Crocodile Works Bid Oct 2006 - axisdesigncollective.comaxisdesigncollective.com/wp-content/files/AxisDesignProjectsOct2006.pdf · AXIS DESIGN COLLECTIVE BLURTON, Stoke on Trent 2005—2006

A X IS DE S IGN COL LE CT IV E

Project archive

Axis Design Collective Crosby Court

28 George Street Birmingham B3 1QG

http://axisdesigncollective.com


Project examples:

The following pages lis t examples of projects in more detail. Listed chronologically , starting with the most recent, we begin with some sam-ples of liv e projects currently on the drawing board. • Affordable Housing Explorations • Orientation Sensitiv e Hou sing • ‘Saw Tooth’ Eco housing Followed by an archive of past projects • BLURTON: Stoke on Trent 2005—2006 • NORMACOT: Stoke on Trent 2005—2006 • COALVILLE: Stoke on Trent 2004—present • BEAUMONT LEYS: Leicester 2004—present • UPTON: Northampton (site B) 2004 • CHATHAM ROAD: Northfield, Birmingham 2002—present • TUTTLE HILL : Camp Hill, Nuneaton 2002—2005 • EGGHILL ESTATE: Birmingham 2000—2004 • BRANDWOOD END: Birmingham 2000—present • THE LYNG: West Bromwich 2000—2004 • CASTLE VALE HAT: Castle Vale, Birmingham 1995—2003 Further information on all these projects can also be found on our web site.


Affordable Housing Explorations

High density affordable housing

Part of our continued exploration into Arts and Crafts housing, this courtyard arrangement is inspired by a group of properties design by Bed-

ford Tyler in the Bournville area of Birmingham.

High density , affordable housing providing ten 2 bedroom units within the linear space usually

consumed by 4 semi detached properties.

Due to be delivered as part of an upcoming phase at Brandwood End, Kings Heath; this pro-ject takes part in the national debate about housing density , affordability , keyworker provi-sion and the recently rediscovered appreciation of the suburbs.


Orientation Sensitive Housing

Tower House

Developed initially as part of our submission to the 60k house competition, this house is a con-ventional floor template which has been rotated to suit a range of house sizes from 3 to 5 bed-room. Rotated tower provides orientation sensi-tivi ty, views and surveillance up and down the

street and local landmarking

Woolf House

Designed for an environmentally conscious cli-ent on a difficult site, the Wool f House embraces the complicated pressures of orientation, local vernacular, privacy, life style and energy use to provide an innovative but contextually sensitive house design. A spli t level arrangement accom-modates the di fficult contours of the si te and natural ventilation is provided through the care-

ful placing of circulation.

South West facing green house space filters natural light into the deep plan and keeps the main views out of the building facing towards the nearby allotments. More info available on web site: http://axisdesigncollective.com/2006/06/21/diagrams/


Chevron Eco housing Responding to a tight site and an exemplar 'green' agenda this innovative house design pays careful attention to orientation and the need to control solar gain. All fenestration faces south-east and south-west, avoiding the likelihood of excessive heat loss to the north or excessive heat gain (a key issue in the latest building regulations) to the south. Careful internal planning ensures simple ser-vices delivery and the alternating roof planes on each unit allow us to easily accomodate level changes and create a central light/ventilation channel . Numerous renewable energy solutions are being investigated. Ecohomes 'Excellent' standard is to be achieved.


BLURTON, Stoke on Trent 2005—2006

Axis Design were appointed by Aspire Housing to provide consultation and masterplanning ser-vices for an estate of approximately 3500 house-holds. Alongside the standard methods of enquiry we provided a custom built web site to enhance the reach of the consul tation process. Developed in unison with face to face public events, the web si te provided a forum for both the appraisal of issues and publication of design proposals in order to receive votes. The proposals that form the final report put for-ward to Renew North Staffordshire range from si te specific residential and commercial inter-ventions, to area wide initiatives for community support roles. Computer hardware was provided to the resi-dent groups as an endowment to the communi-ties future. Input from hard to reach groups such as the youth community was sought by overseeing a photography competition that encouraged com-mentary through images.

web address: http://blurtonvision.co.uk


NORMACOT, Stoke on Trent 2005—2006

Axis Design were appointed by Beth Johnson Group to undertake a consultation and master-planning role for General Renewal Area of ap-proximately 200 households. Alongside the standard methods of enquiry we provided a basic web site using ’off-the-shelf’ IT solutions to enhance the reach of the consulta-tion process. Developed in unison with face to face public events, the web si te provided a forum for both the appraisal of issues and publication of design proposals in order to receive votes. The proposals that form the final report put for-ward to Renew North Staffordshire range from si te specific residential and commercial inter-ventions, to area wide initiatives for community support roles. Input from hard to reach groups such as the youth community was sought by overseeing a photography competition that encouraged com-mentary through images. Door to door deliveries of newsletters, mail-shots and postal voting was used to ensure a greater degree of participation from residents. web address: http://normacotvision.co.uk


COALVILLE, Stoke on Trent 2004—present

Axis design were appointed by the Coalville Partnership in January 2004 after winning the competitive tender for the remodelling of the estate consisting of 400 coal board houses dating from the 1950’s. Axis undertook a programme of intensive community consultation with local residents which included setting up a dedicated residents website and running a neighbourhood office on the estate, along with open days and regular newsletters. The concept plan drawn up for Coalville involves substantial stock clearance, the formation of an extensive linear park, SUDS and the construction of approx 200 new houses. The objective is to create a positive vision for a future Coalville which will be a high quality , desirable, mixed tenure residential area with wider housing choice to attract house buyers from a range of income groups. Axis also coordinated a partnership simulation day for key players and organizations to provide a framework for the delivery of the project based on a 5—year attainment plan .


BEAUMONT LEYS Leicester

2004—Present Axis successfully bid for the redevelopment of this housing estate in Leicester which incorporated selective demolition and the construction of 134 new mixed tenure properties comprising bungalows, flats and houses, along with extensive landscaping and reconfiguring of the existing road network. The site presented significant challenges in respect of topography and the relationship between built form and the external environment, and required careful planning in order to provide a successful cohesion of the urban environment. Axis worked closely with Lovell Partnerships, Leicester City Council Housing Department and Touchstone Housing Association to develop a portfolio of house types that could be reconfigured to suit a variety of needs and the demographics of the area.


UPTON Northampton—site B 2004

The brief for this second phase of the new urban village at Upton Northamptonshire called for a high density mixed use urban quarter combining flats and townhouses within a clear hierarchy of urban spaces. The layout combines main street frontages with winding lanes and mews, consistent with the local village vernacular and carefully sited landmark buildings to provide edge identity to the village. An extensive sustainability agenda called for energy efficient houses combined with a layout responding to passive solar criteria maximising sunlight and minimising overshadowing. The entire village project will feature a SUDS including balancing ponds and streets lined with swales. Our submission sought to maximise such features as part of the leisure and play strategy on this phase. The elevational treatment of the buildings drew from both the rural and industrial heri tage of the county, combining a variety of window styles and masonry finishes to suit the grandeur of main street and the informality of the back lanes. The Axis submission was made in partnership with Lovell Partnership Ltd and Wardell Armstrong Environmental Engineers.


CHATHAM ROAD: Northfield, Birmingham,

2002—present Axis is working with Birmingham Housing Dept & Touchstone Housing Association on this project. Chatham Road involves the demolition of the majority of existing Smiths housing, with the retention of 14 dwellings. Approximately 65 dwellings will be new build with a mixed tenure allocation, whilst a 60 bed Extra Care scheme is also planned on the site. The proposals incorporate a new road layout including a Home Zone link from east to west which the residents are keen to see happen. During the consultation process Axis Design took the decision to present the scheme through computerised 3D modelling, a process that residents have traditionally treated with caution. However the Chatham Road residents and local EDG embraced the results because the facility for multiple v iewpoints helped communicate the scheme to the wider community, ev en down to showing the v iews from your own front window and fly ing through it to v isit y our neighbours!


TUTTLE HILL : Camp Hill, Nuneaton 2002—2005

Axis acted as architectural and urban design consultants for Lovell Partnerships and together won the competition to be involved in phase 1 of this Urban Villages Initiativ e. The project, supported by the Princes Foundation, Advantage West Midlands, Touchstone Housing Association and Pride in Camphill involves the construction of 172 homes of mixed tenure including three storey townhouses and bungalow accommodation. The proposed housing is arranged in high density housing courts with rear parking areas accessed from a pattern of shared surfaces and home zones. The layout includes the creation of a new avenue linking to the Camphill Village Centre across the Dingle, a linear recreational walkway on the southern edge of the site. A proposed sustainable drainage sy stem uses Retention tanks to control discharges into the Dingle and the mains drainage sy stem. The architectural form and identity of Tuttle Hill seeks to recreate the best of local v ernacular and the v illages of middle England.


EGGHILL ESTATE 2000—2004

Axis produced a masterplan for the rebuilding of the Egghill Estate in south Birmingham, an estate of 560 dwellings built in the 50s and 60s. Working from an office in an empty ground floor flat, Axis carried out consultation with residents which leading to an agreed masterplan for new dwellings, road layout, open space, and proposed commercial uses. The role of the masterplan is to prov ide a locally supported and reliable framework within which each part of the new development will fit ensuring the creation of a unified whole. The plan includes proposals for a new Neighbourhood park and a commercial/business Park based on ecological design principles to ensure a sensitiv e fit within the existing topography and surrounding housing. Locally based youth workers and community artists were involved with Egghill’s y oung people in a project about change and the future shaping of their env ironment, including a new Neighbourhood Park.


BRANDWOOD END: Birmingham 2000—present

A 1950’s estate of some 250 Smiths houses being redeveloped in association with Waterloo Housing Association, Birmingham City Council and the local resident’s Estate Development Group. The new homes are being built in phases and the brief is quite simply to recreate the Arts & Crafts residential and environmental quali ties of Bournville Village within modern social housing regulations. Axis were appointed as the master planners and have continued their involvement in the project by designing and detailing the early phases of houses and bungalows. Many of the house types are spli t level to maximise the use of existing topography and reduce the export of spoil from the site. The master plan included a number of sustainabili ty measures including low energy construction, living in the roof proposals, wildlife conservation measures and a sustainable drainage system including rainwater recycling and storage, part of which feeds an established allotment site within the development to remove their dependency on metered mains supply.


THE LYNG: West Bromwich 2000—2004

Axis in association with Beazer Partnerships, now Kier Partnerships, won the competition to create a new urban quarter for the Lyng. Working closely with the Lyng Community As-sociation and Sandwell MBC the design evolved as a distinctive high density group of housing courts arranged within a street pattern of ave-nues and shared surface streets. The appear-ance of the new Lyng was intended to be in con-trast to its local context. Axis invited the LCA to become involved in an attitude scaling process which was used to clearly establish whether the design proposals created by us were successfully inter-preting local residents views about the metro-politan, high quality , urban housing image which they all wished to see. After two attempts at the process the perspective drawings were judged to be 85% successful across 12 attitude scales which in-cluded friendly/unfriendly, attractive/ ugly , us/them and liked/disliked. The first phase of 47 houses and flats has just completed on site.


CASTLE VALE HAT 1995—2003

Axis have worked on the Castle Vale estate since 1995 on a number of projects from area based, Neighbourhood Strategy consultative design to the detailed design of houses, flats and bungalows. On both the Sopwith Croft and Watton Green areas we worked from a locally based neighbourhood design office meeting with local residents on an almost daily basis as we formulated the plans for their local areas. In both neighbourhoods we worked from the basis of large scale physical models which evolved as the consultation process moved to a consensus. The 200, or so, homes Axis designed for the people of Castle Vale have all demonstrated our commitment to extending tenant choice to match, or exceed, the private market. In addition to a wide range of house types numerous internal plan variations and interior design options were available. The tenants on Sopwith Croft were involved in a computer based customisation exercise which allowed them to spend 500 points across 30 customising options.

Documents

Crocodile Works Bid Oct 2006 - axisdesigncollective.comaxisdesigncollective.com/wp-content/files/AxisDesignProjectsOct2006.pdf · AXIS DESIGN COLLECTIVE BLURTON, Stoke on Trent 2005—2006