Garland Court awarded design accolades
30 April 2008
Squaring the circle.
Left to right: Jonas Lencer of De Rijke Marsh the architects that designed the award winning Garland Court with resident Paolo Lacchini; Philip Marsh, Director of De Rijke Marsh and Valli van Zijl, Southern Housing Group's Regeneration Director at Paolo's home at Garcia Court. (29.4.08)
Garland Court (Wansey Street) at the Elephant and Castle was chosen by its developer and owner, Southern Housing Group's internal Design Panel, as its winning urban-housing design for 2007. The objective of the award scheme is to identify the best-designed schemes developed in the previous year that demonstrate the Group's commitment to good design in its broadest sense.
The judging criteria are appearance, context, sustainability, legibility and fitness for purpose. This award is the latest of a series of accolades awarding Garland Court for its innovative design. Its awards so far are:
Commendation from the American Institute of Architects London Excellence in Design Awards Programme 2007.
Commendation in the category of Affordable Housing Development of the Year by the Mail on Sunday British Homes Awards.
Garland Court's architects de Rijke Marsh Morgan Ltd won the Public Housing Architect of the Year category of the 2006 Building Design Architect of the Year Awards for its "unusual design using vivid colour for its series of interlocking apartments."
Finalist for the Best Housing Development Award by Grand Designs Magazine Awards.
Selected by New London Architecture to appear in its Des Res exhibition.
Southern Housing Group's Design Awards are held annually and this is the fourth event. The Design Panel comprises members of Southern Housing Group's Development Committee that includes two residents: David Kelly (who is also a Group Board Member) and Roy Mitchell who is a member of the Customer Services Committee.
Ms Valli van Zijl, Southern Housing Group's Regeneration Director and Design Champion says that the latest award for Garland Court was one of two developments across the Group that stood out from six short listed housing schemes out of 20 or so completed developments over the past year.
"Garland Court is an exemplary housing development design for the inner city and proof that we deliver on high-quality places for our residents to live. The other winning design is situated in a picturesque Kent village proving that Southern Housing Group is a design champion within the city and the country. Garland Court is a beacon of good design, functionality, security, accessibility to the extensive public transport system and maximisation of environmental considerations. It has rightly been recognised by Southern Housing Group's peers but ultimately it is the residents who are giving it a ringing endorsement," she said.
Paolo Lacchini was one of the first residents to move into Garland Court in October 2006. He is a former resident of the Heygate Estate that is being decanted prior to its demolition in 2009 to make way for the regeneration of the Elephant and Castle.
"The design at Garland Court is beautiful. I feel so lucky to live in this light and airy space. It is so quiet and I have a sense of peace; this is my dream home. What stands out for me is that the space has clearly been thought about. Beautiful high ceilings and the light too. It feels like you can breathe." he said.
Other resident Susie Thomas said: "It's so unusual. The modern design inside and outside makes it bright and clean. It's something I can be proud of."
Garland Court is the first completed, and fully occupied housing development, on land transferred from the London Borough of Southwark (created through its competitive processes) within the £1.5 billion Elephant and Castle regeneration zone. Southern Housing Group's development team worked with Heygate Estate residents and Elephant and Castle regeneration staff prior to, and throughout, the development on the detailed-design programme.
Valli added, "good and functional design is a fundamental consideration for Southern Housing Group when it is planning a development and in the case of Garland Court the focus was to minimise its environmental impact earning it an Eco Homes' Excellent Rating."
Philip Marsh, the lead architect on the project of De Rijke Marsh Morgan Ltd said: "Garland Court housing was intended by the London Borough of Southwark and Southern Housing Group to set a high standard for the Elephant and Castle's regeneration. The full pepper-potted mixture of tenure types at Garland Court was a key accomplishment that we believe contributes to more sustainable communities. We applaud Southern Housing Group for embracing these principles. The Eco Homes 'Excellent' rating also includes the application of innovative-building products despite the normally conservative Design and Build procurement route."
He added that: "While this scheme has previously been recognised with awards from the building industry it is the Registered Social Landlords who are the real experts in affordable housing. Southern Housing Group was willing to break the mould and explore a typology that fosters inclusion and creates identity. This award by Southern Housing Group's Design Panel is therefore particularly meaningful."
The development comprises four blocks, housing a total of 31 apartments with no differentiation between private and social housing. The development was over-subscribed and comprises a genuine-mixed tenure. There are 12 (affordable) rented apartments; seven that are shared ownership and 12 apartments that were sold on the open market (by Southern Space Ltd, the commercial-residential property arm of Southern Housing Group) and a commercial unit.
Mr Marsh said: "The zero turnover of residents in its first year is a testament to its success."
"The cost to build the development was £4.78 million and was not reliant on any government funding except for the donation of the nil-value land by the London Borough of Southwark. The flats that were sold on the open market were ring fenced to fund the affordable apartments," said Valli.
She said: "the apartments feature high standards of thermal and sound insulation, first-class finishing, cycle stores and south facing, floor-to-ceiling windows with adjustable sunscreens so that the rooms have plenty of natural light during winter and cool in the summer. The apartments are built to Life Time Homes Standard and their ground-breaking thermal and acoustic insulation is much better than Building Regulations' requirements and as a result residents benefit from affordable-utility bills and quieter homes."
Garland Court was praised for its clever use of a difficult site and the Southern Housing Group Design Panel views the awards as a reflection of Southern Housing Group's diverse activities and its dedication to quality development in both rural and urban areas. The awards also demonstrate our commitment to partnership with Southwark's Elephant and Castle Regeneration Team and Heygate residents in particular.
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For more information please contact Karen Bermingham Communications Team on 020 7553 6479
communications@shgroup.org.uk
www.shgroup.org.uk
Notes for Editors
Southwark Council is undertaking the complete regeneration of the ageing Elephant and Castle shopping centre and surrounding housing estates.
http://southwark.gov.uk/Public/NewsArticle.aspx?articleId=24453
Garland Court
The development is situated between Victorian-terraced houses and a Listed Council Building near the Elephant and Castle regeneration site. The development is a sound example of where an architect has effectively used a tight space. A former bomb site, it was used as Southwark Council’s staff car park and intensive preparation was needed before building works could begin. Excavation works included removal of tarmac; carrying out an unexploded bomb survey (no bombs were found) and the excavation of old cellars as well as the removal and treatment of an infestation of Japanese Knotweed.
31 flats in total
1 Commercial unit -Recently let
| 12 x units for rent (offered to Heygate Estate residents who were decanted as a result of the regeneration of the Elephant and Castle) |
4 x 1 bedroom
3 x 2 bedroom flats
5 x 3 bedroom flats |
|
7 x Affordable
(shared ownership) |
4 x 1 bedroom
2 x 2 bedroom
1 x 3 bedroom
|
|
| 12 x flats sold on the open market |
5 x 1 bedroom
4 x 2 bedroom
3 x 3 bedroom |
|
The scheme took 16 months to build with an in-situ concrete frame and high-quality and well insulated walls and cladding. Other features include:
Long-life 'Eternit' fibre-cement cladding in four-graded colours
Low-energy electrical sockets and lighting
Super efficient gas, combination condensing boilers
Water saving devices via thermostatically-controlled showers
Effective, silent pigeon-deterrent devices
Integrated digital/analogue/satellite TV reception
Sustainable timber flooring to all living areas
Video-entry phones and electronic gates
Most flats have south-facing access balconies or a roof terrace and there is an accessible communal garden featuring plants and shrubs that are suitable for the local climate and a water butt
Lift access to some flats including indirect mobility access to garden level
Car free and located adjacent to rail, Underground and buses
36 cycle spaces for 31 flats in a secure-cycle store
Southern Housing Group is one of Southern England's largest housing associations. Founded over 100 years ago, it owns and manages 24,000 homes for more than 66,000 residents, employing more than 800 people and working with more than 80 local authorities.
Its activities centre on four-key areas: the development of quality-affordable housing, housing and neighbourhood management, a range of rent and home ownership and social investment.
Southern Housing Group believes that building communities is as important as building homes. As well as developing and managing quality, affordable housing for rent and ownership, it invests considerable resources to provide an environment where people really want to live.
Southern Housing Group Limited is a Charitable Industrial and Provident Society No. 27412R.
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