CAMBRIDGE DEVELOPMENT

DESIGN APPROACH

The purpose of the master plan of this project was to ensure that a traditional vacant lot subdivision could accommodate a high-quality residential development based on the client’s expectations. Urban design has played an important role here in developing the site master plan and associated design principles.

The project site is part of a more extensive greenfield development already started from one end within a new urban area. The site is at the end of the larger block with a dead-end situation. In this context, the challenges of the master plan include how to integrate the site with its neighbouring development and how to offer an adequate loop circulation to overcome the dead-end situation.

In this respect, the following design principles have been adopted:

1. An integrated open space and movement network - to create a green network, celebrate and utilise the area’s natural resources appropriately, to ensure an attractive and connected movement network, especially for pedestrians and cyclists through this green network.
2. Placement of compact housing adjacent to amenities - to ensure that the maximum number of people can live close to the area’s amenities, especially open spaces, to offer maximum use of open spaces and ensure cost-effective maintenance and management.
3. Seamless integration with surrounding natural and built environment - to preserve the quality of the overall neighbourhood up to a particular standard, to ensure cohesion of built character, to celebrate and highlight the area’s natural environment assets, and to maximise area wise connectivity and permeability.

Based on the above design principles, the design proposal has been presented through two illustrative drawings, which are:

1. A Development Framework Plan - This represents the skeleton of the development proposal and includes block layout with their shapes, sizes and orientation. At the same time, this plan includes a movement and open space network, establishing a clear picture of where key open spaces are located and how these will be interconnected. In addition, a roading hierarchy and associated geometric dimensions and alignments are part of this plan.
2. A Master Plan includes lot layout, lot typology distribution, shapes and sizes. The layout accommodates some conventional freehold lots for stand-alone houses, some medium-sized lots for either small detached or zero lot line houses and some super lots for comprehensive terrace or duplex type houses. The plan has been illustrated with different colours to differentiate various lot typologies.

The design proposal also includes possible house designs for some medium density housing lots to demonstrate their overall built form outcomes and how these designs will complement the overall master plan proposal. The most critical design considerations for house design were - the public-private interface and direct connection between the internal living and outdoor open spaces.