Hamstead Hill, Birmingham

MADE Architecture began redevelopment of land between 27 and 29 with additional land stretching across the rear of numbers 29 and 31. The proposal was to provide five new dwellings on the land to the rear and a sixth dwelling to the front that would replace the existing but derelict garage.

The layout was a joint effort of design between MADE and the local authority. The layout had been configured to ensure that most, if not all, of the existing features, such as trees; streams; ponds; and wildlife habitat could be preserved.

It was important to ensure that the dwellings are not given a typical, continuous, and thereby bland elevation by making it the same height across the entire front. The design, therefore, incorporated both single and two-storey elements within the dwellings. To vary the heights further, each dwelling had a more appropriate reflection of the space within by allowing the function to dictate the form where appropriate.

Each home in the development was meticulously designed to avoid a sense of suburban mass, with variations of scale, height, and massing bringing immense visual interest to the scheme. Garages were discreetly tucked between façade features so as not to dominate the exterior while green flat roofs were employed to enhance biodiversity.