Competition Shortlisting for Multi-House, Forever Knowle

May 12, 2023

We have recently been shortlisted for the Novers hill design competition run by Bristol Housing Festival for Goram Homes. The competition asked local firms with 20 employees or less for imaginative and ecologically innovative proposals for a brownfield site at Novers Hill in Knowle West.

The site is adjacent to the Western Slopes, a well-loved wildlife corridor. More than 20 firms from across the West of England region responded with proposals for a residential scheme of around 50 new homes that would enhance the local area,

Knowle West is on our doorstep. We know the area well, and relish the opportunity to get to know its residents better and create a development that they can be proud to call HOME.

‘Multi-house’ proposes an innovative range of house typologies for multi-generational, mutually- supportive ‘micro communities’ of families and friends to live together with dignity, independence, and interdependence.

Our proposals will transform the way people live, and elevate their sense of belonging and happiness. It will address one of the most important epidemics of our time; loneliness. We have the knowledge to create zero-carbon homes. We will measure and achieve biodiversity net gain. But there is no measure for social isolation and the costs to our happiness and society.

Our range of homes serve the needs of individuals, couples, families, empty-nesters, adult children, elders, and all people. Our concept is for people to be able to have their own home, and shared spaces for a better way of living.

Sharing home workspaces, living areas, childcare responsibilities, meeting the care needs of grandparents and anyone with a disability, our multi-house concept enables these things, using fewer resources, less space, and more ease.

Each household has its own private living accommodation; its own staircase, bedrooms, and bathrooms, but comes together around a larger shared living space, opening onto a shared garden. Private pocket gardens serve each household, as well as an accessible parking space immediately adjacent to each home.

Seeking to create a safe, quiet, and less car-dominated environment, we propose redeveloping the existing hardstanding on site for the ‘Knest’. This is a 2-3 storey building using Cross Laminated Timber (CLT), with parking, bicycles, recycling at grade level, accessed close to the entrance and exit of the site. Space for cars, bikes, a community energy centre, community kitchen, and forest school space, it means the rest of the site is as green as possible.

A range of homes surround a courtyard roof terrace - accessed via public stairs and lifts. 1 and 2 bedroom apartments, maisonettes, and co-living apartments with shared living areas. The Knest rises in the North-west corner and creates a ‘gateway’ to the Western Slopes landscape.