Melfield Gardens

Built

Melfield Gardens, Lewisham. Photo by Tim Crocker

A fully affordable intergenerational housing development mixing older people and students. It provides 30 independent living homes for people aged 55+ and 2 four-bed student homes.

Melfield Gardens grew from a shared ambition with Phoenix Community Housing to deliver an intergenerational housing model that could offer social value for both residents and the wider neighbourhood.

The project brings together bespoke housing for older people with affordable homes for Goldsmiths University students, where they contribute a few hours each month to support and spend time with older residents. This arrangement helps reduce loneliness across generations and encourages everyday neighbourly connections.

NEW LONDON AWARDS 2021

Shortlisted in the UNBUILT category
Melfield Gardens is a highly sustainable, affordable housing scheme on a constrained site in Lewisham. It is designed to a Passivhaus standard as the first step towards zero carbon. Most of the new homes are for people aged over 55 years, with some accommodation allocated for postgraduate students from Goldsmiths to bring the benefits of intergenerational housing. In return for spending a few hours each week with older residents, the students will be charged a lower rent. The homes are highly flexible and dual aspect.

Zero Carbon London

→ 55% reduction in carbon

→ 30% reduction in carbon through the fabric
alone and 17% through renewable energy

→ <15kWh/m2/yr space heating demand

A highly sustainable, affordable housing scheme for people aged over 55 years, with some accommodation allocated for postgraduate students from Goldsmiths to bring the benefits of intergenerational housing. The east/west orientation of the site is not ideal for Passivhaus, so it was essential to optimise the ‘form factor’ by keeping the massing simple for both the two subtlety-cranked buildings. The size and placement of the triple- glazed windows have been carefully considered in relation to orientation, and shutters will be used to prevent overheating on the west-facing facades. Brick banding, slight recesses, ribs and columns will add expression without adversely impacting the high thermal performance of the wall build-ups.

For more information on the project, visit Levitt Bernstein's website.

Project information

Status

Built

Borough

Lewisham

Size

2570 sq m

Completion

July 2025

Location

12 Melfield Gardens, London SE6 3AH, UK