Terraced Houses, 60 Trumpington Road, Cambridge
A row of four new three storey terraced houses, each stepping back from one another, facing on to a busy road. The form, massing and choice of external materials create a striking addition to the streetscape.
Trumpington Road is one of the main routes into Cambridge. To the north is a detached cottage with its gable end along the boundary. This building is set back from the busy road behind a band of trees and landscaping. Along the south boundary is a narrow private lane leading to a row of small terraced houses. Immediately adjacent the site along this lane is a house with its gable end against the footway of Trumpington Road.
The design is a response to these boundary constraints. Each house steps back from the next creating a series of stepped forms which negotiate the building lines of the neighbouring houses. The roofs run perpendicular to the street, forming gabled frontages which reflect the existing house on the south boundary. These roof forms, clad in zinc, contain second floor bedrooms and are detached from each other along the terrace. This reduces the massing of each house and together with the stepped set-backs allows each house to read as a separate form, of a scale which reflects the adjacent cottages. The high level gables facing the street are glazed to take in the views across open fields. Between each gable is a glass box which brings daylight deep into the plan and illuminates the staircase and circulation areas of each house.
Brick bicycle stores with green sedum roofs separate the immediate frontages between each house. Between the parking and the road is a layer of trees and planting, and similar planted areas separate the parking from the houses. This layering between public and private spaces creates a series of defensible spaces between the front doors and the busy road.
The houses are timber frame, manufactured off-site to reduce the impact of the construction on the constrained site and which will significantly reduce the carbon footprint (embodied energy) of the buildings. Each house has high levels of insulation and airtightness, with mechanically ventilated heat recovery, air source heat pumps and photovoltaic panels on the roof. With these measures the predicted energy use of the homes will be equivalent to Passivhaus standard.
This is a reinvention of the traditional terraced house, incorporating car parking provision, ample bicycle and bin storage, all set around a shared front court which will foster a sense of community for the new residents.
Photos by Richard Fraser
Interiors by KOBO 10
