Housing • 23a Leyton Road

Quality retirement homes: nurturing social connections and enhancing wellbeing.

The project emerged as a response to the limited housing options available for older residents in Harpenden, in search of quality homes catering to their long-term needs. Together with our client Pegasus Life, our ambition was to meet the needs of an ageing population while delivering wider benefits to the local community.

Prevailing planning policy recommends locating older people in bungalows on the edge of town; we successfully resisted this in favour of a more inclusive scheme close to Harpenden’s high street. Allowing residents to remain close to the heart of their community where they can access local facilities and maintain their social networks – while also bringing a disused town centre site back into productive use.

Today, 23a Leyton Road provides 38 spacious, amenity-rich apartments for later living alongside a popular public café that brings in people of all ages every day alongside residents – enhancing the vibrancy of the development and fostering a wider sense of genuine community.

6 min walk to the town centre

Density Increase of 170% compared to extant scheme

5 new communal spaces including a publically accessible cafe

“I’d never seen scaffolders come for breakfast, sit next to pensioners with walking aids and mums with Bugaboos in the cafe of a newbuild resi scheme enjoying terrace overlooking town-centre park. It’s the perfect civic addition.”

David Birkbeck, Chair of the Housing Design Awards

Unlocking development potential

A highly sensitive site, on the edge of parkland, next to listed buildings and within a conservation area. The site had been unused for 14 years due to the fact that no developer had been able to bring forward a commercially viable scheme. At a density of 84 dwellings per hectare, our project yields three times more units compared to any previous proposals.

Achieving the required density relied on an innovative villa typology consisting of four dual-aspect apartments arranged around a communal atrium – allowing the villas to be located close to one another but staggered to define a range of external spaces with clear thresholds between them. In colder months residents can enjoy the green spaces from the comfort of the lobby spaces or overlook the garden from their living rooms, all of which will help with good cognitive function and reduce the effects of dementia.

“This proposal amounts to a significant public gain, which alongside the high level of architecture, the scheme’s design qualities, and the scale of other public benefits described, would demonstrably and significantly outweigh the less than substantial harm caused to the significance of the conservation area.”

Planning Inspector

Designing for independence and connection

Entering from Leyton Road, residents and visitors are drawn through a generously proportioned garden square which leads onto a communal lounge and cafeteria in the largest building. Loneliness is recognised as a major contributor to health problems in older people and so this area is vital for encouraging social activity and chance interactions.

The arrangement across the site is centred on legibility with all cores centrally located to ensure easy wayfinding. Apartments are dual-aspect with simple layouts and ample natural light and ventilation, as well as being easily adapted for future needs – such as allowing a care worked or family memeber to stay. This higher quality of retirement accommodation allows the elderly independence and connection—giving peace of mind to them and their loved ones.

Drawings

01 / 03

Typical apartment layout

Typical villa arrangement

Upper floor plan

Uniting new and existing communities

In addition to prioritising the wellbeing of users, our development makes a positive contribution to the town’s character and local economy. This is achieved through thoughtful material selection, recognisable architectural forms, and the inclusion of essential social infrastructure.

Leyton Road is characterised by gable ends and protruding dormer windows that animate the eaves line. The villas we’ve designed borrow heavily from the rich Arts & Crafts heritage of the town with highly articulated gable elevations and playful eaves lines. The introduction of publicly accessible health and event spaces, coupled with a new café, breath new life into adjacent green spaces while fostering connections between new and existing communities.

“The people are lovely and so friendly here. Everyone helps each other and it does feel like a community. No one is on their own.”

Adele, Resident

“It’s very quiet. Our upstairs neighbour is building an island and we haven’t heard a thing! The insulation is really good. We wanted somewhere nice, safe and convenient and this ticks all the boxes.”

Geoffrey, Resident

Winner

  • Inside Housing Development Awards 2019
  • Best Older People’s Housing Development Winner

Finalist

  • Housing Design Award 2019 Project Shortlisted

Client
Pegasus Lifestory

Status
Completed 2018

Location
Harpenden, Hertfordshire

Project Team
Jakob Spriestersbach
Tahera Rouf
James Hockey
Rosalind Peebles
Maria Saeki
Rhiarna Dhaliwal
Chris Scarffe
Tom Hart
Oscar Rodriguez
Phillip Gibb
Owen Jowett
Kishan San
Kaiyil Gnanakumaran
Tim Riley
Brett Mahon
Michael Pitman

Photography
Jakob Spriestersbach
Jim Stephenson

Related Projects

Hortsley, Seaford

Project list