- Architecture
- Masterplanning
- Urban Design
- Landscape Architecture
- Interior Design
- Town Planning
- Project Management
- Environmental Services
St James Urban Village
Date: 2005
Regeneration.
Client: Wilson Connolly Midlands Ltd
St James Urban Village, consisting of over 400 houses and apartments in the centre of Northampton, stands out because of a 128-metre high lift tower that dominates the site and is retained in the area’s regeneration. The tower was formerly used to test lifts and is listed due to the unusual continuous pour concrete technique that was used in its construction.
Not unexpectedly, the tower acts as the focal point at the heart of the village’s regeneration. The redevelopment of the streets and courtyards around the tower is designed to be pedestrian-friendly, including play areas for children. The design, in the form of a series of interconnected shared use streets punctuated by ‘places’ at junctions, articulates the layout and provides a naturally traffic calmed environment - design principles which were taken from the government publication, ‘Places Streets and Movements’, which PRP contributed to.
The high density layout of two and three storey housing and apartments has become an exemplar of what has become one of the most successful approaches to urban developments. This scheme has been awarded three prestigious ‘What House?’ awards including a gold award in the ‘Best Future Homes’ category.