space pad, sheffield

Project Orange has obtained Planning Permission for this new mixed use building in Sheffield.

Sheffield is currently embracing an urban renaissance spurred by renewed investment after years of decline. The scheme is located within the Devonshire Quarter, on a dynamic arterial route connecting the city centre with the University and residential suburbs to the west. The brief was to create a high density mixed use development of compact housing units, aimed at students and first time buyers, above an active street frontage of bar, restaurant and retail uses.

The building sits on the south side of the street, with views over Devonshire Green and unites the diverse architectural language of the existing street forming a central pavilion within the urban block. Twenty-eight studio apartments over four storeys form the main body of the building with a commercial ground floor and a setback penthouse storey above. This contains four two-bedroom apartments. The studio units are expressed as the main building blocks of the elevations; a cubic composition of projecting vitrines and glass balconies. The Cor-ten steel cladding is a comment on the city's industrial heritage and an appropriately robust material for this urban location.

The small studio apartments are designed to be as efficient as they are seductive and to satisfy needs both practical and emotional. With generous views through the floor to ceiling glazing each apartment is bathed in light. Each unit includes a compact bathroom, a kitchen and a flexible living/sleeping zone.