This project began when the team led by Emmett Russell architects won the RIBA Lawrenny Sustainable Housing Competition for a site in an historic village in the Pembrokeshire National Park.

Along with the detailed design of the external layout of the scheme, Roundfield were tasked with designing a robust, adaptable and multi functional village square capable of acting as both meeting place and market place. The resulting design integrates blue green design principles to support SuDS requirements and legacy tree planting within the framework of a generous square surfaced with local natural stone. The design has been described as an ‘exemplar of rural development in Wales’ by the Design Commission for Wales.

“Our project sets out to challenge the current emphasis on generic ‘one-size fits all’ eco-homes and to offer a new model that responds to local conditions. Our proposal uses local materials, learns from local forms and marries the technology of the zero carbon home with the inherited wisdom of the welsh rural house.

The project is conceived as a series of walled gardens that work with the local limestone and make reference to he remains of the historic walled gardens of Lawrenny Castle. At the heart of the scheme is a new village square that provides a traffic free focus for village life. The project explores ways of reducing carbon emissions and car use in this remote Pembrokeshire village. Generous private gardens, shared gardens and community allotments would allow opportunities for local food production. New workshops and business spaces are designed to support the already thriving local small business community and flexible housing types provide space for home working to reduce commuting.”

Emmett Russell architects

 

Work is on going.

 

Visualisation credit: Emmett Russell architects