Urban design coding; Case study: Accordia

Urban design deals with all the exterior design criteria in a particular project. The surrounding context and the way the newly built structure is interacting with it adds to the project’s overall success and longevity.

This concept usually applies for rather large development projects, such as big scale housing developments, University campuses, etc.

Any considerable development project must be sensitive to its surroundings, and must integrate into this pre-designed world in order for it to appeal to the customer/user. Therefore, a number of criteria must be met and celebrated.

Sustainable design is becoming more and more of a necessity around the world, even so in buildings.

For the purposes of this case study, I have decided to look at the first ever housing development to win the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Stirling Prize in 2008. The development is located in Cambridge, England and it is called Accordia.

It was built over a period of three stages, and the first stage is the one that was the award winning phase.

Our class and I have paid a visit to the site, so I was able to familiarise myself with the context and the feel of the entire project altogether.

The conclusions are yet to follow.