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9 September 2004
This is probably the most flexible set of house plans yet on the market, and arguably one with the best relationships between indoor and outdoor spaces to be found.
Housing Design Awards 2004 Judges
Abode, New Hall, Harlow has been named as the overall winner of the Housing Design Awards 2004. More than 100 entries were received with thirty making it to the short list. Abode has been upheld once more as a model of excellent housing design. It was also named as best development by a medium sized housebuilder.
Judges assessed the designs against a wide range of criteria from the relationship of the building to its surrounding and neighbourhood, to the response of the developers to site constraints and opportunities.
The 2004 Housing Design Awards were presented by Keith Hill, Minister for Housing, at the Business Design Centre in Islington on Tuesday 7 September. The awards are run by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the NHBC, the RIBA and the Royal Town Planning Institute.
The judges said, "Thatch? In Harlow? Yes, and coloured render, weatherboard, slates and tiles as well, not to mention louvres, oriel windows and gabion walls. But this first phase of Countryside Properties' parcel at New Hall pulls this potentially indigestible combination of textures off with remarkable success. The overall discipline of the planning, and the careful combination of different dwelling types, means this rich mix is used extremely subtly, and never without good reason. In fact, this is probably the most flexible set of house plans yet on the market, and arguably one with the best relationships between indoor and outdoor spaces to be found. Internal layouts provide flexible living accommodation suitable for sustainable development - so as domestic situations change the buildings can adapt to accommodate new living arrangements without the need to constantly move."
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Information correct as at 09/09/2004