Minster House is the first new independent retirement living development to be delivered by the Council as part of their commitment to providing affordable homes for all age groups within their borough.  Having identified a need to address the social housing provision for older people, Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council commissioned RT to undertake the design for the re-provision of homes on one of their existing sites in Hatfield with a state-of-the-art purpose-built complex.

Comprising 91 one- and two-bedroom independent retirement living apartments, the development is located south of Hatfield town centre between the University of Hertfordshire’s campus and the large residential neighbourhood of South Hatfield. The architecture adopts a civic feel yet provides a scale, composition and intimacy that engenders a sense of community, pride and ownership.

Set in landscaped gardens and neighbouring the mature woodland area to the north, Minster House is designed to connect residents with nature and their wider surroundings. The design creates two distinct, yet connected buildings that is H-shaped in plan with the communal spaces and facilities connecting the two primary residential buildings.

The contemporary design uses a simple palette of good quality material to achieve a rich and interesting new development.  The dark brown and the textured, multi buff brick are used to subtly differentiate the entrance, circulation and communal areas from the residential parts. Depth and interest to the elevations is achieved through the subtle use of projecting, hit-and-miss and contrasting brick bonding. Windows and doors sit deep in the elevation with a full brick length reveals whilst frame colours change in response to the surrounding brick colour.

The initial study, back in 2017, looked to replace or partially replace the existing sheltered housing on the site that comprises 11 bungalows and 30 small flats.  Through the evolution of the early feasibility and concept designs we were able to illustrate to the Council the full potential of the site and the added benefits of a comprehensive redevelopment.  What could have been a 50 dwelling reprovision could deliver 90 or so new homes if approached more holistically.

The design has drawn on the principles identified in the HAPPI (Housing our Ageing Population Panel for Innovation) reports. Many of the key design criteria behind HAPPI principles are recognised as good design generally, but they have particular relevance to older persons’ housing which needs to offer an attractive alternative to the family home and be able to adapt over time to meet changing needs.

Through the design process the homes, shared spaces and gardens at Minster House have been carefully detailed to incorporate as many of the key principles to achieve an exemplar development.

The one- and two- bedroom apartments have all been generously designed so as to accommodate particular resident needs, their existing furniture, and to offer homes that have increased circulation space, to compensate for future mobility aids, and flexibility for changes later on for different bathroom and kitchen configurations should they be needed.

Homes and the communal spaces have been designed around maximising natural lighting and ventilation. Large windows incorporate high specification glazing to limit solar gain during the summer months and a passive cooling and ventilation system removes the need for excessive mechanical solutions within each flat. With the potential for noise from Bishop Rise to cause a nuisance at night if windows are open, the passive ventilation system comprising external louvres fitted with acoustic baffles significantly reduces the unwanted noise from outside coming in whilst still allowing and controlling the fresh air flow into each flat.

In addition to the ventilation strategy the concrete frame of the building also helps in maintaining a consistent internal temperature because it is slow to warm up and cool down. In the summer the concrete will absorb a lot of the heat in the homes keeping the homes cool and, in the winter, it will help regulate the temperature fluctuations experienced between turning the heating on and off.

Each apartment has its own private terrace or balcony with direct access from the living room, and in some instance bedrooms as well.  Full height windows connect the living rooms with the balconies whilst the balconies themselves are recessed providing residents with a sheltered outdoors space. A communal roof terrace links the first floors of both residential buildings providing a communal space for residents to enjoy and an alternative, elevated perspective of the grounds and neighbouring woodland area.

In addition to the flexibility within the apartments all of the communal spaces are designed to be tolerant of changing needs with services incorporated should extra-care be needed in due course spaces change to suit the additional needs.

Summary