Embargo: For immediate publication 10 June, 1998
CASPAR project in Birmingham
Judges for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation's competition to build the first CASPAR development (City-centre Apartments for Single People at Affordable Rents) have agreed on a first choice for detailed negotiation. The team comprises:
- Architects: Allford Hall Monaghan Morris
- Design Managers/Planners: Alsop Zogolovitch Urban Studio
- Structural Engineers: Adams Kara Taylor
- Services Engineers: Atelier Ten
- Quantity Surveyors: Jackson Coles
- Landscape Architect: Jennifer Coe Landscape Architecture
- Construction: Rydon Construction
The first CASPAR development is to be built - subject to planning consent and final agreement on price - in central Birmingham on derelict land currently used for car parking; this lies between Charlotte Street and the canal, just inside the Jewellery Quarter.
The Judges, comprising leading architects and quantity surveyors, alongside JRF Trustees - were unanimous in their choice. The Foundation is now in discussion with this team and hopes to reach agreement on final details of the design and cost. Following close co-operation from the Planning Department of Birmingham City Council, an early planning application will be made and it is hoped to start on site later in the year.
The design incorporates an innovative approach with a landscaped, internal courtyard - 'winter garden' - criss-crossed with walkways and flanked by the apartments on 4/5 storeys. "A very original and well considered response to the brief," comments David Parkes of PRP Architects, architectural adviser to the Foundation and competition co-ordinator. "We hope an outstanding development will act as a flagship for similar schemes on brownfield sites elsewhere."
The development comprises 44 one/two bedroom apartments on a site of less than half an acre. Despite the constraints, the brief from the JRF required competitors to meet the accessibility standards for Lifetime Homes as well as being built to costs below £50,000.
"This pioneering project in Birmingham is intended to demonstrate that a satisfactory return can be achieved for institutional investors in residential property for rent," said Richard Best, Director of the JRF. "The hope is that other investors will support developments of this kind - achieving an income mix in inner-city areas, with environmental gains in terms of reduced congestion and pollution from commuting traffic - in other parts of the country. The second CASPAR project is moving forward in Leeds where, again, the local authority has been very supportive of the Foundation's efforts."
Details of the design features, costs, etc of the CASPAR project are being relayed to Lord (Richard) Rogers' new Inquiry into development of brownfield urban sites.
The competition judges are: Dame Rachel Waterhouse (Chairman) Sir Peter Barclay (JRF Trustee) Tim MacFarlane (Structural Engineer) Eleanor McKee (Market Research Consultant) Bill Thomas (Architect) Martin Richardson (Architect) Rob Smith (Quantity Surveyor)
(Issued by David Utting, JRF Press Consultant, 020-7278 9665)
