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Location: Blandford Forum, Dorset, Blandford Forum DT11 9QF
Built: 2004
Designer: Blandford St Mary Homes (developers) / Morgan Carey (architect)
Type: suburban
Density: 37 homes per hectare
Parking ratio: 223%
A scheme where carriageways are wide enough to accommodate some on street parking to supplement good provision on plot. Building lines are generally close up to the wide roads to maintain enclosure, and there are a variety on plot treatments.
The strategy to create an intimate community of varied streets, skylines, and associated landscapes in this scheme reflects some principles implicit in relatively near neighbour, Poundbury - at least in relation to the latter’s first phase. Set on a sloping site, the street pattern is informally organised with footpaths permeating blocks, and two hub buildings; the first a tall rotunda at the entrance to the scheme, the second a so-called folly on a hammerhead near the apex of the hill. Throughout the scheme, materials are of good quality and include polychromatic brick, knapped flint and brick, stained shiplath boarding, and painted render. As at Poundbury, there is a mix of straighter, more formal streets, and those that curve out of sight. However, the lack of retail units and a major civic or landscaped space to focus the scheme create a very different effect.
There are two approaches to vehicle and pedestrian organisation. Entering the scheme, the street has no clear demarcation between pavement and street; multi coloured paviors are used with dropped kerbs and minimal definition of a zone separating the dwellings from the road. Elsewhere, blacktop is generally used, with conventional raised precast concrete kerbs and blacktop pavements; other carriageways are finished in herringbone patterned paviors, with traffic calmed by strips of ramped setts. Car parking in this development superficially uses similar solutions to Poundbury; a mixture of conventional on street parking, with garage and parking courts. However, a significant number of semi-detached houses have hardstandings by their side leading to single garages; conventional pressed panelled up and over doors are used to incongruous effect. In some cases, the hardstandings have a softwood pergola over; this is sometimes expressed as a single unit, in other cases, as a paired structure preceding the detached garages.
The garage courts are treated differently, in some cases with (effective) joinery detail reminiscent of inter war suburbia.
The development is comprised of 3 and 4 bed dwellings arranged in 2, 2.5 and 3 storey detached and semi detached houses
Plan showing location of case study within the wider development.
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On plot spaces between houses on right side of carriageway are supported with on street parking.
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Plan showing parking arrangement of on-plot treatment with integral garage.
Proceed with Caution! - Lack of visual contact between residents and their vehicles caused by over use of integral garages and lack of bay windows to compensate. Despite variety of finishes used elsewhere, hard-standings are bleak, lacking textural interest. More soft landscaping is desirable.
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Street is a cul-de-sac to cars but permeable to pedestrians and cycles.
Proceed with Caution! - Lack of visual contact between residents and their vehicles caused by over use of integral garages and lack of bay windows to compensate. Despite variety of finishes used elsewhere, hard-standings are bleak, lacking textural interest. More soft landscaping is desirable.
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Tightness of garages makes on street first choice.
Proceed with Caution! - Lack of visual contact between residents and their vehicles caused by over use of integral garages and lack of bay windows to compensate. Despite variety of finishes used elsewhere, hard-standings are bleak, lacking textural interest. More soft landscaping is desirable.
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Plan showing arrangement of on-plot port treatment with detached garage.
Proceed with Caution! - Depending on location, on street parking to narrower streets potentially creates visual and physical congestion, whilst ambiguous definitions of kerbs (sometimes within the same street) raises safety issues when vehicles are parked close to home.
Green Light! - Good visual contact between homes and vehicles. Arrangement lends animation to street scene, and provides a simple, effective solution to visitor parking. The combination of hard-standing and garage gives generous on plot provision, with the traditional virtues of convenience, accessibility, and storage.
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On street parking keeps the street active.
Proceed with Caution! - Depending on location, on street parking to narrower streets potentially creates visual and physical congestion, whilst ambiguous definitions of kerbs (sometimes within the same street) raises safety issues when vehicles are parked close to home.
Green Light! - Good visual contact between homes and vehicles. Arrangement lends animation to street scene, and provides a simple, effective solution to visitor parking. The combination of hard-standing and garage gives generous on plot provision, with the traditional virtues of convenience, accessibility, and storage.
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Unallocated bays on street.
Proceed with Caution! - Lack of visual contact between residents and their vehicles caused by over use of integral garages and lack of bay windows to compensate. Despite variety of finishes used elsewhere, hard-standings are bleak, lacking textural interest. More soft landscaping is desirable.
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Integral garages lead to relatively blank street level.
Proceed with Caution! - Lack of visual contact between residents and their vehicles caused by over use of integral garages and lack of bay windows to compensate. Despite variety of finishes used elsewhere, hard-standings are bleak, lacking textural interest. More soft landscaping is desirable.
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Garages are tucked deeper into plot.
Proceed with Caution! - Depending on location, on street parking to narrower streets potentially creates visual and physical congestion, whilst ambiguous definitions of kerbs (sometimes within the same street) raises safety issues when vehicles are parked close to home.
Green Light! - Good visual contact between homes and vehicles. Arrangement lends animation to street scene, and provides a simple, effective solution to visitor parking. The combination of hard-standing and garage gives generous on plot provision, with the traditional virtues of convenience, accessibility, and storage.
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Spaces are easily wide enough to accommodate most cars.
Proceed with Caution! - Depending on location, on street parking to narrower streets potentially creates visual and physical congestion, whilst ambiguous definitions of kerbs (sometimes within the same street) raises safety issues when vehicles are parked close to home.
Green Light! - Good visual contact between homes and vehicles. Arrangement lends animation to street scene, and provides a simple, effective solution to visitor parking. The combination of hard-standing and garage gives generous on plot provision, with the traditional virtues of convenience, accessibility, and storage.
Be the first to add a comment!
Car ports are constructed up to edge of pavement.
Proceed with Caution! - Depending on location, on street parking to narrower streets potentially creates visual and physical congestion, whilst ambiguous definitions of kerbs (sometimes within the same street) raises safety issues when vehicles are parked close to home.
Green Light! - Good visual contact between homes and vehicles. Arrangement lends animation to street scene, and provides a simple, effective solution to visitor parking. The combination of hard-standing and garage gives generous on plot provision, with the traditional virtues of convenience, accessibility, and storage.
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Space submitted by Sam Brown
15 October 2013