Feilden Clegg Bradley's philosophy in approaching their concept proposal included three elements:

1. Community. By providing a density and scale of development which will sustain carbon neutral energy provision and reinforce the need for an integrated transportation system our proposal aims to meaningfully establish physical and ecological links back into the communities defined by the Thames Gateway.
By providing a density and scale of development which will sustain carbon neutral energy provision and reinforce the need for an integrated transportation system our proposal aims to meaningfully establish physical and ecological links back into the communities defined by the Thames Gateway.
2. Steel. Our proposal aims to utilize the latent strength of a monocoque structural approach to generate both economic manufacturing and constructional solutions whilst also generating greater three dimensional spatial opportunities. Complementing this robust armature oriels and balconies will further add to this kit of parts.
Our proposal aims to utilize the latent strength of a monocoque structural approach to generate both economic manufacturing and constructional solutions whilst also generating greater three dimensional spatial opportunities. Complementing this robust armature oriels and balconies will further add to this kit of parts.
3. Living. Sustainability for the whole environment, social and economic will be addressed through a wide range of factors from the provision of safe and accessible environ-ments to ensuring occupants optimize the use of resources on and off the site.
Sustainability for the whole environment, social and economic will be addressed through a wide range of factors from the provision of safe and accessible environ-ments to ensuring occupants optimize the use of resources on and off the site.

The scheme

Lifted 1m above street level, the site is equally divided by two parallel lanes running north south. Access to this upper level is achieved by steps, a ramp or lifts. Linking the two lanes is an intimate courtyard onto which the community building can spill out to provide a safe focus to the development.

At opposite corners of the site, lifts are provided to resolve the change in level due to flooding restraints, give access to the car club disabled parking and stores in the basement and the micro flats and one and two bedroom flats in the towers above.

Houses

The houses follow two basic forms, one with a deep threshold and the other with virtually no threshold. This reflects the need for privacy at the upper levels. Accessed directly from the lanes, these houses are formed from two rectangular modules set at right angles and stacked one on top of the other. The upper level is paired with its neighbour to form a bridging element above the entrance. The entrance sequence gives access directly into the houses while also offering covered routes to recycling and cycle stores from the private garden side and also directly from the lane.

At the lower level the living areas all look directly onto a garden where fruit and vegetables could be grown. The covered area giving access to the external storage also provides a natural area for covered children's play areas and a small conservatory.

The accommodation at the upper levels is divided into two zones, serviced and served. The served module houses the bathrooms and stairwell with the served bedroom spaces having the opportunity to be divided in a number of configurations.

From the upper level a terrace has been provided above the living room to allow gardens to be used in a safely supervised flexible manner as fits the diverse activities within any family unit.

The houses have been placed in such a way as to minimize overlooking and the oriel windows have been orientated to maximise light levels with metal screens being integrated into their design to ensure privacy to the upper rooms.

Flats and micro flats

The flats and micro flats have been placed in towers positioned and sized to maximise light levels within the site and mitigate overshadowing to adjacent developments. The flats have been arranged in a similar manner to the houses with serviced and served modules being used to form both the one and two bedroom flats.

The micro flats offer an intermediate scale of accommodation allowing private ownership to younger individuals ensuring a healthy social mix. The micro flats are paired around the vertical circulation in each core with direct access to the basement where secure cycle and general stores have been provided for all the accommodation types.

Each tower has its own reception and recycling storage. Adjacent to each tower would be located a power plant or dry room (which would use any excess heat from the heat and power plant for drying).

Shared facilities

A communal building has been provided for nursery provision with a secure play area on an upper level deck or a communal meeting room with a limited number of office spaces available above. The office space could be used to house a green caretaker who would oversee the scheme and car club's general management.

Construction

The modules are lightweight steel frame with a welded stressed skin forming a rigid monocoque structural element. Typically the accommodation is comprised of a serviced (A) and a served modules (B). The serviced element contains the bathrooms and vertical circulation whilst the served modules are intended to provide the flexible living accommodation. The external envelope (C) utilises the steel skin as the weathering surface with a timber frame and plasterboard inner skin forming the acoustic and thermal insulation. The ground floor build up (D) is a suspended timber floor over an insulated concrete floor formed directly into the module. The roof structure (E) uses the steel module as a permanent shuttering onto which a concrete roof is cast providing thermal mass. On top of this would be both areas of sedum and brown roofing.