The UK’s housing challenge isn’t just about building more homes – it’s about building better ones. We’re delighted that our Challender Court Project for Bristol City Council is featured in Good Homes for All 2.0.

“For decades, volume delivery has been dominated by low-density, standardised suburban models that prioritise short-term profit over efficient land use and lasting places. That approach is no longer viable.
Architect-led housing offers a proven alternative. Far from being a luxury, good design is a practical tool that enables higher density without sacrificing quality. It enables higher density, better land use and creates places people actually want to live in.
In partnership with Architects’ Action for Affordable Housing, the Architect’s Journal has launched Good Homes for All 2.0, building on the success of the first edition.
Featuring 15 examples, the guide explores healthier living environments, lower long-term public costs, reduced energy bills and carbon emissions and more durable, adaptable homes.
The takeaway? Intelligent density can deliver better streets, stronger communities and more sustainable outcomes.
The real question is no longer whether we can afford to prioritise design – but whether we can afford not to.”

We visited our site at Branwhite Close, Lockleaze with students from UWE to review progress. The project will deliver 48 new low energy affordable homes for Bristol City Council. The development includes a mixture of houses and flats with an innovative ground sources heat pump heat and hot water strategy. We have been appointed by Stepnell to provide architectural and principal designer services through the technical design and construction phases of the project.

Our New Kingsland Project for Bristol City Council featured in the Architects Journal Special Supplement on Modern Methods of Construction. The 12 page article covered the project and the role of Donaldson Timber’s Sigma II MMC system in its construction.

Two of our projects for Bristol City Council have picked up awards at the Insider South West Residential Property Awards. Our New Kingsland project, won Best Affordable Housing Development of the Year and our Lawrence Weston Project won Residential Development of the Year (less than 100 Units)

Our project for the renovation of Ivory Hill Farm for developers Brownfield Green has been completed. The main farmhouse is a Grade II Listed building that dates back to the 16th Century and is surrounded by a series of barns and outbuildings that were in various states of dilapidation. The site is within sensitive rural location in the South Gloucestershire Green Belt. The project involved the restoration of the farmhouse, the conversion of the various outbuildings to provide six new dwellings.

Our New Kingsland housing project for Bristol City Council is now complete and the tenants have moved in. The project provides 16 new low energy council homes built with an innovative MMC timber panel system. The development is fossil fuel free and each home is provided with an air-source heat pump for hot water and heating and an MVHR to provide fresh air whilst minimising heat loss.

Our Shackleton Heights development for Abri has been completed and is now fully occupied. The development provides 74 new homes with 50% affordable including a mixture of social rent and shared ownership.

“We’re delighted to be working with Bristol City Council to provide these new homes. As Lockleaze is a brownfield site, it’s great to be revitalising this unused land, helping to build communities, and address the shortage of homes across Bristol without putting strain on an ever-expanding city.”

Stephen Lodge, Executive Director of Development and Strategic Asset Management for Abri.

We have just submitted a planning application for this pair of low energy houses in Somerset. Set in a former orchard, these two new rural houses are arranged as an informal cluster around a shared courtyard. The inverted house arrangement provides a full length covered balcony to the first floor living space to provide shading and views out to the open countryside.

We are working on an exciting range of residential and community projects and we have an opening for a Part 2 Architectural Assistant to help support our team.

We are looking for someone with excellent design and communication skills. Candidates should have at least one year of previous practice experience at a range of RIBA work stages. Experience of Vectorworks is desirable but not essential.

Interested applicants should submit a brief CV and portfolio (pdf) to mail@emmettrussell.co.uk. The closing date for applications is 5pm on Thursday 31st March. Please ensure that submitted documents are less than 5MB.

Planning permission has been granted for our proposals for a new boathouse for Bristol Rowing Club. The new building will provide storage space for the club’s fleet of over 80 boats as well as new changing and training facilities. The club, located on Bristol’s floating harbour, is an elite competitive rowing club that provides a range of opportunities for rowers of all abilities.

We have won planning permission for the renovation of Ivory Hill Farm to provide six new homes. The main farmhouse is a grade II Listed building that dates back to the 16th Century and is surrounded by a series of barns and outbuildings that are in various states of dilapidation. The site is within sensitive rural location in the South Gloucestershire Green Belt. The proposals involve the restoration of the farmhouse, the conversion of the various outbuildings to provide new dwellings, and the construction of a new low energy house that is sensitively built into the hillside. 

Planing permission has been granted for our affordable housing development at Passage Road in Henbury. The project will provide sixteen new low energy affordable homes on the site of a redundant post war church.

Our housing project at Constable Road in Lockleaze for Abri Housing Association (formerly Yarlington) has now started on site. The development will provide 74 new homes across a range of tenures including social rent, shared ownership and open market homes. The project is part of a regeneration initiative in Lockleaze that began over ten years ago with the demolition of defective pre-cast concrete council housing.

We are working with contractor Speller Metcalfe to deliver the project. The development works sensitively with the existing context and responds to the slope of the land. This will be a fossil fuel-free development with all heating and hot water provided through air source heat pumps.

Our new house in Redland, Bristol has now been completed. The three storey house sits on the end of a gable fronted Victorian terrace adjacent to a railway embankment. The form of the house echoes the outline of the adjacent gables and responds to the triangular geometry of the site. It is designed with a highly insulated and breathable timber frame construction.

Our new housing development for Bristol City Council has been submitted for planning. The project will provide 16 new affordable homes designed to meet the city’s ambitious sustainability targets.