cemetery rd, sheffield

Cemetery Road is a 3600 sqm new build mixed-use scheme sited one mile southwest of Sheffield City centre. The project is the second undertaken for the client of the successful Sinclair Building in the city. The site borders the local conservation area to the south and east and is located within an established inner suburb, adjacent to the Sheffield General Cemetery.

This high density project proposes nine townhouses flanking a raised courtyard garden, all above a shared semi basement car park, located to take advantage of the sloping site. Three commercial units at ground level with six apartments and an 180sqm penthouse above are located within a four-storey block that fronts Cemetery Road and provides the public face of the scheme.

The internal arrangements of the two blocks of houses are configured to maximise privacy between neighbours with the principal habitable rooms of the easterly block facing the staircases and ancillary accommodation to the rear across the courtyard. Both house types are designed with dynamic cross sections and make a generous provision of balcony and roof terrace areas.

The elevations addressing the conservation area are clad in locally sourced traditional Yorkshire stone; a material that was widely used throughout the city throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. We have juxtaposed the smooth ashlar version of the stone with its rough hewn riven faced counterpart and use these in a composition that reveals the contemporary nature of the new buildings. Within the protective armature of these stone facades the courtyard elevations are intended to be lightweight and informal reflecting the more private nature of this out door room.