Hobbs Court, Vardon Road, Oval Regeneration.
Stevenage
The new Hobbs Court is being developed as a replacement for the existing outdated sheltered accommodation of bungalows and flats. Forming part of Stevenage’s broader Oval neighbourhood regeneration, the strategic vision is to see this as an early phase of the wider masterplan in parallel with the construction of new community centre and church.
Hobbs Court will replace 40 bungalows and flats with 91 one- and two-bedroom flats, featuring communal facilities. It is designed to attract older residents in Stevenage who wish to downsize from their rented council houses to quality new homes with the option for communal facilities and activities. The council aims to provide better homes for retirees while freeing up more family homes within the town.
In collaboration with the council’s housing team and Hertfordshire’s Extra Care team, a detailed brief has been developed to initially offer standard independent living. However, provisions have been made for potential future adaptations to support extra care facilities if needed.
The design of the apartment buildings focuses on fostering independent living while promoting a sense of community. This approach ensures that future residents can enjoy privacy and independence, deciding how much or how little they want to engage in communal activities. The decision to design the buildings as two separate halves was intentional. The larger building includes more communal facilities, office spaces, supporting facilities, and the main entrance, making it suitable for potential extra care in the future. The smaller building, with its separate entrances and fewer communal facilities, is designed to appeal to those who wish to move but are not yet ready for a 'retirement' home.
The buildings are designed to be read as a cohesive perimeter block, outward facing with animated elevations and addressing the neighbouring routes and pathways. The aim, to enliven the streets and pathways near the neighbourhood centre, reversing some of the back-to-front Radburn layout characteristic of Stevenage.
With a secure private courtyard, the apartments are organised over three, four, and five floors, while the majority of the shared social spaces, office, main reception, and other facilities are located within the single storey element that frames a reworked pedestrian route serving the neighbouring houses. The social spaces, main entrance, and drop-off zone on Jessop Road, aka ‘Green Street', help activate and animate the existing main route serving the wider estate and brings life to a street currently devoid of any activity.
Architecturally, the composition of form and massing is designed to appear as a series of buildings. The articulation of the elevations, changes in materiality, and varied rooflines ensure that the scale and mass are not overbearing, making the building more in keeping with a traditional street elevation. It is important that the building elements are perceived as individual parts within a whole to bring a sense of scale and legibility to both the buildings and the street scene.
Landscape. The landscape proposals by fabrik include a series of diverse and contrasting spaces to serve different resident needs. The main courtyard features a partially covered patio area, accessed directly from the communal lounges, providing an active space for residents, ideal for leisure, gatherings, and social interactions. Ornamental planting and feature trees will provide year-round interest. A linear rain garden will be incorporated to the east of the car park to capture water runoff at the lower point as part of the SUDS (Sustainable Drainage Systems) strategy. The shaded courtyard garden in the southwest corner draws inspiration from Chinese gardens and features shade-tolerant planting, adding aesthetic value and enhancing biodiversity.
To the perimeter of the site, the front gardens with lawns, hedges, swales, and ornamental planting provide an attractive setting for the building and reinforce a biodiverse street scene.
Key
Standard benches
Seating stools
Shaded garden
Community footway
Steps and ramp access to the west building
Ornamental and buffer planting to building frontage
Entrance gate
Decking with tables and chairs
Amenity lawn
Feature tree with seating undermeath
Retaining wall with timber bench on top
Rotating beam
Stepping logs
Play boulders
Rotating top play under existing tree
Step access to the east building
Ramp access to the east building
Summary
Description: 91 independent retirement living apartments with ancillary facilities.
Client: Stevenage Borough Council
Site area: 8,000 SqM
Status: Stage 3 - Planning
Property Consultants: Beacon Partnerships
Planning Consultant: Smith Jenkins
Structural Eng.: Gravity Consulting Engineers
Civil Eng.: Stomor Civil Engineering
Transport: Stomor Civil Engineering
MEP Eng.: Whitecode Consulting
Landscape Arch.: fabrik
Ecologist: Ecology By Design
RT Team: Dan Bangs, Sarah Keetch, Jacqueline Lam, Leonard Jones, George Dinu, Andrada Luca, Rachel Opie, Molly McAllister.