Today the clean lines and order of Georgian houses greatly appeals. Had the Georgians invented an efficient small motorized carriage, it is inconceivable that they would not have incorporated them into their architectural thinking.

Modern attempts to harness the efficiency of layout and repetition have often resulted in brutal dehumanising architecture. The reason for this is the loss of understanding as to how proportion can relate to utility.

Simplicity of vision simply requires less management.

Our design uses a footprint of 27 by 45.5 brick lengths. The width means that both piers and windows alike can be expressed in a simple 4.5 brick length dimension, ie about a metre which corresponding with access needs of Lifetime Homes Standards. This naturally allows symmetry of fenestration to the rooms and a comfortable three bay rhythm to the street.

Facades of Georgian houses were often ingeniously plain, with expensive detailing only placed at points of focus. A simple proportioning system was used based on human scale-related elements such as the brick. This in turn more comfortably generated the larger scale elements always ordered by a “ghost column”.

The use of FutureForm’s modular construction for the floor units is perfectly adaptable to this approach. By standardising floor to floor dimensions to 40 brick courses, the stairs can all be made to identical modules (two and a half courses to a rise). The FutureForm floor structures is accommodated within five vertical brick courses.

BRE’s recent guide “Site Layout planning for Daylight and Sunlight” explored an important if often neglected aspect of traditional terraced house planning. The street at its most efficient density is the same width as the height of the facades. However by increasing the height of the window on descending the building, the lighting efficiency is improved.

By separating the rear of the building by at least two façade heights then the daylighting can be achieved by the maximum angle of 22.5 degrees subtended to the sky.

Today technology has taken over the role of service, opening up higher standards of living for all of society. However the mechanical side of this technology requires substantially more space within the heart of the house. As this does not require daylighting, the centre of the house is the best location.

Digital technology is increasingly via telephone and thereafter wireless.

The motorcar takes up space not allowed for in our historic streets. It is also noisy and threatening to other users of the street. The opening and shutting of doors first thing in the morning can be disturbing to neighbours living in close proximity.

The solution in sites of high land value must be to put the occupants’ vehicle including push-bike alighting underground in an access beneath the street. Many services could be accommodated in this zone and left exposed for easy maintenance. This liberates the street and its formal façade for the use of occupants and their visitors as well as making surface easily serviceable. Alighting at the house, though a luxury does give access to its electrical supply for charging. At street level, we proposes a slightly courser raised surface naturally less convenient to use to use than the access roads perpendicular to them.

Each row of houses would be served by a single vehicle-hoist programmable by way of digital codes thus obviating the need for complicated parking restrictions and monitoring. There would be space within the underground system for some guest parking allocated on a fixed number of single use codes over the year.

The street itself can be restricted by a single rule of unloading only.

We propose installing a small passenger lift in every house. This would have great social benefit because it would be feasible to care for many elderly people in the homes of their children and allow several generations to live under one roof. It is the pay-off for building higher houses.

We propose a low water-temperature radiant under-floor heating system. The heat source could be changed as technology advances. We propose a renewable green fuel back-boiler in the living room.

Solar energy can be harvested from the large area of inward sloping roof at 22.5 degree pitch. Different orientation advantages can be exploited with this arrangement as well as a single collection point at the back of rainwater for harvesting.

All sanitary-ware has been designed to be serviced from a single wall with service void accessible by means of a removable panel. This means that it can be changed without the need for extensive re-plumbing or re-decorating.

© British Homes Awards |  Site design: LW design