This first phase comprises 30 factory-built homes, including the latest version of our established Town House product and our new Row House typology, which uses the same modular technology, but re-packaged in a smaller, more affordable format. Row House is a smaller, more affordable terraced house to complement our Town House range; uniquely designed to allow each size to sit next to any other, allowing varied street elevations to be created by customers’ choices.
15 three-storey Town Houses are arranged in a single straight terrace overlooking the docks, forming a combined elevation comparable to the warehouses that previously occupied the site. The houses and rear decks are raised above the level of the dockside public promenade to afford a degree of privacy to residents.
Perpendicular to the Town Houses are three parallel terraces of Row Houses between shared residents’ gardens, the outer two terraces enjoying oblique views to the dock through new public spaces at either side of the site. The arrangement of Town Houses helps to shelter the gardens from winds blowing in off the docks.
The Row Houses are finished in a bright red profiled metal sheet, referencing the dockside infrastructure of red cranes and bridges, and contrasting with the white glazed bricks of the Town Houses.
Town House offers purchasers the opportunity to choose from 18 plan layouts which can be configured to generate 54 different house types within a standard shell and envelope. Customers can configure their homes from 3 to 6 bedrooms, and from open plan to more traditional cellular arrangements. All share generous floor to floor heights and large windows for good daylight.
For Row House the emphasis is on allowing customers to choose any size of home on any plot. 2, 2.5 (with roof terrace) or 3 storey houses can be placed next to any other type in a terrace, creating varied streetscapes designed by purchasers. At Wirral Waters each of the three Row House terraces is in a different configuration adding interest to the streetscape. The two gable end houses nearest the docks have roof terraces with views to the water.
A compact plan and narrower width allows higher density development, but as with Town House, space standards are generous, windows large and environmental standard high. Inside, ground and first floor layouts are fixed, but purchasers can select from six different second floor layouts and roof terraces can be configured to either front or rear of the house to suit views and orientation. A flexible planning consent was achieved which defined a minimum and maximum building envelope; the ultimate height of each plot determined by customer choices.
Offsite fabrication has been integral to the success of Redbridge Quay and in particular the Town and Row House typologies. The kind of customer choice offered wouldn’t have been possible within the programme constraints of traditional construction methods.
Modular Methods of Construction (MMC) has been embraced by shedkm over the last 20 years, since our pioneering MoHo apartments. Our rigorous approach to design has been easily adaptable to a modular way of thinking. Now the twin issues of climate emergency and affordable housing need are bringing the potential of MMC to deliver speed, efficiency, choice and high environmental performance very much to the fore.
shedkm have an established track record in the pioneering use of MMC encompassing a wide range of different technologies. We have worked with over a dozen clients and manufacturers using different systems. This experience allows us to propose the most appropriate approach for each project, according to design aspirations and client priorities. We are already using new techniques which we hope will allow for even greater reach and impact.
