Project: Priddy’s Hard Housing
A unique coastal site at the historic Priddy’s Hard in Gosport – the former site of the Royal Navy’s armaments production. The site is occupied by large masonry historic structures or ‘traverses’ that once formed blast walls to shell filling sheds, now Grade II listed. Our scheme provides nine new houses, six set within the bays of the traverses, and three occupying the site of former sheds to make a unique environment. The houses seek to ‘float’ within the bays, with accommodation raised up on columns provide car parking space and entrance hall beneath. Living accommodation at first floor with a terrace facing the lake opposite, and bedrooms at second floor. The houses are clad in dark grey profiled metal cladding, hinting at both former sheds and naval architecture. Formerly the Priddy’s Hard Ministry of Defence Ordinance Depot, a
that ‘float’ within the bays, offering a ‘light touch’ – so that the traverse
series of Shell Filling and Emptying Rooms constructed between 1880
walls can be seen around and under the houses. These are then clad in
and 1915 with their surrounding blast walls or ‘traverses’ sit within the
corrugated metal in a dark grey tone, hinting at both the idea of utilitarian
Priddy’s Hard Conservation Area. Ramparts to the east are registered as a
industrial sheds and the battleship grey of the Royal Navy. The houses are
Scheduled Ancient Monuments.
‘open’ fronted, with glazed walls set back from forward canting fronts, which counterpoints the battered traverse walls.
The inter-tidal mudlands of Forton Lake are designated as sites of Special Scientific Interest, as a Special Protection area for birds and as a Wetland
Occupying the sites of the two former Trotyl melting room structures, two
site of International Importance under the International Convention on
elevated houses again float above a continuation of the existing blast wall,
the Conservation of Wetlands (Ramsar site).
providing ‘bookends’, clad in a lighter grey metal cladding.
Our design concept begins with finding a suitable design for the houses set
The final house acts as a kind of ‘gatehouse’ – this house, now remote
within the traverses – the aspiration to both pick up on the naval heritage
from the remaining brick structures, sits squarely on the ground in brick
of Priddy’s Hard and to contrast with, yet avoid competing with, the heavy
construction.
masonry structure. The design therefore adopts metal-clad buildings
PROJECT DETAILS Client: Status: Contract value:
Haxted Estates Completion 2016 c. £2.7M
Structural Engineer: Civil + Highways: Heritage:
Momentum Opus Conservation Plus