Deeley Construction assisted Housing 21 in its delivery of their flagship cohousing scheme.
Cohousing is a scheme whereby Housing 21 created a local residents group from local people in Birmingham’s Lozells, Aston and Handsworth areas. They designed a purpose-built community development for them to then go on and live in.
The scheme included a common house area with a kitchen and open space, where the community could come together to cook and eat; as well as space for activities such as yoga.
The scheme comprised of 25 one- and two-bedroom apartments which were available for social rent, including a residents’ lounge/ multi-faith room, landscaped communal garden, parking and an allotment area for residents to grow their own vegetables.
The build was a traditional structure with two and three storey elements across a sloping site. Due to the nature of the site there were multiple levels throughout the building, including a four metre retaining wall.
Architecturally, there were masonry arches, brise solei metalwork and pressed metal features which make this building stand out and are true to the initial design aspirations of the residents working group. Heating to the apartments is provided by electric panel heaters and water storage units, with built-in Air Source Heat Pumps to generate the hot water. In addition to this, one gas hub was featured in the communal kitchen to cater specifically for South East Asian cooking.
Tony Tench, Deputy Chief Executive:
“Cohousing represents a major breakthrough in the future of housing provision by giving people more choice and control of their future home, as well as creating a sense of community amongst the residents who will come together to bring their vision to life. This is about more than providing a quality property for people to live in; it’s about creating a community of older people that is integrated with the wider community of Lozells.”
Two Stage Tender:
The Co-Housing project is one of the first of its kind in England with Housing 21 and Triangle Architects both feeding into UK national groups. Upon being appointed after a competitive Stage One tender, Deeley Construction engaged the design team to provide costings and buildability advice.
The features of the building were not traditional and therefore quite bespoke. However, via engagements with the supply chain, features specified by the resident working group were retained in the final design – for example, Taylor Maxwell were brought to the table to create the masonry arches. A metal lintel with brick slip system tied in was able create the design whilst saving the necessity for pre-cast pieces which would have needed a police-escorted crane delivered to a tight site.
The images above were taken pre-handover.