Dezeen promotion: House by Urban Splash aims to reinvent suburbia with a Cambridgeshire neighbourhood that is designed for healthy living.
Located eight miles outside of Cambridge, Inholm will form part of Northstowe, one of 10 new towns areas being created under the NHS programme, Healthy New Towns.
It will include 43 homes developed by House by Urban Splash – the housing arm of Manchester-based property developer Urban Splash.
Architecture firm Proctor and Matthews, which masterplanned the neighbourhood, sees the project as "a radical shift in thinking". As well as featuring healthy homes, Inholm will include streetscapes designed to promote wellbeing, biodiversity and community spirit.
"For too long, the spaces in between homes have been dedicated to accommodating cars, not people," said studio co-founder and director Stephen Proctor.
"At Inholm, Northstowe, our new blueprint for healthy living includes sociable streets, green fingers connecting spaces, pocket parks, bike sheds in every single garden, and edible fruit on trees on every corner."
The masterplan centres around the concept of "sociable streets", which prioritise pedestrians over cars. The aim is to create spaces where neighbours can converse and children can play.
"When we think about suburbia we think of cul-de-sacs and dead ends, road spaces that are uninhabitable, designed for cars, not people," said Proctor.
"Instead, what we're delivering with House by Urban Splash is a blueprint for healthy living, with inviting communal spaces and places in which people can convene in the way the old settlements would have done."
In line with the Healthy New Towns ambitions, homes across Northstowe will be low-carbon in construction and operation. For Inholm, House by Urban Splash is achieving this with its Town House model, designed by ShedKM.
These modern, modular homes are built off-site in a factory, which allows for a more sustainable construction process and less waste. They are also fully customisable, so they can be tailored to suit the needs of a broad mix of residents, from young people to families or seniors.
The development will form an area of Inholm known as the Peninsula. Proctor and Matthews planned the layout of this area around the natural landscape, with green spaces and waterways forming a key part of the masterplan.
The design prioritises the creation of circular routes and green corridors, with few dead ends. The aim is to make it easier for residents to walk, run and cycle around the neighbourhood, and to connect with public transport.
"It's something which helps us deliver the environmental agendas which are strong in Cambridge too, and of course a big part of the House by Urban Splash ethos," said Proctor.
The Peninsula will also incorporate an education campus and a new waterpark, which will offer residents a place for recreation, create a haven for wetland and aquatic life and provide water attenuation and flood alleviation.
Inholm is under construction, with the first 27 Town Houses now on sale. Two show homes are open for public viewing, showing customers the different layout options on offer.
More information is available via the House by Urban Splash website.
Partnership content
This article was written by Dezeen for Urban Splash as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.