Place Research – Accordia
Originally located within the grounds of Brooklands House, a II listed building country house, Accordia is part of a brownfield development in Cambridge of 9.5 hectares, including 378 homes. Approved for development in 2003, following identification in the Cambridge Local Plan (1996): ‘Brooklands Avenue housing development’.
Recognised as an example of high density design quality (47dph), the layout re-considers the relation between private and public external places. This provides a new model of house types and street typologies with interior rooftops, internal courtyards and semi-public community gardens. As a contemporary new development, it has set up a legacy line in Cambridge. A series of follow up developments have taken inspiration from the key design principles established in Accordia.
Visiting Accordia and its surroundings in September 2023, we aimed to understand its transformation and to define what makes this area of Cambridge so distinctive.
The Neighbourhood
Accordia is located in close proximity to Cambridge’s town centre, within a permeable network of streets and active travel routes. Its character in contrast with the historic centre, reflects a more contemporary approach to block structure and architecture style. The neighbourhood is characterised by having a range of strong nodes of activity. These respond to different land uses and to the train station as a key movement interchange. As with the rest of Cambridge, green and blue infrastructure provide a distinctive identity. They also act as alternative routes for movement, places for interaction, aiding the sense of community.
The different nodes of activity influence and establish character areas, reflected in a clear distinction between urban tissues, densities and building forms.
1. The residential tissue of Accordia, in contrast with its immediate surroundings, provides a more contemporary block structure with an orthogonal approach and finer figure ground.
The neighbourhood has a highly permeable network of public transport and active travel routes that create easy links to Cambridge’s town centre. Its close location to the train station allows for wider connectivity.
2.The railway line creates a strong division in the tissue making it difficult to provide east to west connections.
3. As a main route to the Town Centre, Hills Road features a variety of crossing points and active travel routes, with a variety of different uses along its path.
Most of the activity is in the areas surrounding Accordia, with key nodes concentrating a diversity of uses, especially around the train station.
4. There are different types of nodes in the neighbourhood, all reachable in walking distance, that are predominantly located on the eastern side; crossing the primary street and the railway.
5. The train station contributes to the variety of activities in the neighbourhood, including Cambridge University, hotels, retail, and commercial establishments.
Green and blue infrastructure is a fundamental feature of the neighbourhood. It is part of a wider city-scale network that supports the connection to the town centre but also provides for local activities.
6. It varies in scale and provision and is well integrated into the city.
7. It supports key active travel routes, contributes to the local character and offers spaces to interact.
STREET – Wilkinson Place
This mews street provides an intimate enclosure, designed at a human scale. It has a visible frontage with a house typology that integrates an annex above the garage. This allows for natural surveillance and activation of the street, despite the fact that it is primarily a street used for vehicular access. As in other streets in the scheme, the layout frames views of existing mature trees and provides clear lines of movement. Parking on the streets and the bins on the frontages diminish the character of the street.
SPACE – Copse Way
As a street typology, it is one of the most interesting and unique features of the scheme. It has been designed to a human scale with the sense of community central to it. The street is directly accessible from the front of the houses, while the parking is located at the back, increasing the interaction within the space where people can gather, eat, grow food, and play. The built form has a consistent rhythm and the street alignment facilitates views of existing mature trees.
SPACE – off of Kingfisher Way
It is the main open space in the development and provides the main play area. It is easily accessible from different locations, including the Vicar’s Brook to the West and the primary pedestrian routes. As a space, it is well contained, by effective surveillance and active frontages, where the integrated parking of the properties does not dominate the street scene and the views. In the same way as the rest of the development, it retains mature vegetation and makes it a design feature of the space. However, as a space of this scale, its use could be more multifunctional and allow for more diversity.
Summary
Accordia as one of the pioneers of high quality design within high-density developments. It has set a legacy for modern schemes in Cambridge with its innovative layout. Incorporating an orthogonal block structure, enables a permeable and interconnected network of streets and pedestrian routes. It does this whilst preserving important views and integrating essential features such as retained mature vegetation. Additionally, the integration of innovative house types reimagines the concept of communal spaces, private areas, and semi-private spaces. These suit a more modern lifestyle, through design focus on human scale and community activities.
Accordia has consistently established distinctive design principles since its completion in 2003 . However, it also raises questions regarding the feasibility of projects like this beyond Cambridge. How well do these principles apply when dealing with the complexities of larger-scale developments? and, how accessible are schemes of this nature to the broader population?
