In 2020, we were selected from a pool of over 80 applicants as winners of the Housing for a Better World Competition, launched by Brick by Brick. The competition sought bold and thought-provoking ideas for new homes, which could be rolled out by Croydon Council’s Development Company.  

Our winning scheme proposed alternative models for housing on Croydon’s linear shopping parades - accommodation often used to house minority groups with limited financial means. These homes typically do not meet current space standards, provide no external amenity, and are accessed via service yards used to store refuse. Our proposal seeks to address this malaise by demonstrating that alternative models of housing are possible, clearly illustrating how these locations can deliver high quality, generous and dignified new housing. We identified development opportunities along high streets by using GIS analysis to highlight under utilised plots, characterised by low floor area ratios. Having found a series of plots with similar characteristics, we developed a modular design response specifically calibrated to the physical constraints of these sites.

Layouts provide dual aspect accommodation within the confines of long and narrow plots, with amenity areas kept away from busy high streets. Accommodation exceeds national standards and provides additional storage and external amenity. Units are designed to utilise volumetric and/or panelised modular construction to deliver several benefits including lowering embodied carbon, maintaining quality and improving viability.