LOS IMPACTOS COMPARATIVOS

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The residential scheme at Accordia, Cambridge sites 378 new high quality mixed-tenure homes at a density of 47 dwellings per hectare. Although local residents initially opposed the proposals as overdevelopment, the successful extension of the character of the surrounding area and landscape has helped create a remarkable setting for this new development.

Individual villas, terraced houses and apartments are set amidst large open areas and mature trees making this higher density development feel unusually green. Generous open space for walking and play add to this character.

A range of house types designed by three different architects creates architectural variety. A clever play of height and massing within the overall landscape structure has made the scheme highly legible. A rich mix of high-quality materials has been used.

Brickwork and garage doors used in the affordable units match those of private housing. Large glazed openings have been used throughout the development to provide high levels of daylight and accommodate views of the surrounding landscape, as well as a means of unifying the different architectural parcels. Most homes are designed to Lifetime Homes standard and can therefore accommodate changing life patterns and future needs. This adaptability is achieved through the adoption of constructional techniques such as party walls with light steel frame infill and moveable partitions. Larger houses can be used for ‘live/work’ with the addition of cabling or use of rooms above garages. Accordia also scores well in terms of construction quality and building performance.

In 2008, Accordia won the RIBA Stirling Prize, the first housing development ever to win this prestigious award.

De Rokade, in Groningen, The Netherlands challenges the perception of how older people like to live. Recent publications by the Office for National Statistics

and The Lancet suggests that the number of over-60’s in the UK is projected to increase by 7 million in the next 25 years, and half of all babies born today are likely to live to be 100.

The HAPPI Report, published by the Homes and Communities Agency on behalf of CLG and Department of Health, responds to the challenges of meeting the needs of our increasingly ageing UK population. It makes a series of recommendations to reform future government housing policy. The report places good design at appropriate density firmly at the heart of our national response, to ensure the changes in demographics become a managed opportunity rather than a housing crisis.

The recommendations of the report were supported by the Chairman of HAPPI, Lord Best OBE, who said “Offering accommodation that has real appeal for the older age group actually helps the next generation. Homes designed with the older occupier in mind - attractive, light, spacious, accessible, manageable, inexpensive to heat and cool, alongside good neighbours - means freeing-up badly needed family homes.”

In developing its recommendations, the HAPPI Panel visited national and international examples of best practice to see first- hand what can be achieved.

One of the most inspirational projects was De Rokade, in Groningen, The Netherlands. The 21 storey iconic apartment building aimed at “younger seniors” provides 74 apartments in a cruciform plan form. Each home has an L-shaped plan with up to 115m2 _{of flexible space, offering plenty of natural light, cross-}

ventilation and outdoor space.

The building is the result of an international competition launched by the city of Groningen as part of its drive to increase density close to the city centre rather than allow suburban sprawl. It forms part of the Maartenshof continuing care facility; a new neighbourhood hub which provides for a range of care needs together with shops, restaurant, library, IT suite and crèche. This excellent example demonstrates that meeting the needs of older people can also help to rejuvenate a place by challenging the preconception that older people are best housed in low density traditional ‘bungalow’ typologies.

INTEGRATED DESIGN 2.4

2.4.4 Determining appropriate densities

Transects

Deciding exactly what counts as high or low density is relative. It depends on location. The transect approach provide a useful context.

A transect is a section drawn through a geographical area, from centre to edge. The term was originally coined by ecologists. The tool has been usefully applied in urban design to examine changing urban characteristics from city centre to edge of town. Few towns are concentric, so various transects for any town are likely to be different.

Mapping density profiles against transects can provide a useful insight into the characteristics of a town and help in setting density targets for new development.

Factors which might determine an appropriate density include:

• Surrounding built form – Height massing overlooking tall buildings. A transect approach will place higher densities in central locations and lower densities at the periphery.

• Capacity of facilities – The maximum number of people that can be served by facilities or the minimum number required to make a facility viable. • Housing types – The masterplan is best placed

to determine the types of housing. Market considerations can skew housing provision, however. For example, small units are currently most profitable.

• Need for different types of housing – Sizes, tenures, types.

• Density mix – If the site area is more than half a hectare, density bands showing gradations of density (as opposed to a flat density across the site) will be appropriate. The rationale for density bands is based on street hierarchy (higher densities along principal routes and lower densities along tertiary or minor routes); character areas and neighbourhood centres (a centre on a confluence of routes is likely to be able to support higher densities). If the site area is less than half a hectare, it will be appropriate to select particular types of building appropriate for the scale of the proposed development, based on that of adjoining areas.

2.4.5 Density and time

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Densities should not be fixed for all time. Development should be planned to enable densities to change in response to need. Cumulative densities change as areas evolve and mature. This capacity for change and intensification should be built into both the masterplan and, where possible, the design and construction of individual buildings.

Possible approaches include the concept of Lifetime Homes, where design and construction allow for easy adaptation to reflect users’ changing needs. Homes that allow conversion or expansion (through the use of a loft space, the reconfiguration of existing space to create different-sized rooms, or an expansion at the rear, side or upward) are likely to be more responsive to changes in social and demographic trends, and therefore be more sustained in their use. The inclusion of flexible homes which may be subdivided will help to increase densities incrementally.

KEY MESSAGES FOR SECTION 2.4

1 Higher densities can help to create successful places by supporting local businesses, services and facilities.

2 Higher density does not mean building tall. Good design can enable higher densities to be achieved using a range of building and layout types.

3 Higher density does not mean building smaller units. Generous space can be accommodated at higher densities through good design and a creative use of volume, light and outdoor space.

REFERENCES

1. www.east-thames.co.uk/highdensity

2. Higher Density Housing for families: a design and specification guide. 2004 London Housing Federation

3. Unaffordable Housing, Fables and Myths. 2005. Policy Exchange 4. Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing. 2006. CLG

2.5.1 Designing the public realm

2.5.2 Detailing the public realm

2.5.3 Making streets work harder

2.5.4 Designing for sustainable transport options

As the Manual for Streets1 _{states, while roads} are essentially ‘highways whose main function is accommodating the movement of motor traffic’, streets have several functions ‘of which the place function is the most important’. It is this place function that distinguishes streets from roads. Streets are not just for movement. The quality of this public realm can improve our quality of life and increase our desire to spend time in these places. How successful the public realm is will depend on how it meets a wide variety of users’ needs and how it fits with the surrounding area.

Streets also have other functions, principally movement, access and parking. Movement plays an important part in town centres. The traditional high street often accommodates cars, buses and parking, making uses viable while providing an attractive and convenient public realm. Many major new developments have applied lessons learned from the traditional high street to plan new neighbourhoods around such movement corridors, rather than promoting pedestrianised central areas.

Urban design has a major role to play in ensuring that streets are able to deliver each of these functions effectively.

2.5.1 Designing the public realm

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Particular attention has to be paid to ensuring that the public realm aspirations of a masterplan are successfully delivered. The checks below will predict the qualities of a proposed public space and whether it will be successful:

• Context – The position within the movement hierarchy will determine how intensively the space will be used.

• Activities bordering the space – Surrounding

land uses, plots widths and signs of life within the bordering buildings will affect how much life the space attracts. The edges are usually the most populated parts of a public space, as people seek niches from which to view passing activities.

• Activities within the space – Spaces should be

designed to accommodate a range of activities at different times of day or year.

• Microclimate – People seek out places that are

sheltered from the wind and can offer the prospect of sunshine with some shade for the hottest days.

• Scale – The scale needs to be appropriate to the intended function of the space. Bigger is not better. Over-sizing will result in a dull place with insufficient activity.

• Proportion – The degree of containment will

determine how well a space is defined. Any sense of place will be lost if there is too little containment.

• Objects within the space – Trees, changes in level

and public art provide places around which people can congregate.

• Management – Public realm requires coordinated

management to ensure that quality is maintained and places feel safe and secure (see section 5.1).

2.5.2 Detailing the public realm

The detail of the public realm will have a significant impact on the quality of the place. Effective coordination is needed from the design stage through to delivery and maintenance. There are currently around 25 agencies in the UK empowered to undertake works on streets, install equipment or give approvals. The challenge is to ensure that their requirements are met without the confusion and clutter that can diminish the sense of place.

INTEGRATED DESIGN 2.5

Rejuvenating a public space