Highgate

Character

The scheme’s legible plan is animated by being laid on the dramatic site with its steep slopes and long views across the city. Two parallel blocks are arranged running north-south along the contours with short blocks across the slope and a short island block of flats above garages in the scheme's centre.

Roads, parking and pedestrianisation

Vehicles enter by a carriageway running across the contours from Framwellgate Peth (A 691). From this central spinal cul-de-sac, residents access garages, (including small garage courts behind two of the apartment blocks), on-street parking and parking in rear gardens. The concentration of vehicles in the development’s centre is a consequence of the topography and the busy surrounding roads which preclude parking on the edges of the site. Because houses are generally at a higher level looking out above the cars these do not intrude as they would on a flat site.

The central street appears to be over-engineered since the highway authority insisted on curb and radii standards more appropriate for larger traffic flows than likely here. Because of the sloping site, front doors of the long blocks are reached from a footpath which is around two metres above the carriageway.

A main pedestrian route running along the southern boundary of the site, with a pedestrian and cycle bridge across Castle Chare (A690), links to the scheme’s central street and connects the mainline railway station with the city centre, only a few minutes walk away. This unusual elevated pathway is well used since it is carefully integrated with the topography, is more convenient than alternatives and is safe from the point of view of both traffic and security.

Care has been taken over the boundary between the public and private realms. Railings are used where there are likely to be most pedestrians passing house fronts, such as on the path to the station. In other less busy locations a simple change of surface, for example river stones in front of ground floor windows, marks the edge of the private realm.

Design and construction

Nine standard house types, four flat types and two mews flat types of two and three storeys with occasional fourth-floor roof spaces, were specially designed for the scheme and are arranged to step up the hill. Apartment blocks have been ingeniously integrated with houses in the same terrace by providing ground floor units with front doors and disguising access to the first and second floors as narrow fronted town houses. 

The range of house types, derived from eighteenth and nineteenth century Durham, is supported by a variety of appropriate local materials and details. Windows are carefully sized to relate to the floors on which they are located and are generous in proportion to the solid wall surface, creating light interiors even in bathrooms. This is in contrast to some recent schemes which reinterpret traditional or vernacular models but where windows are smaller to achieve insulation levels required by building regulations.

High quality materials have been carefully selected - timber gives windows a degree of elegance and cobbles and York stone match the old streets of Durham. A range of six facing bricks and five coloured renders are carefully juxtaposed to give subtle variations in tone as are three colours of artificial slate chosen for roofs. Red tiles on the island apartment block and several other units add extra colour.

Highgate’s extensive use of chimneys together with stepped ridgelines produces an interesting skyline when seen against the wooded hillside from the city centre. On Castle Chare some prominent exposed gables, which contribute to the scheme’s silhouette when seen from the south, have been clad with lead.

Internal space standards are generous with relatively wide entrance halls, staircases and landings. Storage space includes walk-in bedroom cupboards. Overall energy performance of the housing reaches no more than required by building regulations, but condensing boilers have been installed in all units and additional insulation in the walls is some compensation for the use of large windows.

Environment and community

All houses have gardens, but with no usable open space provided within the scheme, a small public garden has been landscaped above the development and offers dramatic glimpses of the cathedral and city.