This housing framework winning entry for a total of 45 affordable homes in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire provides innovative housing solutions for challenging sloping garage and infill sites.

At Auckland Road we propose five family homes arranged around a central urban square and local play area, working with the steep topography and existing urban grain. A compact terrace positioned following the contours improves energy performance, maximises land use and reduces costs. While a semi is orientated to overlook the site entrance and continue the urban grain with “backs to backs”. Regardless of orientation all roofs will be pitched north/south for renewables. Eaves are aligned for buildability offering more generous floor-to-ceiling heights as the site slopes. The central square is conceived as an “outdoor room” surrounded by trees and hedges and designed with materials which enable imaginative play. Each house has a garden for improved biodiversity, wellbeing, and interaction with nature with external access for garden useability and bicycle storage.

Proposed axonometric of the Auckland site

Existing photograph of the Auckland site

Our proposal for The Pastures provides 40 apartments across 4 infill buildings between the existing flats. The apartments are orientated across the slope to maximise homes, avoid overlooking, retain existing mature trees and provide covered parking. A central path through the site and shared facilities such as bin and bicycle storage improve access to the existing apartments. Overlooking between buildings is avoided through splayed windows focused on mature trees and long views over town and surrounding countryside. All apartments have a balcony, are generously sized and dual aspect and are designed to be zero-carbon ready ahead of the Future Homes Standard.

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Red Kite Community Housing Framework