WELHAM MANOR
Garden City living on the outskirts of London. 7 family homes. Community at the heart of the design.
Presented with the challenge of designing a residential scheme at the edge of a green belt, the team sought inspiration from nearby Welwyn Garden City, arguably be the most sophisticated manifestation of the Garden City Movement. At its core, the Garden City Movement sought to deliver new towns with an abundance of parks and open spaces between residential areas, designed in a radial layout with a communal garden at the heart.
The existing site, despite its location in the greenbelt, is characterised by overgrown, poor quality vegetation, rubble and decaying trees. At the core of this landscape-led scheme is the desire to bring life and richness back into the site, respectfully returning the quality of the site and its landscape to a status befitting its location.
7 family homes are radially laid out around a central tree and carefully positioned to protect existing trees in a way that retains openness between the homes and facilitates views to the landscape beyond; there is a sense of relaxed generosity in the site layout that alludes to the ethos of the Garden City movement and the local townscape.
The homes are designed with simple proportions and humble, textural materials in a contemporary way that’s evocative of the idyllic rural home, grounding the scheme into its location.
7 family homes are radially laid out around a central tree and carefully positioned to protect existing trees in a way that retains openness between the homes and facilitates views to the landscape beyond; there is a sense of relaxed generosity in the site layout that alludes to the ethos of the Garden City movement and the local townscape.
The homes are designed with simple proportions and humble, textural materials in a contemporary way that’s evocative of the idyllic rural home, grounding the scheme into its location.
Project Info
STATUS
PLANNING APPROVED, 2024
TYPE
RESIDENTIAL
LOCATION
BOROUGH
HATFIELD
CLIENT
AREA
1200m²
COORDINATES
The Team
Other Projects
HOLME
HOLME
WESTON HALL
WESTON HALL
HONOR OAK PARK
HONOR OAK PARK
WYCHWOOD SCHOOL
WYCHWOOD SCHOOL
BEECH HILL
BEECH HILL
JOINERS WORKSHOP
JOINERS WORKSHOP
MILTON COMMON
MILTON COMMON
MAY GURNEY
MAY GURNEY
THE PAPER MARKET
THE PAPER MARKET
FOREST ROAD
FOREST ROAD
THE COWSHED
THE COWSHED
BRUNEL WORKS
BRUNEL WORKS
