British practice Stanton Williams' 2019 development of key worker homes, retail and public spaces in Cambridge has been shortlisted for both the 2021 RIBA Stirling Prize and the 2021 RIBA Neave Brown Award.
Comprising ten pale brick housing blocks interspersed with parks, the scheme provides 264 homes for university staff. It is the latest to complete in the University of Cambridge's sustainability-focused development of Eddington, North West Cambridge, which began in 2013.
Key Worker Housing is comprised of ten, brick housing blocks
The linear plan of the 23,000-square-metre site sees each housing block given subtly different finishes, broken up by courts and squares that differ in scale and function in reference to the traditional materials and urban layouts of Cambridge. "Our designs build upon the principle of a 'network of spaces' differentiated in scale and character, that create an engaging public realm analogous to the traditional city," said Gavin Henderson, principal director of Stanton Williams.
Urban parks and squares surround the housing blocks
At the eastern end of the site is an urban-feeling public market square surrounded by ground-floor retail units. At its western end, four large housing blocks wrap around a central, semi-public landscaped court.
A more intimate-feeling central section sees housing blocks loosely enclose a series of smaller external spaces, cut through by public routes that are activated and partially covered by cantilevers on t...