a total of 64 flats, 14 houses and associated parking and amenity spaces. All homes will be let at social rents and managed directly by Dublin City Council.

The scheme was a pilot for the Council’s programme to build over 800 new social rent homes using a volumetric construction approach to increase build quality and reduce site time and therefore impacts on local residents. New buildings range from two to four storeys in height and utilise a limited number of factory-built modular layouts, with site-applied external cladding designed to vary between buildings to add character and respond carefully to the local context.

Bonham Street

Dublin

Dublin City Council

Category: Social Housing

No of Dwellings: 58

Density: 242 dw/ha

Status: Complete

This scheme is a series of new apartment buildings and family houses on a site in central Dublin, opposite an urban park in the Liberties area, south of the River Liffey. We have proposed three new buildings, ranging from six to eight storeys, designed to reflect the former industrial distillery warehouses which are characteristic of the area. The scheme, co-designed with ABK Architects, provides a total of 57 apartments with private amenity spaces and a communal courtyard, along with 320m2 of rentable non-residential space for both live/work and office/ start-up space. All homes will be let at social rents and managed directly by Dublin City Council.

This forms part of the Council’s programme to build over 800 new social rent homes using volumetric construction to increase build quality and reduce site time and therefore disruption to local residents. We have utilised a limited number of factory-built modular layouts, with site-applied external cladding that will vary between buildings to add character and respond carefully to the local context.

Springvale

Dublin

Dublin City Council

Category: Social Housing

No of Dwellings: 71

Density: 88 dw/ha

Status: Under Construction

This scheme is located on the edge of Chapelizod Village, next to Phoenix Park, Dublin’s largest public green space. The new apartment buildings range from three to five storeys in height and provide 71 apartments, a series of heavily planted amenity spaces, parking and a new play space for the wider neighbourhood. The scheme also includes a new community hall. All homes will be let at social rents and managed by Dublin City Council.

The scheme, co-designed with ABK Architects, is part of the Council’s programme to build over 800 new social rent homes using volumetric construction to increase build quality and reduce site time. We have utilised a limited number of factory-built modular layouts, with site-applied external cladding and roof modules designed to vary between buildings to add character.

Cork Street

Dublin

Dublin City Council

Category: Social Housing

No of Dwellings: 55

Density: 190 dw/ha

Status: Complete

Cork Street is a series of new apartment buildings and family houses on a site in central Dublin, located opposite Weaver Park in the Liberties neighbourhood, south of the River Liffey. Our proposals include buildings ranging from three to seven storeys in height along two sides of the new park, designed to reflect the site’s history of housing the city’s weaving industry. The scheme will provide 55 apartments with private amenity space, split between two buildings, each with a communal courtyard, and 60m2 of commercial space for a café facing the park. All homes will be for social rent, managed directly by Dublin City Council.

The scheme is part of the Council’s programme to build over 800 new social rent homes using a volumetric construction to increase build quality and reduce site time and therefore the impact on local residents. We have utilised a limited number of factory built modular layouts, with site-applied external cladding designed to vary between buildings to add character and respond to the local context.

Cherrywood

Dublin Hines

Category: Mixed Tenure Housing

No of Dwellings: 950

Density: 65 to 85 dw/ha

Status: Under Construction

We were involved in the design of several mixed use buildings within the proposed new Cherrywood Town Centre site to the south of Dublin. Masterplanned by MOLA, the scheme consists of three courtyard buildings containing 281 private rental sector (PRS) apartments, 38 affordable rent apartments, associated residential facilities and 1,050m2 of retail space. The buildings range from five to eight storeys in height and are located adjacent to the proposed retail centre of Cherrywood designed by Dunnett Craven, as well as the Cherrywood tram stop, part of the Dublin City LUAS line. Clad in brick, with metal detailing, the buildings have a horizontal reading which alludes to the rock strata and foothills that dominate this area of Dublin as it rises to the Wicklow Mountains in the south-east.

We tested a variety of housing and flat typologies including issues around access to blocks, back to back distances and how these could be optimized through innovative house typologies to create building block efficiencies. The aim was to deliver low rise housing at hiher densities than typical in this part of Ireland, e.g., using houses with roof terraces that allowed back gardens to be reduced while provining the required amount of amenity space.

Typical Glen Edge character area house

Dual aspect master bedroom by roof terrace

Flexible family room over looks entrance

Private stepped Garden within the woodland

Double height space over dining table

Shielded roof terrace in the tree canopy

Central 3 storey void brings light deep into the house

• Provision of private open space serving apartments and duplexes in the form of south and west facing balconies and terraces.

• Residential open space in the form of 5 no. public/communal spaces recreation (totalling c.0.6ha).

• The park facilitates active recreation to the south and east of the site and passive recreation in the form of a woodland trail to the southwest of the site linking to Tinakilly Avenue. The active public space includes adventure play areas for structured and natural play, fitness station points, looped fitness trails and an area identified as future GAA playing grounds.

Tinakilly Housing

Rathnew, Wicklow

D|RES

Category: Build to Sell

No of Dwellings: 267

Density: 40 dw/ha

Status:

Planning Granted

This project consists of a new residential development and associated public park. The new housing will deliver 267 residential units as follows:

• 167 no. 2 storey houses comprising of 20 no. 2 bed houses, 113 no. 3 bed houses, 34 no. 4 bed houses, each with rear or side private gardens.

• 100 no. apartments or duplexes arranged across 13 no. 3 storey buildings comprising 50 no. 2 bed apartments and 50 no. 3 bed duplexes.

Clonkeen Housing

Blackrock, Dublin

Clonkeen Investments DAC

Category: Build to Sell

No of Dwellings: 299

Density: 89 dw/ha

Status: SHD Approved

A new Build to Rent development in South County Dublin consisting of 299 apartments and houses consisting of three bed duplex and two bed apartments in perimeter blocks which surround four six storey blocks of 239 apartments. The development includes 500sqm of residential amenity including a creche.

The massing of buildings has been stepped towards the six storey apartment blocks at the centre of the site so as to minimise visual impact and potential for overshadowing whist simultaneously generating a clear hierarchy of form which gives the development as a whole a coherent character and identity.

The apartment buildings have been organised on a north / south axis so as to maximise daylight to the school playing pitches to the North. This arrangement also allows the majority of apartments to be east / west aspect, maximising their amenity value whilst minimising overlooking of adjacent lands.

A central village green is to be developed at the heart of the scheme providing a generous green space amenity which is easily accessible to all residents. This core amenity is further reinforced by the location of the apartment entrance plaza to the north and network of interlinked green spaces which permeate the site.

This project delivers a Strategic Housing Development (SHD) on lands west of the Maynooth Rd (R405) and north of the Kilwoghan Stream, Crodaun, Celbridge, Co. Kildare. The development will consist of a residential development delivering 467 dwellings (216 apartments, 199 houses and 52 duplexes) along with ancillary childcare facility (776sq.m), gym (320sq.m), café (123sq.m) and retail unit (119sq.m) and basement car parking.

The proposed ancillary childcare facility, gym, café and retail unit will all be located on the ground floor of apartment block D. The proposed development includes the provision of a landscaped 2.068 ha. public park to the north.

Crodaun Housing

Kildare

Crodaun Development Company Ltd.

Category: Build to Sell

No of Dwellings: 467

Density: 43.5 dw/ha

Status: Planning Permission Granted

Marmalade Lane

Dublin

Lioncor

Category: Build to Rent

No of Dwellings: 628

Density: 128 dw/ha

Status: Planning Permission Granted

Marmalade Lane is a strategic housing development (SHD) project for 628 Build to Rent apartments near Dundrum Town Centre on land formerly belonging to the Carmelite Community at Gort Muire. The project has a solid residential urban design form. Seven buildings focus on creating the Marmalade Lane Triangle and providing new pedestrian and cycle linkages between Dundrum, Ballawley Park and Wesley Heights. Internally, the project will be car-free with fully pedestrianised common areas. It will provide extensive tenant facilities, including a gym at roof level with a panoramic view of the Irish Sea and Dublin Mountains.

Bellebank is a build to rent (BTR) scheme at Long’s Place, Dublin 8, comprising 28 apartments arranged over 7 floors. The ground floor is a shared amenity space for the residents serviced by a full-time concierge office and reception, with secure entry to the apartments, access to the communal amenities and a central maintenance facility. The narrow and complex nature of the site has prompted an elegant 8 storey design with external access terraces and a communal garden space at roof level and a plot ratio of 3.07. This infill solution cleverly maximises the development opportunities on an existing brownfield site and takes its design brief directly from the Liberties Local Area Plan (LAP). The development is designed to allow for two possible scenarios or phases of the overall neighbourhood development.

Belle Bank

Long’s Place, Dublin

Larkemount Developments Ltd

Category: Build to Sell

No of Dwellings: 28

Density: 393 dw/ha

Status: Planning Permission Granted

Lee Point

Brewery Quarter, Cork

BAM Property / BAM Construction

Category: Student Accommodation

No of Dwellings: 420 Bedrooms in 62 clusters

Density: 148 dw/ha | 1000 beds/ha

Status: Complete

This 420 bedroom student accommodation development is part of a mixed use urban regeneration scheme on the former Beamish and Crawford Brewery site in the historic medieval core of Cork city. Accommodation is provided across four linear blocks in dual and triple aspect cluster apartments, ranging in size from four to eight ensuite bedroom units with shared kitchen, living and dining areas. On each floor there is a centrally located group study room or social hub. There is also a student common room at courtyard level, in the centre of the development, along with laundry facilities, café, student reception, administration and concierge offices.

We drew on our experience in university housing, specialist expertise in sustainability and extensive knowledge of high density commercial apartment design in formulating the concept design at Maynooth. The heart of the scheme centres on the head of the boardwalk where a new slightly sunken, sheltered south facing village plaza will be created. This space serves to terminate the boardwalk at its northern end and to link the river apartments to the east with University Green to the west. The modern, elegant and sustainable image of the buildings and the spaces between them will be reinforced by their use of low embodied carbon materials.

Maynooth Student Housing

Maynooth

Maynooth University

Category: Student Accommodation

No of Dwellings: 1000 Bedrooms

Density: 333 beds/ha

Status: Competition

Trinity Housing

Dartry, Dublin

Trinity College Dublin

Category: Student Accommodation

No of Dwellings: 300 Bedrooms

Density: 333 beds/ha

Status: Competition

A competition entry to provide a 300 bed student residence in Dartry, Dublin for Trinity College Dublin. Our design aspires to connect people with the amazing sylvan setting. The residential pavilions create a family of buildings that respect the scale of the neighbouring

houses to the south and east. The intimate green-quads knit the buildings into the landscape and provide a variety of external environments for students, staff and visitors.

Each pavilion is designed with flexibility in mind. The regular structural grid and central circulation allows for any number of varying length blocks. The organisation of the plan promotes social engagement and positive wellbeing. The study bedrooms benefit from large windows for daylight, views and natural ventilation, and the social spaces are on the gable end to avoid overlooking. An enhanced core with breakout space off the stair creates a vertical spine where occupants of each floor can socialise and study.

Techcrete Site

Dublin

Confidential

Category: Build to rent

No of Dwellings: 360

Density: 82 dw/ha

Status: Confidential

To maximise this long coastal site with spectacular sea views towards Lambay Island to the North, we proposed a crescent of pavilions, giving the entire scheme a unified identity and creating a strong urban edge to the main road. The linear set-out, with projecting fingers towards the sea enables the majority of apartments to have sea views and allow sunlight through from the south – as well as views to Deerpark. The fingers step up towards the sea and away from the road, meaning that more apartments get the best sea views and that

stepped south-facing roof gardens are created.

A central public plaza steps up and over the parallel Dart line to provide a strong link to the Burrow Beach and create activity and a clear destination in the heart of the scheme. The site layout enables public permeability but also clearly identifies public, semi-public and private amenity spaces.

The scheme adheres to Sustainable Urban Housing - Design Standards for New Apartments Dec 2020, with < 50% 1-bed apartments and > 50% dual aspect apartments. The linear set-out also enables the simple phasing of the development, with the residential facilities and amenities and anchor retail tenants deliverable in phase 1.

Spencer Dock

North Wall Quay, Dublin

Spencer Dock Development Co Ltd / Treasury Holdings

Category:

High Density Neighbourhood

No of Dwellings: 616 + 145,000m2 Office

Density: 75 dw/ha

Status: Complete

A critical component in our masterplan for the urban regeneration of Spencer Dock is our design for this 616 unit luxury private apartment and penthouse development. Encouraged by the client, we recognised the challenge in the masterplan for the provision of a vibrant residential urban addition, integrated with the surrounding mix of development.

The apartments are all dual aspect, designed around four landscaped courtyards. The scheme provides a mix of apartment living options, ranging from one bedroom duplex units at ground and mezzanine levels, a variety of two bedroom apartments and three bedroom corner apartments on the upper levels and spacious penthouse duplex apartments located on the top floors.

St.Vincent’s Hospital

Fairview, Dublin

Royalton

Category:

Build to Rent

No of Dwellings: 822

Density: 93 dw/ha

Status: Planning Granted

Our vision is to create both a state-of-the-art new mental health facility that will serve the local community and a best-in-class sustainable residential development. The apartments will provide much needed housing while protecting and enhancing the character of Fairview and its environs. New and carefully considered interventions combine with repurposed and restored historic structures. These are given a new lease of life in a sustainable urban development that protects and nurtures the cultural and community legacy of the site. Sustainability will be at its core, encouraging walking and cycling with access to high frequency transport nodes. Health and wellbeing will also form a core tenet of the community with onsite gym, running track and outdoor exercise equipment.

The ‘watchtower’, designed as a disaggregated form, is intended to provide a slender and elegant aspect to Point Square. It will match the proposed U2 Tower on the opposite quay across the River Liffey, creating a maritime gateway where Dublin city meets the sea. The tower’s 150 luxury apartments will have stunning views of the city and Dublin Bay. The sheer, double-skin glazed wall of the tower will allow the creation of generous winter gardens for each apartment.

Point Village Watchtower

East Wall Quay, Dublin

Crosbie Property

Category: High Density Neighbourhood

No of Dwellings: 200

Density: 57 dw/ha

Status: Planning Permission Granted

The key concept for our masterplan, which will provide 1,176 new homes, shops, a faith centre, community centre and PCT, is to create a series of new routes in and around the site. New homes are arranged around a central linear park in medium rise, high density buildings ranging from four to ten storeys. Lower, more domestic scale buildings sit adjacent to the neighbouring estate, whilst higher, muscular, robust buildings along the A13 provide a degree of protection to this urban edge. The success of this masterplan has seen it extended to include an adjoining estate and additional land parcels delivering a further 1,600 homes and a range of new facilities including workspaces.

“Aberfeldy Village is quickly transforming into a vibrant new neighbourhood around a significant new London park at its heart. Housing of all types and tenures has been carefully designed to support development of this mixed, sustainable community –both now and in the long term.”

Ben

Ffoulkes-Jones, Project Director, EcoWorld

Aberfeldy New Village

Tower Hamlets, London

Aberfeldy New Village LLP

Category: Mixed Tenure Housing

No of Dwellings: 1176 original masterplan

1600 extended masterplan

Density: 228 dw/ha original masterplan

277 dw/ha extended masterplan

Status: Original masterplan complete

Ocean Estate

Tower Hamlets, London

East Thames Housing Group, First Base, Bellway Homes, Wates Living Space and Spitalfields Housing Association

Category: Mixed Tenure Housing

No of Dwellings: 1000

Density: 231 dw/ha

Status: Complete

The comprehensive regeneration of this estate involved refurbishing 1,200 existing homes, building over 1,000 new homes and enhancing the landscape. Existing monolith blocks made way for smaller buildings to recreate a more traditional street pattern, designed around central courtyards with variation in scale and materials to respond to the context. New routes into the site, where pedestrians and cyclists have priority, further improve its permeability. A shared surface approach to street design with seating and tree planting has also created incidental spaces for residents to inhabit and feel proud of..

“What we’ve built at the Ocean Estate isn’t just bricks and mortar. It’s a brand new, inclusive community that has delivered and will continue to deliver positive change to a wide rangeof people. It is a brilliant example of how to ensure the community is involved in the changes going on around them.”

Aman Dalvi, Corporate Director for Development and Renewal, London Borough of Tower Hamlets

“Our work on the Ocean Estate has transformed a postcode. It’s seamlessly integrated the new and old communities and carefully fused together architecture and landscape to create a genuinely mixed, thriving neighbourhood.”

Gary Tidmarsh, Chairman at Levitt Bernstein

Abbey Estate

Thetford, Norfolk

Flagship Homes

Category: Mixed Tenure Housing

No of Dwellings: 1544

Density: 43 dw/ha

Status: Planning Submitted

The Abbey Estate is a suburban residential estate in Thetford, adjacent to Thetford Forest and the Little Ouse River, and in walking distance of Thetford Town Centre. We are working collaboratively with Flagship Homes and residents, through interactive workshops and drop in sessions, to understand the concerns and aspirations of residents and develop a series of masterplan options for the estate. The preferred, community led-scheme will help tackle the issues that the community have identified through the engagement process, and improve the character of the neighbourhood through high quality design.

Manox

Manchester

ENGIE and NPL Group

Category: Mixed Tenure Housing

No of Dwellings: 410

Density: 66 dw/ha

Status: Planning Submitted

Manox is a mixed use neighbourhood of 410 homes on a brownfield site in Miles Platting, just outside central Manchester, along the Rochdale Canal. The design features a variety of different family houses, with some apartment buildings at key locations within the masterplan. The new homes are a mix of shared ownership, build to rent, affordable rent and rent to buy. The proposals also include 744m2 of commercial space for local businesses, a community hub space and a café along the canal.

“This is an exemplar of regeneration in the modern world – taking a derelict brownfield site and transforming it into a multi-tenure, energy efficient development with much-needed new homes.”

James

Crow, Head of Investments & Development Management, ENGIE

3

Rethinking the Ginnel as a communal amenity space

• The strategy of modernising the ginnel is associated with pushing and pulling the space between the rear gardens of the houses in creating a communal secondary amenity space

• Diversity in size and shape of each typology allows us to create these dynamic spaces

• As a consequence, interesting façades to the street are created as the plot of each home fluctuate in size

4

Diversity of residential typologies type of users

3.4 The layout

1 Improvement of the Canal frontage

2 Provision of high quality outdoor green spaces

3 Traditional residential streets

4 The Industrial Mews

5 Courtyard blocks with houses and shared

6 Apartment buildings placed in key locations

7 Variety of non-residential uses in key areas

• A wide range of homes are to be provided to meet the street site and the local area

8 Retention of existing mature trees

• The mix includes different sized homes and special types generations and a mix of families, couples and workers

• This mix will mean a variety of sizes, shapes and scale

Canal View

Land

Goldsmith Street, Mickhail Richies

The Malings, Ash Sakula

Leeunweldveld

The scheme is designed to be low-carbon with ecological enhancement across every millimetre of the site, water- and energy-efficient homes and maximised use of sustainably sourced materials and minimised waste.

The proposed masterplan takes inspiration of the site’s history by:

• Introducing the historic urban grain of the surrounding area into the site whilst optimizing densities.

• Rethinking the typical row of terraced houses and the rear alleyways: the ginnels. The masterplan re-imagines the ginnels as a place for neighbours to meet. The new ginnels have different dimensions and uses, and the back gardens open onto the them to encourage social interaction. The sections opposite show how the ginnel can be re-designed to become a communal space.

KenwynSt

PadstowSt

PenzanceSt

SandalSt

HulmeHallLane

Our mini-masterplan for part of this estate involved demolishing existing stock and building better housing in its place, while reintroducing the traditional, legible street pattern through a series of new, smaller buildings. We reduced heights and doubled density by creating smaller footprints with central courtyards, which meant a range of homes could be provided, all with access to private amenity. Internal layouts were tested extensively through planning and the construction of a full size show home to ensure the new homes would comfortably accommodate residents’ needs.

“A proud testament to the merits of inspirational and robust design-led placemaking.”

London Planning Awards judge

Aylesbury Estate

Southwark, London

London Borough of Southwark, London & Quadrant Housing Group

Category: Mixed Tenure Housing

No of Dwellings: 261

Density: 240 dw/ha

Status: Complete

“I like my new home very much. It is warm and cosy and very comfortable. There is nothing that I would change about it. It has all the space that I want and need.”

Mrs Roberts, Aylesbury Estate Block A resident

This project began life as an open design competition to explore new models for affordable, urban, family housing. Our response was based around a ‘home-sown’ philosophy, imagining the scheme as a holistic, productive landscape where every single surface is designed to be useful. 13 dwellings are provided in a mixture of duplex homes on the ground and first floors, and two bedroom apartments above. Family homes have gardens and flexible ‘garden’ rooms, whilst communal gardens will be shared with residents of the tower block, and run by the local gardening club.

“Levitt Bernstein rose to the challenge set by this competition, by providing a distinctive type of affordable family housing that promotes a ‘grow your own food’ ethos.”

Hayley McNicol, London Borough of Islington

Vaudeville Court

Islington, London

London Borough of Islington

Category: Social Housing

No of Dwellings: 13

Density: 100 dw/ha

Status: Complete

“Me and my family originally lived in the tower across the way… there’s no comparison between our old flat and our new home. What makes it special for us is the architecture of the house itself – open plan and putting the family first – it’s fantastic.”

Louise, Vaudeville Court resident

Sutherland Road

Waltham Forest, London

East Thames Housing Group

Category: Social Housing

No of Dwellings: 59

Density: 137 dw/ha

Status: Complete

This scheme has transformed a former industrial site into a new residential community, with 59 affordable homes, a health centre and shared garden. New homes are arranged around the central courtyard in a series of apartment buildings and mews houses. The aesthetic is robust and simple, featuring steeply pitched and saw-toothed roofs, and brick and red corrugated metal cladding to reflect the local context. The landscape plays a crucial unifying role, whilst also providing a variety of environments for residents, from formal grass to informal seating and children’s play areas.

“We are delighted with this scheme – not only does it provide much-needed, 100% affordable homes for local people, but it is a striking addition to the streetscape that has been a catalyst for the wider regeneration of the area.”

Trevor Burns, Director of Development, Sales and Asset Management, East Thames Housing Group

In conjunction with Circle Group, our scheme redeveloped half of the Pumphouse Transport Museum site that was being used for the storage of old vehicles to provide a mix of 21 apartments and large family housing which are for affordable rent and low cost home ownership. The scheme is designed to meet Lifetime Homes Standards and Code Level 4 for sustainability incorporating photovoltaic panels, high levels of insulation, air tightness and high efficiency services. The new buildings are arranged around a central mews that will enhance the existing urban grain and provide units that are accessible from the street.

Pumphouse

Waltham Forest

Clarion Housing Group

Category: Social Housing

No of Dwellings: 21

Density: 93 dw/ha

Status: Complete

Cranwood House is located within the suburban district of Muswell Hill. The complex site, which used to be a Victorian railway station, is adjacent to the ancient woodland of Highgate Wood and the popular Parkland Walk. The scheme provides 41 new homes with a mix of one to three bedroom apartments, houses and maisonettes. The homes are split across three buildings – with more than three-fourths for social rent.

The scheme has been designed to a Passivhaus standard which strives for the highest levels of energy efficiency and helps to reduce energy costs for residents. Our landscape proposal is inspired by the adjacent woodland setting in its approach to biodiversity and natural play features. At the centre of the scheme is a new courtyard garden that provides amenity for residents and children’s play space.

Cranwood House

Haringey, London

London Borough of Haringey

Category: SocialHousing

No of Dwellings: 41

Density: 105 dw/ha

Status: Under construction

Between Towns Road

Oxford

OX Place (formerly OCHL)

Category: Mixed Tenure Housing

No of Dwellings: 38

Density: 136 dw/ha

Status: Complete

This scheme is located on a busy road junction in east Oxford, opposite a neighbourhood shopping centre, on a site formerly housing a petrol station. The redevelopment will provide 35 new one and two bed apartments, three new houses and a small public space to replace an alleyway which currently links the main road to the quieter residential streets to the rear. 50% of the homes will be affordable.

The elegant, curved apartment building responds to the bend in the road opposite and helps shield the new shared courtyard from the noise along the main road. A series of mews houses are proposed behind the apartment building to help transition in terms of scale to the houses in the surrounding area. These new houses are carefully angled to minimise overlooking of adjacent properties and feature integrated parking and roof terraces.

Rose Hill

Oxford

OX Place (formerly OCHL)

Category: Mixed Tenure Housing

No of Dwellings: 25

Density: 125 dw/ha

Status: Complete

By redeveloping two prominent sites formerly occupied by Council facilities, this scheme will deliver a total of 43 new apartments, all of which will be affordable. Schemes benefit from high levels of internal daylighting and natural ventilation as 100% of homes are dual aspect.

Both schemes feature pitched roofs and simple brickclad exteriors to reflect the colours and character of the nearby buildings. The layout and massing has been carefully developed to support the existing street character of the area whilst maximising the number of new, affordable homes. Roof-mounted PVs will generate lighting for communal spaces and electric car charging points have also been added.

Edgecombe Road

Oxford

OX Place (formerly OCHL)

Category: Mixed Tenure Housing

No of Dwellings: 7

Density: 54 dw/ha

Status: Complete

Edgecombe Road is a small infill housing site in a suburban area next to a early 20th Century church. The scheme provides seven new council houses using a mix of two, three and four bedroom homes arranged around a small parking court. The houses are designed to sit in pairs which are carefully stitched together using a continuous roof profile, with a single larger four bed house marking the corner of the site.

Feature brick detailing is used to add character and break up the short terraces, along with bespoke entrances in a subtle range of different colours. A poppy emblem will also be carved into the brickwork of a prominent gable end to reflect the former use of the site for a British Legion Club.

Redbrick Estate

Islington, London

London Borough of Islington

Category: Social Housing

No of Dwellings: 55

Density: 39 dw/ha

Status: Complete

This redevelopment provides 55 additional homes, new community facilities, retail space and significant improvements to the communal outdoor spaces. Our brief was to examine how we could improve the environment for existing residents, whilst offering much needed new homes for local people. The proposals involve the demolition of existing garages and retail space, which will be re-provided alongside a new larger community centre and three new residential buildings. These will extend and complement homes on the estate, supported by a series of upgraded external spaces to improve access and provide opportunities for play.

“Redbrick is a real example of how high quality genuinely affordable housing and much needed community space can be creatively woven into the fabric of existing estates, improving the safety and quality of streets and open space for the common good.”

Stephen Nash, New Homes Development Programme Manager, Islington Council

Salisbury Estate

Southwark, London

London Borough of Southwark

Category: Social Housing

No of Dwellings: 26

Density: 197 dw/ha

Status: Under construction

Located on a car park on the existing Salisbury Estate, where Balfour Street meets Rodney Road, this project creates 26 new council homes that will be 100% affordable. The choice of materials, changes in building height and the subtle manipulation of its roofscape respond to the surrounding estate, resulting in a building designed specifically to its location.

“We’re really proud of these beautiful designs which are helping to restore the prestige of council housing.”

Leo Pollak, London Borough of Southwark

“Underlying this whole project is the principle of shared values between the three architects and the client. It’s made for an inspiring and collaborative design process, which I truly believe has led us to a better result and a better future for the local community.”

Barry McCullough, Director

Eastfields Estate

Merton, London

Clarion Housing Group

Category: Mixed Tenure Housing

No of Dwellings: 773

Density: 114 dw/ha

Status: Phase 1 under construction

Working in collaboration with Proctor Matthews and Cullinan Studio, our concept for Eastfields was to turn the existing site inside out. The central green has been retained, but the architectural monolith has been recreated as a series of smaller buildings with a hierarchy of routes through to it. Many homes now front onto this green space, enabling it to be better used and more secure. By reinstating a more traditional street pattern, we will not only better integrate the neighbourhood within its context, but also significantly increase the density.

The wider masterplan of Acton Gardens will deliver 2,500 homes, community facilities and green spaces on the existing South Acton Estate in Ealing. This phase will provide over 300 new mixed tenure homes, along with a range of community facilities in two new buildings arranged around a major public landscape. These facilities include a nursery, youth centre and a range of community offices, meeting spaces and shops, which together will form the social heart of the masterplan. The non-residential uses are concentrated on the ground and first floor, and feature materials and geometries that flow seamlessly between the interiors and the surrounding landscape, helping to maximise their connection to the surrounding public spaces and create inviting new public facilities to serve the local community.

Acton Gardens

Ealing, London

Acton Gardens LLP

Category: Mixed Tenure Housing

No of Dwellings: 308

Density: 149 dw/ha Status: Complete

Specialist Housing

This project develops an underused suburban site to provide 60 new affordable homes for older people with varying care needs. Homes meet HAPPI recommendations and are fully accessible and wheelchair adaptable, with sliding doors to assist those with mobility issues and large storage areas inside for wheelchairs and scooters. The apartments blur boundaries between private and communal space to encourage residents to take ownership of shared areas and facilitate interaction. The large central courtyard is an active focal point and features planting beds, a greenhouse and a shed to encourage gardening.

“What matters is, ‘does it work for the people who call it home?’ – the answer is an emphatic yes. One resident told me ‘I feel like every day is a holiday’, another said ‘I cried tears of joy when I moved here’.”

Rob Wakefield, Chief Executive, Community Gateway Association

The Courtyards, Dovedale Avenue

Preston Community Gateway Association

Category: Extra Care Housing

No of Dwellings: 60

Density: 60 dw/ha

Status: Complete

Carlton Dene

Westminster, London

Westminster City Council

Category:

Extra Care Housing

No of Dwellings: 87

Density: 197 dw/ha

Status: Under construction

Carlton Dene, Westminster City Council’s new flagship extra care scheme, comprises 65 extra care and 22 general needs homes. The scheme sits adjacent to St Augustine’s, a Grade I listed church. We are targeting an ambitious sustainability brief, seeking Passivhaus accreditation for the general needs block and the PHI low energy standard for the extra care portion. Many of the extra care homes are one-bed-plus, with flexible partitions that provide different layout configurations based on residents’ requirements to enable them to age in place. All homes are dual aspect. Shared communal balconies overlooking the generous courtyard and roof terrace spaces provide additional shared spaces outside front doors, in line with HAPPI principles.

“We’re committed to building affordable homes for people at all stages of their lives for residents in the community and this is another exciting milestone.”

Cllr Heather Acton, Westminster City Council

Working within the constraints of a tight urban plot, this scheme comprises 60 extra care homes within two new buildings, alongside integrated communal space. Being mindful that older people spend more time inside, the design is centred on the concept of bringing the outside in and all homes are dual aspect to provide views of the courtyards and neighbouring streets. Similarly, a new garden room offers a generous, light-filled communal space between the two courtyards, each of which has a different character to provide a range of physical and visual stimuli for residents.

“I never expected it to be as lovely as it is. My friends have all told me how lucky I am, and how they wish they were moving in too!”

Beryl Goodhew, resident

Hazelhurst Court

Lewisham, London

Phoenix Community Housing

Category: Extra Care Housing

No of Dwellings: 60

Density: 151 dw/ha

Status: Complete

Broughton House

Salford

Broughton House

Category: Care Home + Extra Care

No of Dwellings: 90

Density: 150 dw/ha

Status: Complete

The redevelopment of this military veterans’ care home includes a care home for 65 residents, including specialist dementia and nursing care provision; 25 extra care apartments, all with their own private external space; plus shared ancillary spaces and links to further communal accommodation. A new hub space will also enable the charity to offer a wider range of support services. The design concept is based on the historical fort – a symbolic wall enveloping the buildings whilst the wings of the care home and extra care apartments are arranged around a central landscaped courtyard.

Whiteley Village

Weybridge

Whiteley Village Trust Investments

Category: Extra Care Housing & Care Hub

No of Dwellings: 140

Density: 30 dw/ha

Status: Complete

As part of our work at this retirement village, we have designed a new care hub to deliver more public, social and health spaces and a ground breaking model of residential care. A café is housed within a distinctive octagonal glazed pavilion linked to a more traditional form of building with therapy and consulting rooms.

To the rear lies the residential care element, designed as two households of 15 rooms each clustered around an open kitchen, eating and living space with an outdoor terrace and wide veranda.

“The new care hub marks the start of the next chapter in the history of Whiteley Village. The addition of new facilities from which we can deploy up-to-date clinical care will further enhance life for people today and in the future.”

Chandra McGowan, Chief Executive of The Whiteley Homes Trust

Engagement

City of Stories

Facilitating intergenerational conversations

Resident garden party and growing workshops

Pop-up installation Temporary

London

Thane Studios

2-4 Thane Villas

London N7 7PA

+44 (0)20 7275 7676

levittbernstein.co.uk

Dublin 19/20 Merrion Square

Dublin D02 VR80

Ireland

+353 (0)1 6693000

stwarchitects.com