Warminster Road - Sheffield

Bullock were appointed by Guinness Northern Counties Limited to provide new accommodation at Warminster Road has been designed to meet the needs of 11 people with learning  disabilities who are having to move from a hostel recently closed down by the City Council. The support packages agreed to go into the properties will be more individualised and based around supported living principles (people will be tenants in their own right). The scheme was designed to have  minimum impact on the current residents and has been built on part of the site used by other services, meaning that people have not had to decant during construction. Building on the existing site has enabled people to maintain their existing community links as well as forging new ones.

The building creates a coherent and connected street   pattern and establishes a clear distinction between public and private space. It frames the street and the adjacent path with active building frontages. The scheme is broken down into small blocks which offer architectural variety and provides frequent entrances along the street. These are as low key and individual as possible. First floor flats have their own integral communal stair access. Bedrooms are situated to the rear of the unit with a central bathroom and an open plan dining/living area with seperate kitchen.

Access to communal gardens is through double doors in the living area at ground floor. First floor living rooms have a ‘juliet balcony’ where possible. Contemporary design details and modern fenestration compliment the traditional hipped roof and gable features and the proposed mix of render and facing brickwork successfully break down of the scale of the building and respect the local context.

The accommodation has been designed to meet Lifetime Homes, Building for Life and Secured by Design. It also meets Code for Sustainable Homes Level 3 and incorporates Photo-Voltaic Panels and Air source heat pumps.