A number of social facilities in Lambeth were built in 1960’s and 1970’s, still in poor technical condition; Lambeth Council contends that homes suffer from damp and that design of some estates encourages crime. Poorly maintained social housing occurs throughout the whole area. The number of people waiting for social housing in Lambeth is also the highest in London. Whilst most boroughs have been seeing a fall in waiting lists for council housing, Lambeth has seen a rapid increase.
Lambeth also ranks as one of the worst boroughs in London for accessible open space. This has significant impacts on the health and wellbeing of local residents, as seen in the Co-op’s Community Wellbeing Index finding a direct correlation between proximity to green space and a community’s wider wellbeing score. This index includes factors such as a sense of equality, relationships with neighbours and local economy. Our project looked to address issues of the existing council house vernacular and lack of access to green space through the creation of a medium scale housing project and the creation of an urban park. Through iterative design work and programmatic exercises relating to individual clients an output was produced. The project looked to challenge the notion that density cannot be achieved alongside the creation of a community and open, green space. It also proved that sustainable house design can be achieved throughout the construction process and for ownership for all walks of a diverse client base.
Kamila Bochenska
Jobey Keene