House by Urban Splash create a manifesto for the future of housebuilding

Dezeen promotion: new neighbourhoods should prioritise nature and support local enterprises according to a manifesto written by modern modular housebuilder, House by Urban Splash.

The manifesto called Live Well by Design is a blueprint for the future of housing. It sets out ten core tenets of urban design that are vital for the creation of sustainable communities and future neighbourhoods and forms their commitment to design, wellbeing, choice and sustainability.

The document includes pledges to build houses that are tailored to individual needs and to create green neighbourhoods that encourage healthy routines and activities such as walking and cycling that make it easier to live a low carbon lifestyle.

House by Urban Splash has created a manifesto called Live Well by Design

Established in 2019, House by Urban Splash is part of the Urban Splash family of property companies. It builds architect-designed factory-created, modular houses using low carbon and sustainable materials.

"This manifesto is our public commitment as a company to everything we believe in as a values led organisation," Orla McGrath, the brand's marketing director, told Dezeen.

"We believe homes should be the happiest place in the world, and to create that we must think beyond four walls, to the wider neighbourhood, and the idea of community and belonging," she continued.

"I knew we needed to articulate this as its important for House, as a fast-growing company, to set out very clearly what we stand for. That's how we will become truly synonymous with our values and engrain them into everything we do."

Housing in Port Loop follows the ideals in the manifesto

Before the official launch of House last year, Urban Splash had been developing modular houses since 2012 when the company teamed with Liverpool-based architects ShedKM to create its first prototype.

The two-storey, factory-created homes were installed at Urban Splash's neighbourhood in New Islington, Manchester.

The company launched the product to the market in 2016, offering buyers a completely customisable home installed by the canal within minutes of Manchester city centre.

House by Urban Splash is developing modular homes

Now with the backing of Homes England, the government's housing accelerator, and Japanese company Sekisui House – the world's largest homebuilder, House by Urban Splash has ambitions to become one of the UK's top ten housebuilders within the next ten years.

It hopes to do this by changing the way that new homes and communities are conceived, created and delivered in the UK.

One of the key aspects the team wanted to address was the lack of choice available in the UK's new housing market, and this is outlined in Live Well by Design.

"In a lot of new developments you can choose from a set of basic house types with set layouts," explained McGrath.

"But at House you can tell us exactly how you want to lay it out and we build it for you. You choose how much space you need, how many rooms, how big and which way round. Our team are able to deliver homes for all different types of lifestyles."

Sustainable homes have been built in cities across the UK

A lack of emphasis on neighbourhood design and the community was another issue that the team identified within new housing developments in the UK.

The manifesto states the importance of amenities such as parks, schools, health centres, independent shops and cafes, and talks about how they are essential to building a sense of community.

"Through our charitable trust we can support community projects and local enterprise so that things that make a difference in the life of a neighbourhood are rooted in the neighbourhood and delivered by local people for local people," it reads.

Port Loop in Birmingham contains numerous open green spaces

The company is already building homes at Port Loop in Birmingham, New Islington in Manchester and Northstowe in Cambridgeshire, with future neighbourhoods planned for the Wirrall, Milton Keynes, and Cambridge.

McGrath said that Port Loop, a 43-acre waterside neighbourhood in Birmingham with over 1,000 homes, and New Islington, a modern village in Manchester city centre, embody everything in the Live Well by Design manifesto.

These developments have ample open green space and connections to water. Residents are able to walk or cycle to work through these spaces and small local businesses are integrated into the neighbourhood plan.

At New Islington in Manchester 31 per cent of the homes are affordable while at Inholm at the new town of Northstowe in Cambridgeshire, 60 per cent of the homes in the entire neighbourhood are affordable.

In total, the Port Loop development contains over 1,000 homes

Going forward McGrath expects that the manifesto will evolve.

"For now we're using it as a blueprint to help us bid for new sites and to tell people what our intention is," she explained. "We can use it as a design code when we start working with an architect to masterplan a new site."

"We will use it as an evaluation tool to ensure that we have delivered on what we promised and that our neighbourhoods live up to our high standards. Crucially, it will also show potential customers how we've set ourselves apart from other volume housebuilders."

Read more about Live Well by Design on House by Urban Splash's website.

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Gus Wüstemann Architects tops barn-like home with overhanging roof

A large overhanging roof stands above this house that Gus Wüstemann Architects designed in the village of Buchberg, Switzerland.

Wüstemann adapted the form and materiality of the local gabled farm buildings that surround the Swiss village, near Zurich, to create a four-bedroom home that has a concrete frame and a wooden roof.

"We transformed the traditional wooden structure of a barn into a skeleton of concrete with a wooden roof, giving wider dimensions with less structural height," explained Gus Wüstemann, founder of Gus Wüstemann Architects.

An open-plan kitchen is located on the ground floor

A spacious, open-plan kitchen and dining room, which is sheltered under the large gabled roof, occupies almost the entirety of the ground floor.

A series of retractable glass panels can be moved to open up the space to create what the architect describes as a pavilion-like feel.

It can be opened up onto a terrace

"The concept was to have a gable roof covering an open ground floor of which half of it is outside space, like a barn, so in the summer the living area doubles," Wüstemann told Dezeen.

"When all the wooden sliding windows are open, it feels as there is only a roof, like a pavilion."

The studio described the space as pavilion-like

Separated from the open-plan kitchen by a staircase is a smaller living room that has a built-in concrete fireplace and window seat.

These stairs lead down to the basement, which contains a garage and study, and up to the four bedrooms that are contained within the roof space.

The living room has a concrete fire place

Throughout the project, Gus Wüstemann Architects limited the finishes to a combination of raw concrete and timber.

According to the studio, these materials help to give the building a more barn-like aesthetic and reduce the feeling of domesticity.

The upper floor is finished with wood

"The rawness and pragmatism of just having the two materials wood and concrete refers to a simple, almost industrial aesthetic of a barn. It's a reference to craftsmanship, how is it made," explained Wüsteman.

"The absence of residential connotations leaves more freedom for experiencing space."

Bedrooms are located in the roof

Although the majority of the ground floor is concrete, Wüsteman doesn't believe that this gives the house a cold feeling.

"I never felt a combination of concrete and wood could be cold," he said. "Obviously people react differently and sometimes we have prejudices because of things we were told."

"The photos were taken on a foggy day in the fall – maybe the picture of the house taken from the street could give that impression, concrete and fog – melancholic," he continued.

The house is located in the village of Buchberg

Wüstemann founded his Zurich-based studio in 1997 and has completed numerous projects in the city. These include an affordable apartment block almost entirely from concrete, dividing a 19th-century building into nine flats and using raw concrete to create a home and poolhouse overlooking Lake Zurich.

Photography is by Bruno Helbling.

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Project credits:

Architect: Gus Wüstemann Architects
Team: Bianca Kilian, Daniel Pelach, Panagiota Sarantinoudi
Civil engineer: Born Partner
HLSK planner: Frei + Partner
Building physicists: Gartenmann Engineering AG

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Meditation chambers by Office Of Things wash workers in colourful light

Fuschia, violet and indigo lighting envelops users of these meditation chambers that multidisciplinary studio Office Of Things has designed specifically for workspaces.

The chambers come as part of the Immersive Spaces Series, an ongoing research project by Office of Things which explores how employees can benefit from having calming rooms of refuge within their places of work.

The chambers designed by Office of Things allow workers to sit in peace and quiet

So far, a total of five chambers have been created, all of which are installed in YouTube or Google offices across San Francisco's Bay Area.

The first chamber was fitted in an office in 2017 and since then the studio has taken on user feedback and tinkered with lighting and sound components to foster ultra-comforting, "womb-like" spaces.

Coloured lighting features on the chambers' ceilings

In their latest incarnation, the chambers are split into three parts, which the studio refers to as The Entry, The Ground and The Sky.

Workers gain access to the chambers via The Entry, a narrow walkway that works to "shed the literal and figurative noise of the office and outside world".

Inside the chambers is The Ground, a landscape of curving, fabric-upholstered partitions, cushioned benches and plump floor cushions which can be leant against or laid down on.

Workers can gaze up at The Sky, a series of illuminated panels on the ceilings of the chambers which typically glow deep shades of blue, purple, red or pink.

Partition walls inside the chambers are upholstered in soft fabric

The panels in each chamber are different in form – some are domed, while others are punctuated with amorphous openings or swoop upwards in an arch shape.

"In contrast to the office, these chambers feel both surreal and sublime," concluded the studio.

Office of Things believes that meditative spaces in the office are becoming more relevant than ever – particularly after 2020, when many of us have had to work from home due to the coronavirus pandemic.

There are also cushioned bench seats inside the chambers

"The pandemic has brought to the fore the toll of work-generated stress on our mental health," said the studio, which is based in Brooklyn, New York.

"For those with the fortune to work from home, the encroachment of work into our personal lives has further blurred the boundaries between the two," it continued. "If anything, working from home has shown us that a sustainable working life includes the space for physical and mental health throughout the day."

"As companies implement return to office strategies, the stresses of social distancing and general uncertainty risks leaving workers without mental health support," the studio concluded.

Several businesses – both pre and post-pandemic – have made moves to include calming spaces for staff inside offices.

The Santa Monica headquarters of wellness brand Goop, for example, contains yoga rooms, while the Kyiv offices of software company Grammarly has its own nap pods.

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Moxon Architects builds a remote studio in the Scottish Highlands

British studio Moxon Architects has used huge lengths of Douglas fir to construct its new studio building on the edge of a Scottish national park.

Overlooking the Cairngorms National Park, the office occupies a former quarry site, which most recently was used as a tip.

Quarry Studios sits on the edge of the Cairngorms National Park

Moxon Architects founder Ben Addy saw the potential to transform this wasted site into a building that complements the natural landscape, and also takes advantage of its scenic outlook.

The building he and his team designed and built, Quarry Studios, does exactly that. It is built from simple materials – locally sourced timber, cast concrete and stone gabion walls – and features large windows overlooking the highland countryside.

Concrete chimneys anchor both the studio building and a cafe

"The disused quarry was only a short walk away from our previous space," explained Addy, "and it kept playing on the mind."

"It was a fascinating prospect – a brownfield site that had been used as a tip but it was surrounded by spectacularly beautiful ancient woodland," he told Dezeen.

"In addition, the topography was highly three dimensional with a characteristic bowl cut into the landform, yet there was perfectly level access to the public footpath and highway. It seemed the ideal site for a secluded and yet highly accessible workplace."

The buildings are constructed around a hybrid timber and steel structure

Moxon Architects was originally based in London only, but Addy set up a second studio in rural Scotland in 2012. Initially, it was just a satellite studio, but it has grown over time to become as large as the London office.

This new base for the Scottish team provides studio space for 25 members of staff, plus a cafe where they can eat lunch together, which is also open to the public.

A wall of interlocking Douglas fir beams connects the two buildings

These two activities are housed in a pair of separate, single-storey buildings, both with hybrid steel and timber frames, timber-clad walls and mono-pitched sheet-metal roofs, and both anchored by cast concrete chimneys.

A sheltered colonnade links to the two buildings, interrupting the otherwise rectilinear layout of the floor plans. Its backdrop is a wall of interlocking Douglas fir beams, which continue inside the buildings and integrates seating elements.

Clerestory windows allow north light to filter into the workspace from above, and visually connect the space with a roof terrace overhead.

This timber wall continues into the studio interior

The project also involved re-establishing the site's landscaping, protecting the native silver birch trees and planting new juniper seedlings. A new wetland area was created too, as part of a natural drainage system for rainwater.

A ground source heat pump, connected to a 250-metre borehole, satisfies all the building's heating requirements.

Clerestory windows provide north light for the workspace

Moxon Architects is now able to use its studio to attract new staff to relocate to this remote location. Addy said the team like having the opportunity to take walks in the countryside on their lunch breaks.

"The hills, nature and above all space, combined with identical salary bands across the practice and a workload that is not so different from colleagues in London, mean that the location brings as many advantages as it does apparent drawbacks," he said.

A cafe building allows the team to eat lunch together

Following the Covid-19 lockdowns enforced all over the country, Addy even found that staff in Scotland were more keen to return to the office than those in London.

"None of us recognise the 'death of the office' widely proclaimed during the summer," he said.

"Here we have more space to experiment, layout models/drawings, collaborate more effectively and socialise. In a sense we have brought the some of the experience of working in an urban-based practice to a very rural location."

The cafe is also open to the public

Other projects that Moxon Architects has completed in the Scottish Highlands include a restored granite farmhouse and a grass-roofed cabin.

Photography is by Timothy Soar.

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Project credits:

Client: Moxon Architects
Architect: Moxon Architects
Executive architect: Moxon Architects
Main contractor: Tor Contracting, Moxon Architects
Structural engineer: Graeme Craig Consulting Engineer
QS/cost consultant: Moxon Architects
Other consultants: George Watt + Stewart Architects (CDM Coordinators)

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Dezeen's top 10 US architecture projects of 2020

We're continuing our review of the year with the top 10 US architecture projects of 2020. They include David Adjaye's pink-concrete store,  SOM's museum for the United States Army and MAD's first project in America.

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National Museum of the United States Army, Virginia by SOM

The National Museum of the United States Army is a monolithic building with a mirrored steel exterior reflecting its surrounds in the bucolic Fort Belvoir Military Installation in Virginia.

Designed by SOM, it is the first in America dedicated to the country's oldest military service.

Find out more about National Museum of the United States Army ›

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The Webster, California by David Adjaye

For this store for fashion retailer The Webster, David Adjaye's first project in California, the architect chose curved pink-tinted concrete walls to contrast the brutalist-style Beverly Center above.

Pink also continues throughout the interior in the form of curving walls that enclose the changing rooms, concrete display plinths and concrete columns that punctuate the space.

Find out more about The Webster ›

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One Thousand Museum, Florida by Zaha Hadid Architects

A private aquatic centre and a helipad are included in the One Thousand Museum, which is one of the last buildings designed by late architect Zaha Hadid.

The 62-storey residential tower has glass facades encased by a curvaceous "exoskeleton" that comprises 5,000 pieces of lightweight glass-fibre-reinforced concrete.

Find out more about One Thousand Museum ›

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Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, Oklahoma by Rand Eliot Architecture

Nearly 17,000 extruded aluminium fins cover the Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, designed by Rand Eliot Architecture, and form a zigzagging roofline.

Intended as a new landmark for the city, the building is located just north of the historic Automobile Alley and replaces the contemporary museum's original home at Oklahoma City's State Fair Park.

Find out more about Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center ›

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US Olympic and Paralympic Museum, Colorado by Diller Scofidio + Renfro

US firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro created the twisted US Olympic and Paralympic Museum in Colorado this year, with the aim to make it one of the most accessible buildings in the world.

The museum, which is composed of four aluminium-clad volumes, is arranged so visitors ascend to the top level of the museum by elevator and gradually move through the galleries on a wide, spiralling ramp.

Find out more about US Olympic and Paralympic Museum ›

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Gardenhouse, California by MAD

Chinese firm MAD completed its first US project this year: the Gardenhouse residential building in Beverly Hills.

It is designed to look like a village with 18 gabled houses that are set atop a three-storey podium covered in plants – making it the "largest living wall" in US, according to the studio.

Find out more about Gardenhouse ›

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Eighty Seven Park, Florida by Renzo Piano

Italian architect Renzo Piano's oval-shaped condominium tower, which is wrapped in terraces, opened on the waterfront in Miami Beach, Florida.

Elevated on white pillars, the rounded Eighty Seven Park totals 18-storeys offering residences views of the Atlantic Ocean.

Find out more about Eighty Seven Park ›

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Powerhouse, Wisconsin by Studio Gang

Having first unveiled its plans to convert a decommissioned power plant in Wisconsin into new facilities for Beloit College six years ago, Studio Gang completed the project this year.

The 100-year-old plant building, which is located between the campus of the arts college and Rock River in Beloit, was updated to include a fitness centre and a gymnasium with an elevated three-lane track.

Find out more about Powerhouse ›

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Nancy and Rich Kinder Building, Texas by Steven Holl Architects

Curvy roofs "imagined from cloud circles" top the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building, which US firm Steven Holl completed as part of a major campus redesign for the Museum of Fine Arts Houston.

The walls of the museums are wrapped with translucent glass tubes to contrast existing buildings on site, like the adjacent transparent glass and steel building by Mies van der Rohe and an opaque stone building by Rafael Moneo.

Find out more about Nancy and Rich Kinder Building ›

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Seattle Asian Art Museum, Washington State by LMN Architects

American studio LMN Architects renovated and expanded the 1930s, art deco-style Seattle Asian Art Museum.

Making sure to preserve "the architectural legacy of the historic building", the firm chose glass, steel and concrete for the extension. Facades were restored and new glass was installed in windows of the existing building.

Find out more about the Seattle Asian Art Museum ›

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