Accordia
Encyclopedia
Accordia, also known as Accordia Living, is a housing development in Cambridge
, England
. The 9.5 hectares (23.5 acre) site includes 378 dwellings and has been constructed in three phases. The first phase of the development became the first housing development to win the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)
Stirling Prize
in 2008.
. The country house called Brooklands House, at 24 Brooklands Avenue, is now the east of England regional office of English Heritage
. The site was owned by the Ministry of Defence
, and included post-World War II
yellow prefab offices for the Inland Revenue (HMRC), the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(DEFRA) and the Driving Standards Agency
. These building were later demolished after Kajima Cambridge, a subsidiary of Kajima Corporation, won the private finance initiative (PFI)
contract in 1998 to build the 12500 square metres (134,548.9 sq ft) Eastbrook building next to the site in Shaftesbury Road for DEFRA and other government departments. The building was opened in 2003 and the building architects were Carey Jones Architects.
The site also contained a Cold War
underground nuclear bunker, and would have acted as the Regional Seat of Government
, in the event of a nuclear attack. The bunker was built in the early 1950s and expanded in the early 1960s. By July 2003 it was a Grade II listed building.
The site is bordered by Brooklands Avenue, including Brooklands House, to the north, Shaftesbury Road, including Eastbrook, to the east, the Cold War nuclear bunker to the south and Hobson's Brook
to the west.
published the 1996 Cambridge Local Plan, which identified the site off Brooklands Avenue for housing development. In that same year the City Council approved a development brief for proposals for the site.
By 2001, the joint venture between Countryside Properties
and a US pension fund had submitted the first planning application
to Cambridge City Council and by 2003 Countryside Properties had purchased the site from HM Government (UK)
and had appointed Feilden Clegg Bradley Architects as the main architect for the site. By May 2003 Countryside Properties had submitted a revised planning application, which was also approved by Cambridge City Council, under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 arrangement through which 30% of the homes would be for affordable housing
. 113 affordable houses were for rent, for shared ownership and for key worker
s. The affordable houses were grant-funded
from the Housing Corporation
in 2004 and 2005.
In September 2003 Kajima, the contractors, began work on phase I of the brownfield site
development. Countryside Properties later sold the site to Redeham Homes, who continued the development in phase II and III. Kajima also left the development after the first phase of the development. Redeham Homes took over the construction of the scheme in phase I and II.
The developers appointed Feilden Clegg Bradley as main architects. They too appointed Alison Brooks Architects to design four semi-detached villas on Brooklands Avenue and Maccreanor Lavington to design a long row of four-storey terraces. It total Feilden Clegg Bradley Architects designed 65% of the development, with Maccreanor Lavington 25% and Alison Brooks Architects designing 10%.
The development includes 378 dwellings, of which 166 are flats
and 212 are houses); of these 30% are "affordable housing". Out of the 378 dwellings, there are 70 1-bed properties, 121 2-bed properties, 92 3-bed properties, 77 4-bed properties and 26 5-bed properties.
Royal Institute of British Architects
(RIBA) Stirling Prize
. The judges for the competition only considered phase 1 of the scheme, to the north and west of the scheme.
2003
RIBA Housing Design Awards
2004
Mail On Sunday National Homebuilder Design Awards
2006
Building for Life
Evening Standard
New Homes Awards
Housing Design Awards
Mail on Sunday National HomeBuilder Design Awards
the Year’.
What House? Awards
2007
British Homes Awards
The Wood Awards
Civic Trust
Awards
Daily Telegraph (Your New Home Awards)
2008
Daily Mail
UK Property Awards
Hot Property Awards
Whathouse Awards
RIBA National Award
RIBA Stirling Prize
2009
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The 9.5 hectares (23.5 acre) site includes 378 dwellings and has been constructed in three phases. The first phase of the development became the first housing development to win the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)
Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...
Stirling Prize
Stirling Prize
The Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize is a British prize for excellence in architecture. It is named after the architect James Stirling, organised and awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects...
in 2008.
History of the site
Originally the site was part of a large garden to a country houseEnglish country house
The English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a London house. This allowed to them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country...
. The country house called Brooklands House, at 24 Brooklands Avenue, is now the east of England regional office of English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
. The site was owned by the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
, and included post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
yellow prefab offices for the Inland Revenue (HMRC), the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the government department responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United Kingdom...
(DEFRA) and the Driving Standards Agency
Driving Standards Agency
The Driving Standards Agency is an executive agency of the UK Department for Transport .DSA’s vision is 'Safe Driving for Life'. Its overall mission is to contribute to the public service agreement objective to achieve 40% reduction in riders and drivers killed or seriously injured in road...
. These building were later demolished after Kajima Cambridge, a subsidiary of Kajima Corporation, won the private finance initiative (PFI)
Private Finance Initiative
The private finance initiative is a way of creating "public–private partnerships" by funding public infrastructure projects with private capital...
contract in 1998 to build the 12500 square metres (134,548.9 sq ft) Eastbrook building next to the site in Shaftesbury Road for DEFRA and other government departments. The building was opened in 2003 and the building architects were Carey Jones Architects.
The site also contained a Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
underground nuclear bunker, and would have acted as the Regional Seat of Government
Regional Seat of Government
Regional Seats of Government or RSGs were the best known aspect of Britain's Civil Defence preparations against Nuclear War. In fact, however, naming conventions changed over the years as strategies in Whitehall changed....
, in the event of a nuclear attack. The bunker was built in the early 1950s and expanded in the early 1960s. By July 2003 it was a Grade II listed building.
The site is bordered by Brooklands Avenue, including Brooklands House, to the north, Shaftesbury Road, including Eastbrook, to the east, the Cold War nuclear bunker to the south and Hobson's Brook
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
to the west.
Planning and construction
In 1996 Cambridge City CouncilCambridge City Council
Cambridge City Council may refer to:* Cambridge City Council, England* Cambridge City Council, Massachusetts, USA* Cambridge, Ontario City Council, Canada...
published the 1996 Cambridge Local Plan, which identified the site off Brooklands Avenue for housing development. In that same year the City Council approved a development brief for proposals for the site.
By 2001, the joint venture between Countryside Properties
Countryside Properties
Countryside Properties Ltd is a property development company based in the United Kingdom. It is active in urban regeneration and creation of sustainable communities. It also carries out Design and Build contracts for housing associations....
and a US pension fund had submitted the first planning application
Planning permission
Planning permission or planning consent is the permission required in the United Kingdom in order to be allowed to build on land, or change the use of land or buildings. Within the UK the occupier of any land or building will need title to that land or building , but will also need "planning...
to Cambridge City Council and by 2003 Countryside Properties had purchased the site from HM Government (UK)
Government of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Government is the central government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Government is led by the Prime Minister, who selects all the remaining Ministers...
and had appointed Feilden Clegg Bradley Architects as the main architect for the site. By May 2003 Countryside Properties had submitted a revised planning application, which was also approved by Cambridge City Council, under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 arrangement through which 30% of the homes would be for affordable housing
Affordable housing
Affordable housing is a term used to describe dwelling units whose total housing costs are deemed "affordable" to those that have a median income. Although the term is often applied to rental housing that is within the financial means of those in the lower income ranges of a geographical area, the...
. 113 affordable houses were for rent, for shared ownership and for key worker
Key worker
A key worker is a public sector employee who is considered to provide an essential service. The term is often used in the United Kingdom in the context of those essential workers who may find it difficult to buy property in the area where they work....
s. The affordable houses were grant-funded
Grant (money)
Grants are funds disbursed by one party , often a Government Department, Corporation, Foundation or Trust, to a recipient, often a nonprofit entity, educational institution, business or an individual. In order to receive a grant, some form of "Grant Writing" often referred to as either a proposal...
from the Housing Corporation
Housing Corporation
The Housing Corporation was the non-departmental public body that funded new affordable housing and regulated housing associations in England. It was established by the Housing Act 1964...
in 2004 and 2005.
In September 2003 Kajima, the contractors, began work on phase I of the brownfield site
Brownfield land
Brownfield sites are abandoned or underused industrial and commercial facilities available for re-use. Expansion or redevelopment of such a facility may be complicated by real or perceived environmental contaminations. Cf. Waste...
development. Countryside Properties later sold the site to Redeham Homes, who continued the development in phase II and III. Kajima also left the development after the first phase of the development. Redeham Homes took over the construction of the scheme in phase I and II.
The developers appointed Feilden Clegg Bradley as main architects. They too appointed Alison Brooks Architects to design four semi-detached villas on Brooklands Avenue and Maccreanor Lavington to design a long row of four-storey terraces. It total Feilden Clegg Bradley Architects designed 65% of the development, with Maccreanor Lavington 25% and Alison Brooks Architects designing 10%.
The development includes 378 dwellings, of which 166 are flats
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
and 212 are houses); of these 30% are "affordable housing". Out of the 378 dwellings, there are 70 1-bed properties, 121 2-bed properties, 92 3-bed properties, 77 4-bed properties and 26 5-bed properties.
Awards and nominations
Accordia has been nominated and won many awards. In 2008 it became the first housing development to win theRoyal Institute of British Architects
Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...
(RIBA) Stirling Prize
Stirling Prize
The Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize is a British prize for excellence in architecture. It is named after the architect James Stirling, organised and awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects...
. The judges for the competition only considered phase 1 of the scheme, to the north and west of the scheme.
2003
RIBA Housing Design Awards
- Accordia, in recognition of its overall design excellence
2004
Mail On Sunday National Homebuilder Design Awards
- Accordia, ‘Best Housing Project’ of the year
2006
Building for Life
- Building for Life Gold Standard for Accordia, Cambridge
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
New Homes Awards
- Best New Family Home for Accordia 'Air', Cambridge
Housing Design Awards
- “Overall Winner” and “Medium Housebuilder” category for Accordia, Cambridge
Mail on Sunday National HomeBuilder Design Awards
- Accordia, Cambridge was voted ‘best of the best’ winning ‘Best Housing Project of
the Year’.
- Accordia ‘Air’ won ‘Best House (three storeys or more)’.
What House? Awards
- Best Development – Accordia, Cambridge – Gold
2007
British Homes Awards
- Development of the Year, Accordia, Cambridge (finalist)
The Wood Awards
- Highly commended in the private category
Civic Trust
Civic Trust
The Civic Trust of England was a charitable organisation founded in 1957. It ceased operations in 2009 and went into administration due to lack of funds/...
Awards
- Exemplary new residential scheme
Daily Telegraph (Your New Home Awards)
- Highly Commended for Best Architectural Innovation
2008
Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
UK Property Awards
- 4 Star Award for Best Development
Hot Property Awards
- Gold Award for Design and Innovation
Whathouse Awards
- Gold for Best House
- Silver for Best Development
- Silver for Best Apartment
RIBA National Award
RIBA Stirling Prize
Stirling Prize
The Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize is a British prize for excellence in architecture. It is named after the architect James Stirling, organised and awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects...
2009
- Nominated in the Brit Insurance Design Awards 2009 for architecture
External links
- Official website of Accordia Living
- Image of the Government prefabs taken in April 2000 prior to construction of Accordia
- Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) case study of Accordia
- Shape East (Architecture Centre for the East of England) case study of Accordia
- Accordia on the Countryside Properties website
- Accordia on the Feilden Clegg Bradley website
- Accordia on the Maccreanor Lavington website
- Accordia on the Alison Brooks Architects website