Candidate: St Peter's Lane
Location: Canterbury, Kent
Category: The Great Street Award
Year: 2023
Other finalists in this category: Duke Street Dennistoun, Glasgow and Venn Street, Clapham (winner)
Judges' comments:
“The housing scheme on St Peters Lane has set a new standard for quality and a precedent for schemes across Canterbury. It shows that contrasting architectural styles and materials can work in the hands of a skilled design team and an enlightened developer. High quality materials, excellent workmanship and considered design come together to produce properties which have a positive influence on the community, ‘re-stitch’ the urban grain of the area, and respond to the historic vernacular.” - Katy Neaves AoU, Great Street Co-Lead Assessor
Learning from Place
Key takeaways from the Venn Street assessment
- The whole project team involved here understood and loved this street.
- Local project teams that are invested in the end result create great streets.
- The changes to the street are very focused but the impact is immense.
- The Terrace has very different front and back elevations. This is an unusual and challenging strategy but creates complexity and interest.
- There were many difficult restraints on the site, but the obstacles have been overturned in a way which enriches the scheme.
Thumbnail illustration of St Peter's Lane by David Rudlin AoU, Artist-in-Residence