丨英国丨Henley Halebrown

architects Henley Halebrown

Grover Close Hemel Hempstead 2005–2008

The scheme for 56 flats employs an underground car park to achieve the high density of 144 dwellings per hectare. Four villas are arranged in a chequerboard pattern with a sense of place derived from the land itself, from both the topography and the trees.

‘It is far better than its peers, and continues the proud tradition of superior social housing that Dickon Robinson led so fruitfully at the Peabody Trust housing association.’ Crispin Kelly 2009

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Housing in the English suburbs is rarely successful. Here Grover Close is seen in its context

Isometric of the four villas

Ground plan: inside each 18m x 18m villa there are four flats per floor, mixing 1-bed, 2-bed 3-person and 2-bed 4-person dwellings

Section shows the underground car park that allowed us to repair the hillside

The blocks vary in height, two are 3-storey, the other two, 4-storey. Each stands on a different contour, their varied height, position and roof-form creating a continually changing roofline

Each villa is clad on two elevations in brickwork, the other two in vertical timber boards

A glimpse of Grover Close through the existing tree belt on the north boundary of the site

The compact plan and section of each pavilion minimises surface area and therefore heat loss

Roof forms are predicated on the roof space being inhabited behind steep mansards linked in section by a butterfly roof, visible in the other two gable elevations

The timber windows follow a chequerboard pattern similar to that used to plan the scheme

Technical

Appointment: 2005

Construction start: 2007

Completion: 2008

Area: 4200m

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Budget: £6.57m

Sustainable credentials: 28.80kgCO2/m²

Form of contract: Novated to contractor

Client: Hightown Praetorian & Churches Housing Association

Contractor: NEC

Services Engineer: Van Zyl & de Villiers

Structural Engineer: Aventus Design

Quantity Surveyor: GDG Management

Landscape Architect: Charnwood Landscape Design

Project Manager: CDG Management

Sound Consultant: Cole Jarman

Awards

Affordable Home Ownership Awards, Best Designed Scheme, 2009

Building Life Awards, Silver Standard, 2009