Bell Place

Project: Bell Place
Location: Wolverhampton, West Midlands
Client: M&E Group
Status: Under Construction

The brief

M&E Group approached us to design a landmark new apartment complex and office space on the southern edge of Wolverhampton city centre. Aimed at regenerating an underused and neglected brownfield site on one of the city’s main gateways, Bell Place will provide greater housing choice for Wolverhampton’s young professionals, families and investors, and will support the government’s levelling up agenda.

The approved, £11m scheme comprises 100 one and two bedroom apartments, basement car parking, cycle parking, communal rooftop gardens and associated landscaping. It will also house a 230m² office space for the developer, which will create jobs for the area.

The approach

M&E Group approached us to design a landmark new apartment The existing site, on the corner of Dudley Road and Bell Place, is currently used as a surface car park and conveys a general appearance of neglect. Situated within a 10-minute walk of the city centre and with good public transport connections, the intention was to rejuvenate the site and provide high-quality homes and employment opportunities.

The approved, £11me have adopted elements of this language in our design. Arranged in four distinctive blocks which wrap around the site’s perimeter, the scheme varies in height between two and five storeys and includes a layered form and saw tooth roofing to both respond and connect to surrounding buildings.

 

Our design

M&E Group approached us to design a landmark new apartment Our design for Bell Place focused on providing a visually distinctive building that is suitable for modern living. The material palette features characterful dark and light grey brickwork, red zinc cladding along with feature detailing such as balustrading and clerestory windows. All homes have open plan, dual aspect interiors with floor-to-ceiling glazing to maximise daylight. Those on the ground floor have a recessed front door and street level landscaping to help create ownership of the frontage and provide natural security. Each also has access to private outdoor space in the form of a garden, balcony or roof terrace.

Extensive consideration was given to Bell Place’s environmental impact and a fabric first approach will be adopted throughout construction. The development will include high-efficiency LED lighting throughout as well as rooftop solar PV panels, which are expected to achieve a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of at least 10%. A portion of the roof will be a sedum green roof to improve site biodiversity.

The Results

Approval for Bell Place was secured under delegated powers with no objections in April 2021.

Work commenced on site in summer 2021 and is following an 18 month build programme.