Southwold

Social Housing

Hastoe Housing Association asked us to come up with an exciting new concept for a proposed development in the Suffolk coastal town of Southwold.  Southwold has a varied architectural history and is a mixture of vernacular styles with some recent contemporary flourishes to some prominent areas. The site sits on the edge of the town overlooking the golf course to the small harbour and sea beyond.

The design brief required a mix of housing and flats which were space efficient on site and sat comfortably on the sloping site.

An early concept for the scheme used the beach hut as a recognisable icon reworked in a contemporary vernacular form to compliment the local area.  The final scheme which had the blessing of the town council followed Georgian style architectural inspiration from the main high street, which was felt to better compliment Southwolds heritage. The scheme was passed with unanimous support from the planning committee.

The dwellings were set out in an L shaped terrace to address the street and magnificent views towards the coast. We maximised the green open space around the dwellings and by setting them back softened their impact upon the street while also fronting the dwellings opposite, and creating off street parking and defensible spaces.