The Harlow and Gilston Garden Town project’s mission is to enhance existing communities and create exciting new ones in and around Harlow. Working collaboratively with lead architects Figure/Ground, we were commissioned to prepare a masterplan for one of seven Essex villages.

The masterplan is organised around a clear street hierarchy and movement framework, with a new high street based on existing patterns of activity and bookended by civic and communal amenities. Developed in response to the distinctive topography of the site, our designs consider local plateaus and valleys to ensure green infrastructure is threaded through streets and spaces. Housing typologies are calibrated to respond to density requirements and the existing network of streets and established areas of vegetation.

The masterplan creates a residential led mixed-use development providing 1,500 new homes on a 120-ha site as well as flexible workspace, a health centre, a primary school, and community facilities. Streets and spaces are carefully orchestrated to integrate visually and physically with the surrounding countryside, ensuring the community is intrinsically rooted with place-specific character.