Century Park | Bristol

Client: Curo Group

Value: £16M

Services Provided: Feasibility, Concept Development, Planning Stage Design, Planning Application, Detailed Design, Construction Stage Support, Energy Strategy,

SAP Calculations, Principal Designer. RIBA Stages: 1-6

Development of 128 new homes in Bristol.

gcp worked up the initial feasibility concept for Century Park to support Curo Group in their successful bid to purchase the site from Bristol City Council. Key to this was providing a high-density housing solution without relying on apartments, to create a marketable and aff ordable development. The planning process was managed through local consultation, to ensure that Neighbourhood Planning objectives were met and that LPA policies on sustainability and low-carbon homes could be achieved economically. Detailed design included careful coordination of the site, landscape and engineering to ensure that the public space, re-routed cycle path and placemaking elements are maintained in the finished scheme.

Left: External spaces are carefully designed to form a welcoming family friendly neighbourhood

Below: Concept Masterplan

We challenged the original masterplan put forward by the council to propose a commercially viable alternative which responds more sensitively to the community’s needs and creates a welcoming neighbourhood to call home. gcp’s masterplan creates homezones accessed off a central spine road and responds to site constraints including noise from the motorway.

We believe external spaces are key to the establishment of community. Working to a restricted budget, we prioritised design of the public realm ensuring the development would be accessible, safe and durable. We developed a simple design language for the dwellings to create contemporary and attractive street scenes; focusing on proportions, simple brick detailing and features such as oriel windows.

Below: Larger homes bookend some of the terraces; gable windows help create a naturally safe neighbourhood. The design uses simple brick detailing to cost eff ectively animate the elevations.