Europan 9: Milton Keynes

Runner-up: Farmstead Urban Village

The project

Farmstead Urban Village is concerned with making an identity for urban and sub-urban housing from vestiges of the rural location, with the intention of recalling the best of village life.

The proposal is arranged in a city block layout, with a clear hierarchy proposed from city-scale housing to allotment and cottage industry scale. Roads are informed by an understanding of the hedgerow and filed patterns existing on the site, as is the provision of public space.

A number of house types are proposed, with parking accommodated within the building footprint of plots in a terrace. Through the idiosyncratic architecture, drawn from observations of village and semi-rural building types, a language for a family neighbourhood as a village in the town is proposed.

Jury comments

The jury welcomed the detailed understanding of urban space in housing areas which this project demonstrated, and considered the organisation across the site a good response to the brief. The architecture was highly articulated with a strong sense of character.

Team members

Alex Franklin
James White
Phil Catcheside
Nick Wharton
Roman Spur
Simon Green