This project was one of two we submitted to the New Homes for Neighbourhoods competition, a small site strategy developed by Brighton & Hove City Council to unlock challenging sites within the City.
The building is conceived as a folly in a bucolic landscape: a white column or fragment of a ruin rises out of an overgrown garden of wild vegetation.
By pulling the building into the centre of the site, the surrounding garden is maximised and is intended to be contiguous with the surrounding gardens. Stacking the flats in the centre of the site maximises the number of units that might be constructed, and maintains the required separation from the surrounding houses. The base of the building also contains communal facilities: post boxes, bicycle store, storage and a shared room for community activities. The top of the building provides a roof terrace and barbecue area.
The two-bed flats are organised three per floor. Each flat has a dual aspect and small balcony.