Nettlefold Coachworks

Architect's Report

The project, for which planning permission was achieved on the first application, is located on a difficult, brown field, inner city site, alongside a railway track and to the rear of a five storey terrace on Knights’ Hill. It consists of a three-storey  development which provides nine flats, comprising six one-bedroom units and three two-bedroom units with refuse and recycling areas, cycle storage, and associated landscaping works.

There was a need to incorporate into the design methods to minimise overlooking and loss of privacy in the interests of the amenities of the occupiers of the neighbouring properties along the rear of an overlooking terrace, while ensuring the future residents of our project enjoyed their full level of amenities and facilities. This aspect was resolved by using translucent, fixed glazing panels on the east elevation facing the rear of the Knights’ Hill terrace.

The design idea at the centre of the project was to provide a small, screened, city garden courtyard which forms a focus for the communal, semi-public activities and amenities of the people who will be living there.

Dormer windows and small balconies were incorporated into the design to achieve additional light and space, to reduce the apparent bulk of the roof and to enliven the visual appearance of the building as a whole.