Makes excellent use of a constrained, brownfield council site
Emmett Russell Architects for Bristol City Council
Contract value: Confidential
GIA: 518 m²
Challender Court makes excellent use of a constrained, brownfield council site to supply eight one bed apartments required to be robust, low maintenance and low energy. The modest, brick-clad terrace minimises any overlooking of surrounding houses, with shielded balconies and roof lights to the upper units of the simple two storey, pitch roofed form.
Differentiation of front and back in the site layout, together with a carefully articulated threshold between shared surface and front door, makes for a landscape of quality and delight. A planted bank mediates a slight level change, with a rill (part of the sustainable drainage scheme), spanned by chequer plate bridges demarcating more private spaces. Internally the 50m² units are surprisingly generous (designed to Lifetime Homes standards) and every opportunity has been seized to create variety in layout and fenestration. The development will test the viability of Passivhaus in social housing, with central plant (in common stairwells for access) and heat metering to each home.
RIBA South West Sustainability Award sponsored by Geberit
See the other winners in the RIBA regional awards - South West