Common Terrace has been designed in response to the identified potential of providing new homes within existing suburban housing estates built between 1950 and 1980. These estates are typically made up of terraces of 2 storey brick built houses, often in the ‘Radburn’ layout with a separation between pedestrian and vehicular access. Grassed plots at the end of a terrace are commonplace and are usually large enough to accommodate at least one additional new terraced house to be inserted.
Layout
Common Terrace is a traditional dual-aspect terraced house.
Current Building Regulations mean that the floor to ceiling height of new homes is higher than older properties so the new home cannot be built to exactly match the height of the existing terrace. To remove complicated junction details and make a positive distinction between the old and the new, Common Terrace is 3 storeys high. If the existing terrace reaches the end of its life at some point in the future, the Common Terrace model can be used to replace the buildings within the same footprint.
Unlike the standard Common House, Common Terrace has been developed on the principle of separate living, kitchen and dining areas with a hallway and utility room connecting both – allowing free flowing movement around the ground floor. The separation of the living areas makes the house means-of-escape compliant; a protected route from the top of the house to the front door on buildings above 3 storeys is required.
The first floor can be configured with either a double bedroom, two singles and a family bathroom or one double, one single and a family bathroom depending on the unit mix required. The master bedroom is on the second floor with an en-suite shower room. Common Terrace can therefore be either a 4 bed, 6 person or 3 bed 5 person home.
The house has been designed to be Building Regulations Part M4 (2) compliant and with some small adaptations the house can be made to be M4 (3) adaptable.