Grove Village

Grove Village is a master-planned residential community defined by its relationship to the land. Rather than clearing a site for a traditional subdivision, the plan treats the mature woodland as the primary organizing principle, embedding the built form within the grove so that trees and topography dictate the layout of streets, buildings, and public space.

Site Context

The village sits on undulating ground, with existing forest paths that already establish a human scale and a sense of enclosure. The grove is the defining infrastructure here — the canopy provides a climatic buffer, the forest floor shapes the pedestrian network, and the mature trees act as permanent anchors for the architecture. The plan follows these existing logics, weaving the new housing into the existing woodland fabric rather than imposing a rigid orthogonal grid over it.

Master Plan

The village is organized around a loose grid of pedestrian courts and shared courtyards, which minimizes the overall footprint of the buildings and preserves the canopy cover. The layout is clustered to create distinct neighborhoods while maintaining a continuous woodland walk that threads through the entire site. This approach allows for a higher residential density without sacrificing the character of the grove, as buildings are grouped together and public space is shared.

Built Form

The housing stock is a mix of typologies that responds to the varying scales of the site:

Terraced houses that follow the contours of the land
Mews-style houses with private gardens and shared courtyards
Low-rise apartment blocks for higher-density housing
A community house and village shop at the entrance to the site

All buildings share a consistent material palette of timber, brick, and glass, which allows them to recede into the wooded landscape while still forming a coherent architectural language. Passive design is central to each building, with orientation, thermal mass, and natural ventilation used to reduce the need for mechanical heating and cooling.

Public Realm

The public realm is the social connective tissue of the village. At the heart of the site is the Village Core — a central common that serves as a gathering place for residents. A network of woodland walks connects the different neighborhoods, and a community house and shop provide the everyday amenities that make the village a complete place to live. The design also includes a variety of smaller shared spaces, such as play areas and seating nooks, that are tucked into the forest edge to provide quiet retreats.

Sustainability

Sustainability is woven into the fabric of the village through a combination of ecological and architectural responses:

Passive design across all housing typologies
Rainwater harvesting and greywater recycling
Biodiversity enhancements along the woodland walks
Permeable paving and green roofs on the buildings
A focus on durable, natural materials that age gracefully