Chapel, Southampton

Chapel is a brownfield regeneration project in Southampton's St Mary's district, designed by Chetwood Associates. Sited on a former lorry depot five minutes southwest of the city centre, it sits between a main road, a low-rise office park, and a freight rail line. The scheme has been conceived as part of a Southampton City Council regeneration programme and functions as a pedestrian bridge between Ocean Village—a successful waterfront mixed-use development ten minutes' walk away—and the city centre.

The scheme comprises apartments and townhouses, which form three blocks, each with an internal private courtyard. An underground car park is beneath block A1, (on the right of the siteplan) block A2 is in the centre and block A3 is yet to be built. The design of Chapel is a contemporary fusion of brick, white render, wood cladding and grey steel cladding. The detailing of brick walls and steel railings presents a strong frontage to the street, with buffer zones created by small gardens, bin stores and front patios between the pavement and front doors. Streets between the blocks have on street parking but also wide pavements which are well lit and include high quality landscaped gardens and public seating. Affordable and private units are mixed within each block.

Every unit in the scheme has an outdoor space, whether balcony or garden, which is orientated to provide maximum sunshine. In block A1, solar photo-voltaic panels provide electricity to power the lighting for communal corridors.