Our brief was to design a modern yet affordable later-living development to regenerate a city centre site on Lower Commercial Street in Newport. The aim was to provide quality local homes that would act as a catalyst for wider regeneration.

We worked closely with Pobl, Newport City Council and the Welsh Assembly Government to secure the necessary Vibrant and Viable Places (VVP) funding, which was fundamental in bringing the project onto site.

The application for VVP funding meant that the scheme had to be technically appraised at the pre-planning stage. This meant that we knew the scheme was deliverable from the planning stage, and we could identify overall project costs. We undertook several community and key stakeholder engagement events throughout the process, as well as presenting the scheme to the Design Commission for Wales where it received high praise. 

The final design includes three buildings containing 38 modern apartments. Multiple communal areas have been included for residents to enjoy, including an enclosed landscaped courtyard, a rooftop garden, and a café area. On ground level, there is a retail unit and the existing car park walkway has been refurbished which has helped to uplift the street scene. High quality materials and finishes were used in the build, but these were carefully balanced against value, durability, and future maintenance costs.