Glebe Court

Glebe Court

West Wickham

Re-Format was commissioned to produce design proposals for McCarthy Stone and Glebe Housing Association for a new ‘Retirement Community’. The site is located on Glebe Way, West Wickham, and is currently occupied by a redundant 2-3 storey care facility.

Comprising 36 apartments and communal facilities including a resident’s lounge, guest suite and landscaped gardens, the proposal is designed to respond to the specific site conditions.  With neighbouring properties close to the site at the rear, the neat and compact building faces the main road at the front of the site, avoiding these sensitive boundaries and providing a strong frontage to Glebe Way. The landscaped gardens also then benefit from a southerly aspect.

The siting of the apartment building also takes advantage of the existing topography. The building steps down with the natural slope of the land, minimising the overall height and allowing for optimum number of apartments. The overall footprint is more compact than the existing building and the frontage to Glebe Way is greatly improved through adding trees and foliage, allowing pedestrians, and concealment of car parking to the rear of the site.

The outward appearance of the development is simple and orthogonal, with the elevations articulated with a series of projections, insets and feature contrasting brick panels and soldier course banding. Generous proportions of full height glazing further animates the facades and creates a pleasing vertical and horizontal rhythm to the elevations. These design features come together to produce architecture that is contemporary but also respectful and relevant to the context.