History of the site

The site was formally part of the Imperial Tobacco offices and factory in Hartcliffe, Bristol. Located just off Hartcliffe Way, a major access route into Bristol, the area is now known as Imperial Retail Park and Lakeshore. Persimmon Homes’ Imperial Park forms part of the residential element of a mixed use, retail-led, regeneration scheme.

The project

The Noble Consultancy were engaged by the client to design a residential development in a contemporary style incorporating a range of two and three bed homes.  During the design process careful consideration was to be given to the surrounding dwellings, existing vegetation and very strong landscape features already in place.

The development includes 82 plots with a mixture of 2 and 3 bed houses and 1 and 2 bed apartments with 15% of the new homes proposed to be affordable housing.

The design process

The client was in receipt of ownership on a section of land on the wider Imperial Park site.   The Noble Consultancy were tasked with developing a design process to encompass the drafting of feasibility sketches right through to delivering full Planning Permission for the development.

Feasibility sketches were drawn for approval prior to the full Planning Application being submitted which included layout design, house and apartment design using the client’s standard house type product.  These designs incorporated re-elevation with the aim of creating residential dwellings of the 21^st century.  Elegant and contemporary styles were designed to create a place that is both distinctive and individual rather than reproducing previous local vernacular.

The Planning Application was prepared by members of the design team, working closely with external parties such as the civil engineers and landscape architects.

Project challenges

Ensuring very efficient land use given the constraints from the topography from the land and adjacent land usages.

Conclusion

 A development that enhances the local area and creates a positive legacy for the future.