Housing • Hortsley, Seaford

Joyful, active and community-based: a new standard of later living in the heart of Seaford.

Hidden behind the high street of bustling coastal town Seaford is Hortsley, a vibrant and award-winning development of 38 quality homes for the elderly.

Designed for connection and wellbeing, every detail of Hortsley puts human need first. A shared wintergallery, communal garden and thoughtful layout encourage chance encounters and physical activity, while its central location allows residents easy access to supermarkets, seaside walks, and public transport. Hortsley’s flats are spacious and flexible, designed to adapt to occupant’s needs and provide both comfort and independence.

With social isolation and loneliness on the rise, Hortsley offers a glimpse of a better future, one where the elderly can remain engaged members of their community: staying active, exploring new hobbies and forming meaningful connections well into old age.

5 minute walking distance from the nearest high street

87% appreciated the design emphasis on social interaction

Staggered gallery means 6 immediate neighbours to talk to

"You make friendships within the development, which is really very nice"

Sheila, resident

Tackling loneliness in later life

Social isolation and loneliness are two of the leading causes of health decline in the UK. According to Age UK, more than a million people in England over the age of 75 go over a month without speaking to a friends, family member or neighbour. Meanwhile, the UK is facing the worst housing crisis in a generation.

Quality later living developments can provide a meaningful solution to these challenges, having a transformative effect on the quality of residents’ later life while also freeing up larger properties for families in need of a home.

Hortsley is an exemplar of how, even on a small site with a modest budget, hugely successful developments of this nature are possible.

"I open the front door and within a short time I'm seeing my friends and neighbours."

Alasdair, resident

Designing for connection

One of Hortsley’s defining features is its wintergallery. Spanning the building’s four floors, the area provides a budget solution for both shared amenity and air circulation. Stepping outside their front door, residents immediately enter a bright, airy shared space which blurs the boundary between home and neighbourhood.

Somewhere to sit and have a morning coffee, or just to watch the world go by, the wintergallery provides a natural setting for chance encounters and daily small talk between residents. It’s in these spaces, and these moments, where community and connection are built.

 

 

Drawings

01 / 03

Typical apartment layouts, single bedroom (top) and two-bedroom (bottom)

Typical upper floor plan

Axonometric of typical one-bedroom apartment

"We've got our little community here but there is a surrounding community... and I'm getting to know people outside."

Brian, resident

Challenging convention

One of the challenges we faced with Hortsley’s was getting approval for its location. The proposal directly opposed a Local Plan which states that later living residences belong outside the town centre.

Pegasus Life felt strongly that this central location was right for the development, believing it presented an opportunity to empower the elderly to maintain an independent and active lifestyle, and engage in the community.

Thankfully, after going to appeal, we won this decision and it has proven to be a success not only for the residents, but also for the surrounding businesses and community.

 

 

 

Winner

  • Housing Design Awards 2019 (Built) – HAPPI Winner
  • Sussex Heritage Trust Awards 2019 (Large-Scale Residential) – Winner

Finalist

  • Housing Design Awards 2019 – HAPPI Winner
  • Sussex Heritage Trust Awards 2019 (Large Scale Residential) – Winner
  • Architects’ Journal Architecture Awards 2018 – Shortlisted

"During COVID the wintergallery was a godsend, it meant you could go outside in the corridor and see other people, and sit with your neighbours."

Geoff, resident

"Architecture sits at the interface between the individual, their community and the public as a whole. If we are to have any hope of solving the housing crisis, we need more buildings like Hortsley that embody this ethos.”

Owen Hopkins, Architects' Journal

Client
Pegasus Lifestory

Status
Completed 2018

Location
Seaford, East Sussex

Project Team
Michael Pitman
Brett Mahon
Phillip Gibb
James Hockey
Owen Jowett
Edwin Veth
Russell Curtis
Tim Riley

Photography
Jakob Spriestersbach

Video
Jim Stephenson

Related Project

The Wyldewoods

Project list