Hope Street, Southampton

Hope Street is a remarkable and important model for how people whose life challenges have brought them into the justice system can be supported and helped to reshape their lives in a place that fosters self-reliance. Specifically catering to women, its architecture is modest yet clear in form, plan and section, sitting comfortably on its Southampton street and within the wider conservation area.  

The immediate street is a wide boulevard mainly populated by detached and semi-detached Victorian villas, which Snug Architects’ project has drawn from in terms of scale and articulation, including in its three principal linked volumes. The materiality and tones are muted yet distinctive in the area, retaining a domestic feel which is far removed from the institutional atmosphere typically associated with this type of use. 

The success of this project lies in a clear and simple diagram born out of research and consultation and delivered through a humble and understated architecture. This trauma-informed approach meets the needs of residents, workers and visitors and sets high aspirations for the women who serve their sentences here.   

The arrival building on the street accommodates the reception, communal spaces, café, dining area, offices and meeting spaces. The residences are set safely at the back of the site in another building. 

This two-storey accommodation block draws from mews houses and is simple and smart, accessed via covered walkways and overlooking the garden separating the buildings. This arrangement provides passive supervision, security and privacy. The landscaped garden is a sheltered sun-trap, providing a play space for the residents’ children and allowing shared supervision. 

The structural frame uses cross-laminated timber (CLT), which is left visible in the lofty ceilings and walls of the principal rooms, while the brick external skin wraps into the glazed links separating the volumes. 

Hope Street is exemplary in various aspects, from energy efficiency, carbon reduction and passive design strategies to waste management and ecological design. The design incorporated biophilic principles, using natural materials, daylighting and green spaces to enhance wellbeing and reduce energy demand. 

It adopts a fabric-first approach for airtightness, renewable energy systems (photovoltaics, solar thermal panels, air-source heat pumps), and the use of CLT to reduce embodied carbon. Natural ventilation and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) enhance cooling, while prefabrication and the choice of reusable materials minimise waste. Ecological design incorporates therapeutic and functional gardens to support biodiversity. 

The project aims to achieve BREEAM Outstanding certification, reflecting its exemplary performance in sustainability. Performance metrics target energy use below 55 kWh/m2/year, and potable water use under 10 litres/person/day. 

While the building appears simple, it has to accommodate a range of complex requirements, often balancing opposing needs – whether this be the domestic with the organisational, or security with openness. The residents express joy and pride in their surroundings, and this quietly radical model may be set to have a lasting impact on many lives.