Gaunt Francis Architects designed a new care community on Fairmile Lane, Cobham, for Audley Villages. The brief called for a small-scale care-led development with a variety of accommodation to allow older people to lead a fulfilled retirement.
The site lies within walking distance to Cobham town centre, nestling between gated estates with large private homes in expansive grounds. We have created a safe, entirely new build environment for older residents that is sympathetic to these surroundings. Surrey Police granted the Secured by Design Gold Award for Audley Fairmile.
Architecture
Our scheme comprises 74 two-bedroom apartments across 4 three-storey buildings with mezzanine roofs. The buildings line a central access road that leads up to the main house. We have dropped the roof in the middle of the longest buildings by 1 storey to reduce their overall massing. We also played with projections and recesses to break down the perceived mass of each building even further. In addition to this, we alternated between facing brick and render as façade materials to create an interesting rhythm. In order to reflect the exclusive character of the neighbourhood, we used elements of reconstituted stone in the brick facades. Contemporary profiles with crisp edges for the window surrounds, gutters and entrance porches add a sophisticated elegance to the buildings.
Landscape
A high-quality landscape design is key to Audley care communities and is thus the backbone of this development. We found the site enclosed by mature trees and dense vegetation along the most part of its boundaries. In order to preserve the secluded character of the site, we retained and reinforced this boundary planting. The buildings are placed such that we were able to retain an important group of mature trees between them. This was key to maintaining the local character and creating an attractive landscape setting on a relatively small site.
GFA Director Gavin Birt, said “we are delighted with this scheme and remain grateful that Audley continue to invest in our design studio, which has now created a suite of high-end care communities across the UK.
This 1.48-hectare site on Fairmile Lane provides an ideal location for a much-needed care community for the residents of Surrey and will create a place that is comfortable, distinctive, and that exudes quality”.