West Meon West Meon South Downs National Park Re-Format meticulously developed a scheme of ten houses in the heart of the Meon Valley. The design process involved developing a series of design options that were adjusted to respond to preferences raised by the South Downs National Park planning authority. The development features a number of local benefits including four affordable homes, significant new landscaping, footpath links to the adjacent countryside footpath network and a link to the nearby Village Recreation Ground. In addition, one of the houses has been constructed to Passivhaus standards. The steeply sloping nature of the land, rising approximately 14 metres from the entrance up to the eastern boundary, has determined how the dwellings can be sensitively positioned on the site. The design team developed a layout that utilises the slope to produce a scheme that was reflective of West Meon’s rural ‘organic’ character and not a ‘generic’ housing developer scheme. The constructed scheme produces an organisation that is specifically generated by the topography of the site and responds to the street pattern of the traditional centre of West Meon. This strategy has been combined with an extensive landscaping scheme and incorporates the Green Infrastructure corridor that links the dense boundary planting with the existing tree clusters and hedges. “The team at Re-Format has always combined a willingness to hit deadlines and embrace commercial pressure with a natural creative flair in both traditional and contemporary architecture. Problem-solving on technically challenging sites comes naturally to Re-Format and the ever more demanding planning system requires his and his team’s dynamism.” Adam O’Brien, Managing Director – Metis Homes
