We were commissioned by Catton Homes to design a high quality development acting as a gateway to Harpenden from Lower Luton Road, Batford. The proposed site will compliment not just the historic surrounding context but also the new school buildings opposite. It will replace an ugly and introverted industrial building and enhance this important corner. Modern Mill Site Interpretation The proposal is sympathetic in materials, forms and heights. However the scheme is also contemporary in its detailing and fenestration. An appropriate 21st century interpretation of a mill site. We envisage a larger scale apartment block to the west, with a row of townhouses running along the northern boundary and two more on the south eastern corner. Two small retail units are located under the apartment building, providing active frontage at ground floor. This provides an interesting mixed development, with varying scales of building related to the surrounding context. A Sensitive Stepped Approach We have developed a sensitive massing model that relates sympathetically to the various surrounding buildings and picks up on the vernacular forms present. There are three building types highlighted within the massing - yellow being the two storey houses, green the three storey townhouses and blue the apartment building. Active Street Frontage The apartment building offers a strong street frontage, which gives active retail space at ground floor. This is expressed by a concrete base that relates to the neighbouring mill building. Robust and Simple Detailing We are interested in taking as inspiration from the local context and re-interpreting these elements and materials in a contemporary manner. There are a number of local architectural elements that inspired us for our own new facades such as: pitched roofs, use of red brick and an expressed base to the buildings. Inspired by Industrial Mill Buildings The apartment building has larger openings than the houses, which reflects the scale of the building and is inspired by its industrial neighbour and past. Black timber panels sit next to the fixed glazing and are openable to provide ventilation. The architecture of the apartment building offers a ‘base’, ‘middle’ and ‘top’ as per classical doctrine and makes it a well-balanced facade. The textures of brick and timber work well together and produce an appealing mix of materials that are appropriate to the context. Deep reveals provide contrasting light and shadow and help animate the facade. Greening the site In contrast to the existing site condition of hard surfacing (mainly tarmac and concrete) the proposal seeks to add significant soft landscaping to the site. Generous gardens are at the rear of every townhouse and shared amenity space is included alongside the apartment building. Appropriate Scale and Articulation The scale of the houses along Crabtree Lane are appropriate to the road and how each house is articulated. The traditional garden walls offer privacy and a material consistency around the development. Blind windows offer texture and interest to the otherwise blank flank walls.