Urbanitarian

Lime Tree Square

by FCB STUDIOS in Street Somerset, UK

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138 homes offered at Lime Tree Square, with 30 homes for social rent.
“Arrivals Square” is the welcoming entrance space from the south, leading to the principal spine route through the site to the north.
The square is landscaped with lime trees and bordered by apartments on the south and east sides and terraced houses on the north and west sides.
Rectilinear grid design to maximize permeability and legibility.
Features semi-private garden streets, mews, and courtyards.

The central square serves as a space for meeting, playing, sitting, and picnicking, creating a vital social hub.
Housing overlooks public spaces, allowing children to play safely outdoors.
The scheme follows shared space and home zone principles, prioritizing pedestrians over cars.
Concerns like visibility were addressed through the design development process and mitigation measures.

A strong landscaping strategy reinforced the concept of shared space.
A management company, supported by Clarks, took on responsibility for maintaining planting and street furniture to a higher standard under license.
A central 600m sustainable reed bed drainage system.
Includes formal avenues, wild habitat area, landscape zones, and a village green.
Large linear park and pocket parks throughout the area.
Ponds and reed beds designed to reflect the local Somerset levels.
Attractive and productive orchards and herb gardens.

Equal rights for cars, pedestrians, and cyclists in a calm environment.
The site avoids long, straight roads to prevent rat running by creating a contorted route through the site.
Plenty of car parking is provided on streets, in garages, carports, and along the central spine route.
The highway authority collaborated with the development team through monthly workshops to resolve all aspects of highway design.
The street grid pattern with strong frontage of terraced units was tested for pedestrian, cyclist, and vehicle use.

Incorporation of street art including a shoe tree, sculptures, and topiary.
Doorstop detailing for an integrated streetscape.

The project achieved the highest score ever awarded by CABE’s Building for Life with 19 points out of 20, achieving a Gold Standard.
Won a Building for Life Award in 2009 and selected by CABE as a case study in a new design guide for the public realm of housing developments.
Shared space road design is utilized as an alternative to conventional traffic-calming methods.
Houses constructed from Structural Insulated Panel System (SIPS).
Solar panels on roofs of 47 phase-1 houses provide hot water.
Mechanical heat recovery system pre-warms incoming fresh air.
The design uses a mix of natural materials with high-quality landscaping, including gabion walls with locally sourced stones, brick and rendered walls, and timber screening for elevated deck areas.