Saxon Manor, Godmanchester

Located on the south-eastern side of the small Huntingdonshire town of Godmanchester, this 66-bedroom contemporary styled home built for Avery Healthcare provides care for the elderly, as well as specialist dementia care.

Included in the home there is a number of publicly accessible facilities which are intended to serve as a local social hub, encouraging local support networks to develop within the area, together with resident facilities which include a café, salon/therapy room, lounges/dining, cinema, and activity room.

The home has been designed to respond positively to its context and contribute to the overall streetscape.

A flat roofed building form has been adopted to reduce the perceived building height when viewed from ground level to minimise the visual impact on neighbouring properties. The three-storey building form has been articulated into separate elements by stepping the wall line and varying the roof heights.

An articulated flat roofed building presents a bold, simple, rhythmic form using a light and subtle palette of materials which gradually reveal a finer level of details and textures as the building is approached.

Articulation is achieved sculpturally by breaking large forms into smaller elements which will result in a more natural form defined by light and shadows rather than using heavily contrasting materials. This allows for a lighter and more subtle palette of materials to be adopted which presents a robust simplicity at a distance whilst revealing an increasing level of tactile textures and considered detail as the building is approached.

Terraces have been arranged with directional louvred slatted balcony treatments which focus view lines from balconies, limiting overlooking views of neighbouring gardens while permitting views of the care home’s landscaped gardens and more distant surroundings.

Increased planting has been introduced to the boundaries including the car parking area, with screen planting minimising views of parked cars while leaving clear primary views of the building frontage.