james perry + claire harper: 'room to grow'

‘room to grow’ conceptual winners by james perry + claire harper all images courtesy of james perry + claire harper

‘room to grow’ is a conceptual concept by british architects james perry and claire harper. the idea was developed for housing association peabody’s 150th anniversary, which launched an international competition to design 150 homes on a former hospital site in the east end of london. the proposal takes its lead from the peabody schemes of the early 20th century featuring a robust outer façade that encloses a softer, sociable heart. this is expressed in the contrast between the brick wall of row housing and the composite of lightweight panels that make up the softer facades, facing onto the shared communal spaces.

another attribute includes the communal spaces, this is defined by gardens that expand the private gardens of the row houses and large, semi-enclosed courtyards for the flats, providing the project’s namesake, room to grow. the yards that give access to the flats provide the space for residents to pursue personal endeavors, group projects, or to expand outside of the dwelling for a social gathering that are otherwise curtailed by a shortage of space. the architectural identity of the scheme is defined by the palette of materials, russet brick from the dismantled hospital buildings which contrasts a porous façade of timber prefabricated panels.

the designers claire harper and james perry graduated from newcastle university in 2008 and won first place against a number of established young practices to collect a prize of US500.

sketch development model 1, 2

sketch development model 3, 4

site strategy diagrams

flexible flat typology axonometric

flexible flat typology plans

terraced housing typology axonometric

terraced housing typology plans

live/work flat typology axonometric

live/work flat typology plans

central public square

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions’  feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.