Melfield Gardens will provide 30 affordable homes for residents aged 55 and above, and two, four-bedroom homes for eight postgraduate students from a local university. In return for being ‘good neighbours’, the students will be charged a lower rent. Each will spend a number of hours assisting older residents, offering company or participating in the cultural and recreational activities that will take place in the communal spaces. As well as learning from this innovative social pilot, the client is keen to achieve a fully certified Passivhaus building as the first step towards a zero carbon future.
The Category 2 and 3 homes have adopted a dual aspect and flexible ‘one-bedroom-plus’ model that incorporates an additional ‘study/hobby room’ with a pocket door to allow it to become part of the main living space or remain separate. This provides residents with greater flexibility to tailor their homes to their own requirements as they age in place, in line with HAPPI principles.
The two subtly cranked buildings partially enclose a pedestrian-prioritised central green space which retains public routes through the site to Beckenham Hill Station. A shared, south-facing ‘garden room’ wraps around into the protected garden for residents and their visitors.
An intergenerational development for older people and students, with generous communal spaces, designed to a Passivhaus standard.