NDFA Social Housing Bundle 1&2

Although PPP had been used in roads, healthcare and education, it had not previously been applied to housing delivery at this scale. SHA joined the team to provide housing and urban design expertise, complementing the PPP experience of other partners. The model relied on private design, build, finance and operation for 25 years, with the homes transferred back to the state in as new condition at the end of that period.

The bundle brought efficiencies usually associated with larger projects to smaller housing sites of fewer than 100 dwellings. This was achieved through project scale, standardised typologies and the permitted use of approved MMC systems. SHA were lead architect for Churchwell Gardens and Corkagh Grange, delivering 260 homes across two different site conditions and housing arrangements.

Churchwell Gardens resolved a brownfield site with steep falls and onerous services through a courtyard apartment approach with childcare and communal facilities. Corkagh Grange responded to the wider Kilcarberry Grange masterplan with a lower density mix of houses and apartments. SHA also designed College Wood Manor, a standby project for Bundle 1 that was ultimately delivered through Bundle 2.