June 14 2005

Shed KM have been asked to develop their ground-breaking terraced house design for Manchester Methodist Housing Group (MMHG). The Liverpool architects scheme follows on from work that they undertook for Urban Splash in the Langworthy area of Salford. “In the Urban Splash scheme we inverted the usage of the traditional tenement, placing living space in the upper floors and bedroom space on the lower. The scheme is in one of the Pathfinder areas and Urban Splash are looking at it to see if it can turn out to be cost neutral,” said James Weston, director of Shed KM.

Subsequently, MMHG approached Shed KM for a smaller yet riskier strategy nearby in Langworthy but just outside the Pathfinder areas. “Rather than knocking through to the adjacent property, we’ve pulled through two properties back to back and incorporated the back alley space – which was always the least successful element of the terrace – into an internal courtyard,” said Weston. The scheme would convert 60 terraced houses into 30 longer dwellers. There are no immediate plans to build however. “We’re very enthusiastic about helping to improve this area of the city but currently have no definite timescales for seeking planning permission as we’re looking at the scheme in a wider strategic context,” said Peter Bojar, Regeneration Manager at MMHG.

Urban Splash’s scheme for 396 units in the Langworthy marks the business’s first foray into the market of renovated terraced buildings. Initially we were reluctant to look at it because we hadn’t had any experience, but we were convinced it was worth a try,” said Tom Bloxham, director of Urban Splash.

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