Well Designed Homes and Communities
How we are addressing this issue:
Berkeley celebrates urban living and champions striking design and high quality construction that commits to sustainability. Attention to detail and bespoke solutions remain at the heart of our values and we pride ourselves on the high standard of design and construction at each of our developments.
Building for Life
We have demonstrated our ability to deliver well-designed homes and communities through our Vision2020 commitment to achieve the Building for Life Silver Standard on all new developments.
Building for Life started in 2001 and has become the national standard for well-designed homes and neighbourhoods. Building for Life promotes design excellence and celebrates best practice in the housebuilding industry. The standard is based around 20 criteria which embody a vision of functional, attractive and sustainable housing. New housing developments are scored against the criteria to assess the quality of their design. Building for Life standards are given to all entries to the Building for Life Awards that score more than 14/20. Schemes that score 14/20 or 15/20 receive the Silver Standard while schemes scoring 16/20 or more receive the Gold Standard. Building for Life Awards are then given on an annual basis to exceptional projects.
Bespoke design
Our tailored approach allows us to create developments that meet local needs through appropriate interpretation of standards and liaison with local communities and planners to ensure that our designs fit into their local settings.
Providing community facilities
We are committed to the idea that through our developments we build not only homes, but also communities. In order to do this our developments provide a number of additional facilities from green space to heritage, commercial and public buildings. Particularly important are the spaces that create the opportunity for community interaction such as gym facilities at The Hamptons and Kennet Island and the community room at Imperial Wharf. At Holborough Lakes we landscaped the surrounding area of the development and created a lake which not only enhances biodiversity but also provides recreational diving opportunities for children and adults.
Protecting our heritage buildings
Whilst perhaps best known for creating high quality, new developments, we also strongly believe in preserving Britain's rich architectural heritage and are involved in numerous refurbishment projects. These include major sites such as Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth, and the Royal Arsenal Riverside in Woolwich, as well as Kingsway Square, Battersea, Roehampton House and Rycotewood. We feel it is our duty to carry these out in a way that is sympathetic to their original purpose, in order that future generations may experience their magnificence as past generations have. A number of our heritage refurbishments have created valuable new public spaces. For example at Royal Clarence Marina we refurbished a number of buildings to create new commercial space for the public to access.
Our performance:
In 2010/11:
- All our developments submitted for planning have been designed to achieve the Building for Life Silver Standard.
- Stanmore Place achieved the Gold Building for Life Standard while Beaufort Park, Grosvenor Waterside, Park West and Queen Mary's Place all achieved the Silver Standard.
In the past eight years we have achieved Building for Life Standards at the following schemes:
Gold Standards:
- Stanmore Place, Harrow (2010) (Building for Life Award winner 2010)
- Royal Arsenal, Woolwich (2008) (Building for Life Award winner 2008)
- Empire Square, Borough (2007) (Building for Life Award winner 2007)
- Charter Quay, Kingston-Upon-Thames (2004) (Building for Life Award winner 2004)
- Brewery Square, Clerkenwell (2003) (Building for Life Award winner 2003)
Silver Standards:
- Beaufort Park, Barnet (2010)
- Grosvenor Waterside, City of Westminster (2010)
- Parkwest, West Drayton (2010)
- Queen Mary's Place, Wandsworth (2010)
- City Quarter, Whitechapel (2009)
- Imperial Wharf, Chelsea (2009)
- Chelsea Bridge Wharf, Battersea (2008)
- Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth (2008) (Building for Life Award winner 2008)
- The Manor, Reading (2007) (Building for Life Award winner 2007)
- Putney Wharf, Putney (2005) (Building for Life Award winner 2005)
- New River Village, Hornsey (2005)
Our Vision2020 commitments and ambitions:
As part of delivering Vision2020 we have set specific objectives to help ensure that we deliver well designed homes and communities.
Our commitments from May 2011:
- Achieve at least the Building for Life Silver Standard on all new developments
- Use bespoke design on all developments to create high quality homes and places
Our ambitions from May 2012:
- Apply minimum design standards on all Berkeley homes including standards for sound insulation, space, storage and overheating
- Publish annually an independently verified assessment of the design quality of all new Berkeley developments
Case studies:
Gold Building for Life Standard for Stanmore Place
During 2010/11, Stanmore Place achieved a Gold Building for Life Standard. The assessors identified Stanmore Place as a well-designed, well-integrated development that has captured the opportunities available in and around the site. The development provides a mix of affordable and private housing to suit the local housing market and includes a range of community facilities such as a children's play area, a community hall with crèche facilities, and a number of retail and small business units. The development is well connected to public transport with bus and tube links within 250m. Additionally one-for-one bicycle parking is located adjacent to each apartment/building entrance while parking facilities are limited in the immediate vicinity of dwellings to discourage the use of cars for short journeys. These are just a few of the key elements encompassed in achieving Building for Life.
Championing bespoke design
Grosvenor Waterside, is a high quality urban mixed-use development that surrounds the Inner and Outer basins of the historic Grosvenor Dock on the edge of the River Thames. Architectural style and quality has been at the heart of the development design. A number of different architectural practices have been drawn upon to bring creative individuality to the seven buildings within the development. Although architecturally distinct, the buildings remain linked with some pairs of buildings being designed by the same practice to create a 'brother and sister' relationship. A sense of cohesiveness has been further created by architectural references and narratives between the buildings, and through ensuring that the surrounding area and its Grade II listed buildings have informed the character of the new buildings.
Prior to our acquisition of Queen Mary's Place, the site's much loved rose gardens had been paved over to provide additional parking for staff at the nearby hospital. The local community highlighted this during consultation and as a result we have been able to restore these beautiful gardens for the enjoyment of residents and the public.
As part of our Kew Bridge Road development, we have established a new community boating club in two previously empty riverside arches. The arches have recently undergone a major refurbishment that will provide improved facilities and access to people of all ages within the communities of West London, including children and adults with learning and physical disabilities.
Following extensive public consultation at our Beaufort Park site, we managed and funded the refurbishment of the Grade II listed RAF Watchtower to its former glory, relocating it to the nearby RAF museum where it is a valuable historical asset that is enjoyed by many.
