Project Information:

The proposed site is located 1 mile North East of central Cambridge, at the junction of Gilbert Road and Milton Road, opposite larger buildings such as the new Fellows House Apart Hotel and Cambridge Manor Nursing Home. Gilbert Road and Milton Road are characterised mostly by large detached and semi-detached dwellings with hip rooves and gable frontings.

The scheme is on the outskirts of central Cambridge opposite the new modernist Fellows House Aparthotel, but the local housing vernacular is more suburban. The properties on Gilbert Road resemble typical 1930’s semi-detached houses, presenting mock Tudor / Arts and Crafts features such as half-timbered gables, hip roofs, jettied dormer windows, recessed porches and arched doorways. From here we found inspiration to design a building with thoughtful brick detailing and prominent arches to relate to the suburban context.

The arch was a perpetual motif in the preliminary sketches, which were taken through to the final proposal. The building features double fronted gables, a modern take on the traditional gables in the area.
This contemporary interpretation of traditional features makes for a unique scheme worthy of the prominence of a street corner in Cambridge.