We hear from Recent University of Nottingham B.Arch Graduate Anna Greig. Anna provides us with a snapshot of her recent commendation winning project at this years ndsa student awards symposium

GreenTown ’23 is a self-sufficient housing community, providing a new active edge to central Milton Keynes. GreenTown was a movement active in the 1970s and 80s which sought to establish an alternative way of living within the developing town. Inspired by this unrealised aspect of Milton Keynes my aim was a modern reinterpretation of this original idea: introducing a large housing community to the city centre to densify the area and bring more people and life to CMK.

Studying the unused land areas in CMK revealed an area of approximately 40 hectares taken up by surface car parks. Keen to reduce the car domination, GreenTown ’23 is a masterplan scheme which repurposes the perimeter car parks forming a purposeful edge to the city. The idea of forming this linear community came from Peter Barber’s ‘One Hundred Mile City’ concept for London. My project forms a ‘Two Mile City’ along the edges of the city centre, also celebrating the currently featureless entrances into CMK.

The project itself offers a variety of housing types from 1 bedroom studios to 4 bedroom houses with a flexible 5 th bedroom option allowing for family growth. The scheme aims to form a diverse community including families and individuals from a variety of backgrounds.

Furthermore, with mixed tenure housing and reduced rent initiatives it addresses current social segregation and inequality problems. Each house has its own outdoor space as well as shared community gardens with the objective to encourage food growing and enhance the residents’ connection to nature. This, alongside green roofs and planted ‘streets in the sky’ would improve the biodiversity of Milton Keynes.

Adapting unused car parking spaces into new homes is the core to the project, revitalising this soulless edge to the city by creating a new community along its edges. The scheme has been designed in modular blocks so that it is able to be built up over time as Milton Keynes grows. Consisting of housing, circulation and community cores plus inhabited bridges, the scheme can be adapted to different scenarios, designed to fit the distinctive CMK system of Gates and Boulevards, but flexible enough to fit around the existing landscape. The city can gradually reduce its car parking facilities, encouraging alternative green transport methods and providing housing to those who need it.

The scheme is made up of CLT construction. Able to be factory built, this ensures the highest standards of airtightness are met and also allows for easy replication of the modular design. Clad in Kenoteq Bricks on the lower layers guarantees a residential feel, whilst utilising a modern form of recycled brick. Higher level facades and the bridge houses are clad in Cork, a renewable, natural and lightweight material. Designed to PassivHaus standards and with Net Zero operational carbon, the scheme will meet current and future building standards and support sustainable living for many years to come. 

GreenTown ’23 also subscribes to the ‘15 Minute City Philosophy’, with all amenities accessible within a 15-minute walk. This promotes a new way of living in cities and achieves a higher quality of life for their residents. It addresses the outdated ‘zoning’ implicit in the original New Town masterplan and aligns with the City Council’s own priorities for urban living as defined in their Alliance Plan.