GUILDFORD PLAZA

A new co-living community in the heart of Guildford’s Bury Street Conservation Area

FOR TIGER DEVELOPMENTS

Focused on the community who will live here as well as neighbours and passers by, our designs for a multi-home development in central Guildford have received planning permission.

The cluster of four buildings provide much needed, high-quality rental homes, aimed at a diverse age group of people working in Guildford. At its core is a new public pedestrian route which runs through the site, creating a permeable and accessible green environment that enables the community to enjoy a central courtyard space.

A 3D architectural site plan showing multi-story residential buildings with green landscaping, trees, pathways, and outdoor seating areas.
A black and white photo of a small town with numerous houses, a church with a steeple, and hilly terrain in the background.
A detailed black and white map showing streets, buildings, and geographic features of an urban area.

A SITE WITH HISTORY

Portsmouth Road dates from the mid-eighteenth century, providing a key route from London to Portsmouth. By the mid-nineteenth century there was substantial commercial and residential development on both sides of Portsmouth Road including within the Guildford Plaza site.

In the later nineteenth century the site was redeveloped to host two breweries: The Castle Brewery from 1838 and The Cannon Brewery from 1844. These were supplemented by soft drink manufacture into the twentieth century until just before World War II when the premises were taken over by the Guildford Glass and Metal Works.

Diagram showing four stages of urban planning: base condition site and courtyard, introducing key connections and simplifying blocks, modifying blocks and introducing setbacks, and varied rooftop and landscape design.

MASSING & STRATEGY

Abstract illustration of a row of houses in shades of beige and gray, with simple geometric shapes and no detailed features.
Simplified illustration of a row of multi-story apartment buildings in various shades of beige and gray.
A hand-drawn illustration of a row of multi-story buildings with various rooflines, windows, and doors, depicted in neutral earth tones.

ARTICULATION, FENESTRATION & COMPOSITION

Each elevation reads clearly as a series of defined blocks with each bay articulated as an individual element within the whole.

Each elevation bay is then individually composed to create a loose and playful composition through a variety of window types and sizes, with subdivision for scale and privacy.

The complete composition balances response to immediate local context with interior function and operational needs.

A digital rendering of modern residential buildings surrounding an outdoor courtyard area with people and bicycles, featuring multi-story brick structures and a small indoor community space.
A modern courtyard surrounded by multi-story brick apartment buildings with people sitting and walking, a food truck, trees, and outdoor seating areas.
Illustration of a modern residential neighborhood with multi-story brick apartment buildings, trees, people walking, biking, and children, under a partly cloudy sky.

LOCATION

Guildford

SIZE

126,600 sqft

STATUS

Ongoing

CLIENT

Tiger Developments