Red Cow Terrace
Red Cow Terrace is a development of three
new homes near St Albans, which Office S&M secured planning permission for on a greenfield site in a conservation area.
The homes are located in Wheathampstead, an ancient village with many notable historic buildings that have influenced the design. The previously undeveloped site, historically known as Red Cow Field, is in a conservation area and surrounded by existing cottages which constrain the height of development. However, by capitalising on the natural slope of the site, which lowers by around two meters, the design achieves three floors while matching the height of its two storey neighbours. The top floor is hidden within the barn like form of the buildings, while benefitting from full length skylights and generous views across the village.
Meanwhile the challenge of retaining as many
trees as possible on site restricted the availability of land for development, while stringent
local planning policy on gardens, parking, and overlooking increased the demands on land. We carefully balanced these needs in order to successfully unlock the site by using an innovative stepped section and recessed ground floor that creates a sheltered entrance. This undercroft is clad in rich and reflective tiles to create a homely and private entrance with a durable finish.
Communal areas of the site provide planting, bin stores, and
a carefully graded access route. Additional native trees,
species rich hedgerows, and wildflower planting contribute to the biodiversity and future character of the site. Meanwhile roosting space for three different types of birds increases the wildlife on site.
The new homes have been designed to complement the listed buildings adjacent to the site in terms of detail and material. The designs reference the area’s historic character, making use of local forms such as chimneys, overhanging eaves, and undercrofts. Meanwhile, we riffed on medieval materials to combine richly coloured glazed tiles and burnt timber shingles to create something new. Dark materials for the upper parts of the homes – clad with shou sugi ban charred timber – reference the tarred boarding found in Wheathampstead, while stack bonded tiles create a durable plinth.
The new homes have been designed to complement the listed buildings adjacent to the site in terms of detail and material. The designs reference the area’s historic character, making use of local forms such as chimneys, overhanging eaves, and undercrofts. Meanwhile, we riffed on medieval materials to combine richly coloured glazed tiles and burnt timber shingles to create something new. Dark materials for the upper parts of the homes – clad with shou sugi ban charred timber – reference the tarred boarding found in Wheathampstead, while stack bonded tiles create a durable plinth.
“It’s been a pleasure
to work with Office S&M on this scheme. Red Cow Terrace was unlocked by their acute attention to detail and vision. The scheme reinterprets the local context with a quirky design twist, utilising high quality, sustainable materials. Their innovative approach will have a positive impact on the character of the conservation area.”
Gavin Sherman, Director, Linea Homes
A cohesive barn-like form unifies the terrace, again as a reference to local vernacular, but
each house has unique details, for example a column denoting the entrance to each home. The history of the site even carries through into the details of the proposal, with the doors and downpipes of the homes picked
out in Oxblood red, harking back to the name of the site.
Each home is in excess of 130m2, and designed to be flexible and futureproof, with a bathroom on each level and genrous built-in storage. A ground floor kitchen and dining room open on to the garden, and a separate living space on the first floor affords views over the trees beyond. The plot for each house includes parking for two cars, five bikes, and a garden of more than 70m2.
Office S&M is currently working on other schemes on backland sites, including Goldsmith Mews in the historic Kent village of Chalk – a development of four homes replacing a row of derelict garages to create a new mews. The practice also advises local councils on small site policy, with their projects serving as examples for the London boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Newham, and Croydon.
To read in more detail about how we deliver new homes for our developer clients, please click here.
Each home is in excess of 130m2, and designed to be flexible and futureproof, with a bathroom on each level and genrous built-in storage. A ground floor kitchen and dining room open on to the garden, and a separate living space on the first floor affords views over the trees beyond. The plot for each house includes parking for two cars, five bikes, and a garden of more than 70m2.
Office S&M is currently working on other schemes on backland sites, including Goldsmith Mews in the historic Kent village of Chalk – a development of four homes replacing a row of derelict garages to create a new mews. The practice also advises local councils on small site policy, with their projects serving as examples for the London boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Newham, and Croydon.
To read in more detail about how we deliver new homes for our developer clients, please click here.
Detail
Location: St AlbansProject: New terrace of three houses
Client: Linea Homes to planning and BSK Contractors to construction
Planning consented: 2022
Team
Architect: Office S&M ArchitectsExecutive Architect : Gavin Jones Architecture
Landscape architect: Guarda Landscape
Planning consultant: Grade Planning
Transport consultant: Ardent
Ecology consultant: Cherryfield Ecology
Arboriculturalist: David Clarke Landscape
Heritage consultant: Heritage Information Ltd
CGI: William Bryan
