Viewforth Affordable Housing, Kirkcaldy
Viewforth is a brownfield regeneration site in the heart of an established neighbourhood of Kirkcaldy. This former school site will deliver a total of 87 new homes, 15 of which are affordable to rent. The site originally contained a C listed building planned for conversion, but a devastating arson during the planning process led to its demolition. This led for a change in the initial concept for Viewforth, but the regeneration creates a series of linked pocket neighbourhoods which integrate the Sustainable Urban Drainage network and offer open outlooks of the sea views from the site.
The Viewforth affordable homes were planned to be integral and complementary to the wider development. The site is designed to reflect the urban forms of the surrounding established street patterns in this Sinclairtown neighbourhood of Kirkcaldy.
Viewforth has been designed to connect into the Sinclairtown street network providing pedestrian access to Ravenscraig Park, Dysart beach, Sinclairtown Primary School and Kirkcaldy town centre. The development is designed to be pedestrian permeable with formal and informal routes bisecting the development, opening this former school site to the public.
Viewforth affordable creates a strong courtyard to link with the streets and spaces in the development. A mix of 2 bedroom cottage flats, 3 and 4 bedroom terraced homes helps to create a mixed and diverse community for new residents.
The layout is designed around a courtyard that visually terminates the main access road into the development. The mix of cottage flats and short terraces maintains the scale and urban forms of neighbouring private for sale homes. Gable windows were introduced into house designs to create active street frontages and also to exploit the spectacular views .
Viewforth occupies an elevated site with a stunning panorama looking south over the Forth estuary to Edinburgh and the Pentlands, and East to the Isle of May and the Bass Rock. The changing weather and maritime traffic provide a constantly moving backdrop to the development and stunning views .
This brownfield site has new open green spaces created, with tree planting used to support both the SUDS and bio diversity. Both private and public garden spaces have been created, with hedgehog corridor spaces made in fence ways.
