New Homes for Neighbourhoods

The ‘New Homes for Neighbourhoods’ Programme was launched by Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC) to test the viability of providing new housing on small brown-field sites owned by the local authority. The RIBA ran a competition on behalf of BHCC to test new and innovative forms of community-minded housing within a budget of £1,700 per square meter.

Our shortlisted proposal was to create a ‘convivial community’: one that is organised around a series of ‘formal’ and ‘informal’ shared community spaces for residents to share and enjoy. These external shared spaces can be accessed by existing and new residents alike and become a place for play and relaxation that enable the long-term development of a convivial community.

Chalk Tops
The design of the houses is conceived as a series of irregularly-shaped ‘Chalk Hats’ that sit sculpturally on the site. Each home is positioned in a different rotation and orientation, gently stepping down the site in order to create a nimble, permeable and dynamic ensemble of homes.

Using the language of Brighton’s indigenous sub-strata, the buildings are built from off-white bricks with smooth mortar giving the impression of a textured, chalk-like form within which openings for windows and doors are punched. The white face of the material helps provide a sense of luminosity to the homes.

A Cluster of Homes
The new homes work around a series of complex site constraints that include a sharp gradient as well as having to maintain access to the garages around the perimeter of the site. The irregular-shaped family homes are organised as clusters around these constraints and the shared community spaces.

The arrangement also provides for flexibility in orientation and outlook to avoid overlooking neighbouring properties. The houses sit on top of the existing landscape levels minimising excavation into the chalk sub-strata and providing small pockets of ‘defensible’ private outside space for each home.

A Shared Terrain
The culture of traditional timber fences and back gardens are foregone for high quality and useable external community space: a shared terrain. The site is connected with a series of shared surfaces and a gravel surface connects ‘green’ community spaces with paved surfaces leading to the garages. Each home has a tree and a south-facing terrace with a view over the Downs: features which help root the homes in their wider context and maintain a sense of privacy between homes and garages.

A Home-made home
The new homes are conceived as blank canvases for new residents to grow into with minimal partitions, and fittings. The ground floor contains free-flow living space with access to outside space and natural surveillance over the community spaces. The first floor provides bedrooms and the second floor provides a ‘free’ room: a space that could be a bedroom, a playroom, a space to work from home or just a place to look at the stars. The design enables the tenant to customise their home.