In 2011 an enabling master plan was approved for the development of the King Edward VII estate near Midhurst in West Sussex.

In 2018 NBA were appointed to master plan a retirement community composed on three separate plots within the original scheme.

Concept sketch showing the sunpath and its impact on the proposed extent of amenity space to the apartment buildings

Concept sketch for the look of the typical accommodation block

Acting in a triangular configuration within the overall development the proposed scheme of 112 apartments and cottages were combined with the existing Chapel building to create a retirement village.

The Grade II Listed Chapel, am early design by famed London Underground architect Richard Holden, acted as a central amenities building to the age restricted independent living units on Kings Green East and the Superintendents Drive Site.

Site sections showing the slope and the way the apartment buildings look over one another

Located within the overall 400 units on the site of the original King Edward VII tuberculoses Sanitorium constructed in 1934 the aged living scheme contributed to add an important mix to the provision of residential accommodation.

It also helped to assure the restoration and long term use of what was the significant removal of the listed building from the ‘at risk’ register.

The scheme proposed by NBA within the South Downs national park (SDNP) was founded fundamentally on the analysis of the sites existing landscapes context.

Existing pathways for both pedestrians and local wildlife were identified and extended across the schemes master plan.

High quality landscaping was a key feature of the design located within a National Park

Collaborating extensively with landscape consultants HusskisonBrown the scheme composed of a series of landscaped gardens surrounded by pavilion style buildings within a parkland setting. A tree canopy of indigenous species to the National Park integrates the gardens into the cleared tree plantation plots on the estate.

Plans and sections show the typical layout and composition of the apartment buildings

Care was taken to retain the pitched roof characteristics of the surrounding buildings along with the core facade materials of brick and metal windows. The charismatic brickwork to the main Sanatorium Building was acknowledged and reinterpreted for the new apartment style buildings designed for the proposed aged living scheme.

The main entrance to the development was aimed at providing an intimate experience as opposed to grand gesture

By using passive solar gain via the layout and orientation of the building and the embodied carbon savings of a Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) construction the proposed design became genuinely environmentally responsible.

This ensured that sustainability was part of the core identity of the development being targeted at environmentally conscious last time buyers looking to downsize from their previous family homes.

Aerial view showing the positioning of buildings to create the green corridors between them and views through

The individual units are designed to have a strong low rise residential identity with natural materials and colours within the South Downs National Park