Orchard housing scheme, Ovingdean

Location:Longhill Road - Ovingdea

Description:A sustainable developement of 4 courtyard houses.

Client:Home sussex Limited.

Approximate Cost:Confidential.

The Orchard housing scheme development, Ovingdean was granted planning consent in January 2022.

The project is formed of four, three bedroom detached court yard houses within a secluded woodland plot to the eastern district of Ovingdean.

The courtyard houses are constructed of local brick and larch timber which are traditionally domestic in their nature and are congruous to the surrounding residential neighbourhood. The use of materials respond to the change in levels found on the site, with brick being used predominantly at the lower level forming a solid base with some timber clad elements being introduced at the upper levels. A mixture of frameless and hardwood timber casement windows express the voids within the composition and are arranged to engender a sense of privacy whilst allowing the longer views of the woodland and extended landscape.

The steep topograpy of the site has informed the arrangement of floor plans so that the on the frontage of the houses they read as single storey but then drop down to reveal a hidden couryard and two storey element. The transition of scale is centered around a transparent circulation core to one end of the couryard.

The woodland setting provides an ecologically sensitive aspect to the site with sustainibility, biodiversity and ecologically enhansment featuring as design drivers. Key design features include:

• Landscaped buffers have been introduced to soften the edge between the garden ends of numbers 22-30 Longhill Road. One of these buffers is on the boundary consisting of a strip of hardy shrubs which will grow no higher than 2.5m. A second buffer has been introduced in front of the houses with a small tree to each of the front gardens. This improvement on the extant scheme will further articulate the row of houses creating interest and character as the landscaping matures.
• Swift boxes per dwelling will be placed at roof level to encourage biodiversity on site.
• Bee bricks per dwelling will be incorporated within the parapet walls adjoining the green roofs.
• Bat boxes per dwelling will be incorporated at roof level.
• The proposed planting scheme to the courtyard includes native shrubs and perennials.
• Hard landscaping has been minimised and free draining hoggin has been used for the primary shared driveway – it is an easy material to excavate should additional services be required and can be replaced without any wasted materials.
• We are proposing to adopt all opportunities for ecological enhancement; Wildlife planting, Wildflower areas, Log piles
• Each of the flat roofs will be covered in a green roof hidden behind a parapet wall and planted with sedum and wild grassess.
• External walls and glazing are highly insulated with a central Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) system providing effecient, sustainable heating and hot water throughout.

Orchard housing scheme, Ovingdean is now on-site and due for completion in spring 2023.

Computer Generated images by: https://www.curvedaxis.com/