Newmarket Road, Cambridge

Fields View is the sensitive redevelopment of a redundant former cattery and kennels on the rural edge of Hilton, Cambridgeshire. The project replaces a collection of outdated commercial buildings with four individually designed homes, retaining the established developed character of the site while creating a more considered relationship with the surrounding countryside.

The site presented a number of important constraints, including its edge-of-settlement location, areas of flood risk, proximity to neighbouring agricultural uses and a previous refusal for residential development. These considerations informed a fundamentally revised approach: reducing the scale and massing of the buildings, containing development within the established site footprint and arranging the homes as an informal cluster rather than a conventional suburban layout.

Architecturally, the scheme takes its cues from traditional farmsteads and agricultural buildings found throughout the local area. Simple single-storey pitched-roof forms, low eaves and strong gables are combined with a restrained palette of brick, flint, timber cladding, clay tiles and natural slate. New hedgerows, tree planting and soft landscaping reinforce the rural setting, while improved access, energy-efficient construction and low-carbon technologies support the wider sustainability strategy.