Affordable Housing
Midland Road Urban Village
Collective Ground Floor
The courtyard can accommodate group activities, with corners associated to each plot, smaller in scale with shared furniture. Private gardens buffer the ground floor residents from the courtyard activity.
The positioning of the collective hub adds spatial complexity to the courtyard, bringing intimacy and ensuring you can’t see everything at once. For children, this complexity offers a range of territories suitable for different kinds of play.
Location
Midland Road, Bristol, UK
Clients
Brighter Places
Status
Design
Midland Road is a 100% affordable development that creates a “village” which fosters a sense of belonging.
This project is underpinned by creating a sense of belonging and we define our approach to this as ‘gentle pragmatism’. We balance density and scale by dividing the site into 4 plots, upon which 5 buildings stand - each with their own identity, entrance, and boundary. These provide residents with key reference points to create a feeling of home, belonging, and ownership. Occupants can easily get to know their neighbours - with no more than 14 flats per core. This approach encourages residents to manage, maintain, or even collectively own their building. Each can evolve, grow, or adapt with different ownership and tenure types coexisting within - creating long term socio-economic diversity.