Overview
Four housing blocks arranged along a ridge were commissioned by a housing association seeking a robust, low-maintenance solution for a difficult site. The topography — a long south-facing slope with significant wind exposure — defined both the opportunity and the constraint.
Challenge & Context
The site's orientation offered good solar access but also severe weather exposure. The challenge was to create housing that felt sheltered and domestic while meeting the passive solar and ventilation requirements of the brief.
Design Concept
Each block steps down the slope in section, creating a roofscape that breaks wind at the communal path level while allowing maximum solar penetration to south-facing living rooms. Shared access is organised along the upper contour, keeping vehicles and pedestrians clearly separated.
Process
The design was refined through studies of approach, shared access, facade rhythm, and how the building would be read across the site at different levels. Structural and envelope coordination centred on achieving robustness with a limited material palette.
Outcome
The development was delivered within programme and has performed well in post-occupancy monitoring. Residents report that the solar design makes the flats feel significantly warmer than comparable housing in the area, reducing heating demand noticeably in the first winter of occupancy.
