Tops Club wins the Housing Essex Excellence Awards
October 17, 2019
We are delighted to announce that our Tops Club project for Thurrock Council was winner of the Housing Essex Excellence Awards. Tops Club is a new build development providing 29-affordable homes and an 800-foot public playground.
“The Housing Essex Excellence Awards is a new initiative aimed at rewarding and promoting the high-quality work of our housing partners in Essex. The Awards are intended to:
• Recognise the best housing (schemes, services or individuals) in Essex
• Highlight best practice and promote housing generally
• Support the Essex Design Guide and other Place Making initiatives including the new Essex Quality Review Panel”
The Developments Under 50 Homes category recognises the development of small scheme homes (new or refurbished) which make a significant contribution to meeting housing needs; improving the image and perception of affordable housing in Essex.
Tops Club repairs the urban grain of Argent Street and Exmouth Street by filling the appropriately filling the space within the unloved, dis-jointed corner and re-establishing the building line to reconnect the adjoining neighbourhoods.
As a tight site within a flood risk zone, the new development utilises the natural slope to mitigate the need for a stilted building whilst maximising the site and providing homes with river views. The homes have been designed with large windows and south facing communal gardens, private balconies which afford usable, enjoyable outdoor space, enable passive surveillance and a direct connection with the street.
New tree planting along Argent street enhances the local amenity and softens the boundary between pedestrians and cars. The development car parking quiets the road by narrowing the street and creating a separation space. Whilst the large front gardens and ramp provide Tops Club with a wide defensible stance, the design of the stairs as a series of steps promotes a sense of human scale interaction.