Project Description
The site is located on Regent Terrace which fronts the southwest side of Parker’s Piece, situated within the Central Conservation Area of Cambridge. Parker’s Piece is a key area of public open space (10Ha) within the city. It is roughly square in shape and also bounded by Park Terrace, Parkside, and Gonville Place. The principal northwest side is characterised by the large late Georgian terraces of Park Terrace and the recently rebuilt University Arms Hotel.
Regent Terrace itself is rather fragmented in appearance with the majority of buildings built piecemeal over the last half century. These have a mixed character with a variety of forms, scale and uses but are somewhat unified by the use of brickwork. Generally, these are built on, or very close to, the street frontage and are in close proximity to each other to create a terraced form.
The proposed design on the Regent Street frontage makes a strong reference to the Georgian terrace typology but does not seek to replicate this. References include regular openings aligned above each other, vertical or square proportioned windows, parapets with attic storeys set back behind, projecting balconies, railings at ground floor level, a simple understated design and dark brickwork. Although Georgian terraces had a hierarchy of window sizes, this was based on the logic that the most important rooms had the largest windows (i.e. first floor living rooms were the largest size and servant attic rooms the smallest). Here, we have an equivalence of use on ascending floors, therefore using the same logic, openings remain constant in size.
Internally, the flats are arranged with the main living/dining/kitchen areas facing Parker’s Piece with the bedrooms located at the rear, facing the spire of the nearby Roman Catholic Church. The apartments will all be dual aspect and provide good quality living conditions. Each one-bedroom apartment is provided with a roof terrace or balcony for private amenity space and the ground floor unit has its own private garden area at the rear. Construction commenced in August 2023.
Project Team: Turley (Planning Consultants): Northmores (Project Managers): AFP (Structural Engineers): Regent Construction