Stylish New Housing

Project in brief
This project consisted of the demolition of 8 blocks of three storey terrace houses, totalling 61 houses originally constructed in 1977, and the construction of 77 social residential units, completed in three phases. The existing housing blocks formed a continuous line of housing along Laurel Avenue, the new housing layout created 5 cul-de-sacs providing more intimate settings for the residents and reducing the possibilities for anti social behaviour. The mix of units included two storey houses and two storey apartments.

Programming
The demolition/construction sequence dictated that a number of the existing blocks were demolished at the start of each phase and the majority of the units programmed for that phase were constructed and handed over before commencing the next phase. This required thorough analysis of each of the underground services, to retain supply to the remaining houses and the surrounding area, and provide supply to the new units, whilst clearing service from the area of the next phase to facilitate construction of more units.

Storm Water Management
To comply with the SUDS requirements of the project and prevent rapid run-off entering the local storm water drainage system, it was necessary to attenuate the flow. However due to the lack of green areas for conventional attenuation methods, it was necessary to facilitate attenuation of the rainwater under the road of each cul-de-sac. A block paved surface was provided which allowed the rain to infiltrate through into a unique sub-base before being released in a controlled manner into the local storm sewer. The water leaving this system is cleaned by filtration and microbial action.