Identity & Design
We understand how important it is to give a new community it’s own identity and not look just like any other housing development, but also to ensure that the chosen design compliments the existing local area.
The designs for Kings Warren aim to create a real sense of place and identity for the community, making it an attractive and pleasant place to live in or near.
There are a number of ways this will be achieved, including:
Character zones
Kings Warren will be made up of clear character zones, enabling residents and visitors to relate to their surroundings and navigate the development. The zones will be created by introducing different types of urban space, building forms and materials, but with overall cohesion across the whole development. Existing tree belts will also be used to distinguish between different zones and the use of the existing distinctive tree belts will help to retain continuity with the past.
Urban spaces
A range of urban spaces such as will be provided within Kings Warren to give a ‘sense of place’ to the development and add variety to the environment. Spaces will be contained by continuous lines of buildings, and connected by roads, cycleways and footpaths to provide a continuously changing visual experience.
Punctuation
Kings Warren will be appropriately ‘punctuated’ with distinctive buildings to give visual interest and identifiable points within the development e.g. at the entrance to the site or at an important intersection.
Edges
‘Edge development’ uses houses to form natural boundaries to public areas. At kings Warren, edge development will be used on the outer fringe of the residential area and opposite open spaces. Houses will face outwards to avoid residents having to look directly over sheds, conservatories, washing lines and other items found in rear gardens. Similarly, houses will front onto open space. This will provide attractive views for the residents and, for those people using the open space, the buildings will create a clear and well-defined boundary softened by planting. This will also create natural surveillance over open spaces and a safer environment for people of all ages to enjoy.
Landmarks
Kings Warren will feature several landmark buildings to make the development easier to navigate. These will take the form of distinctive buildings or other features of local interest.
Building Design
The designs of the buildings within Kings Warren will follow the accepted rules of architecture (be to a human scale, well-proportioned etc), will fit in well with other local styles and will comply with the principles of the Suffolk Design Guide The structural and architectural features will emphasise the character of the materials used and traditional methods of construction.
There will be a variety of house types together with a range of building heights and roofscapes, with mixed use of chimneys and variations in roof-pitches to provide visual interest.
Meters for water, electricity, gas and other services will where possible not be attached to the fronts of houses, and instead will visually blend in with the buildings materials. Any aerials and satellite dishes will be sited to minimize the impact on the external appearance of buildings.
