10 INDUSTRY NEWS A timber Phoenix set to rise in Lewes


One year after proposals were announced for the transformation of a 7.hectare brownfi eld site into the Ks most sustainable neighbourhood, the Phoenix development has been granted planning permission, taking this visionary proect in Lewes a step closer to reality. Designed to prioritise people over cars, the hoenix will be a walkable, multiuse development on a former industrial site in the South Downs National ark. The mixedincome, multitenure development by developer Human Nature will provide 5 homes (30 affordable, made up of 15 homes at local housing allowance levels and the remainder as First Homes), creating “a place to start out in life and a place to stay, said the developer. When complete, its believed that the scheme will be the Ks largest timber built neighbourhood, and “a blueprint for sustainable placemaking and social impact that can be deployed at scale,” the developer added.


Human Nature positions itself as a campaigning development company that designs, builds and manages intrinsically sustainable places which respond to the crises in climate, nature and health. Based itself in Lewes, the company, which was founded by former Greenpeace directors Michael Manolson and Jonathan Smales, promotes “exponential sustainability,” which they defi ne as making it easy and enoyable for people to live sustainably and well.


Human Nature is collaborating with leading K architects, landscape designers and engineers plus local businesses and foundations to create breakthrough models in sustainable placemaking, prioritising social value and impact. The hoenix was masterplanned by Human Natures inhouse design team, alongside regenerative design agency eriscope, and Kathryn Firth, who is director of masterplanning and urban design at Arup.


CREATING A ‘TEMPLATE FOR THE TOWNS OF TOMORROW’ An emphasis on “building connections and enabling interaction in shared spaces and facilities” runs through the design of the Phoenix. In addition to 685 highly energy effi cient homes powered by renewable energy, the new neighbourhood includes public squares and gardens, dedicated community buildings (including a low cost canteen) and a sitelength river walk. A comobility hub will incorporate electriccar share, car hire and car club, electric bike service and a shuttlebus facility  enabling a shift away from reliance on private vehicle ownership and creating safe streets for walking, cycling and wheeling. In arcel 1, the fi rst homes designed in detail (by Ash Sakula Architects) are interwoven with play areas, communal garden plots and a shared cycle store intended to facilitate interaction and promote a culture of shared living. Designed in collaboration with eriscope, a central courtyard gives residents a place to sit, pause, talk and play, and incorporates a rain garden providing protection against fl ooding  similar features will be found across the site. In the wider plan, climateprogressive innovations include a datadriven renewable energy system set to enable 10 to 20 reductions in residents energy bills (part of Human Natures goal of radical affordability), onsite recycling, wastemanagement and composting facilities, and an urbanfarming and communitygardening strategy. The hoenix takes a holistic approach to sustainability. As well as considering operational carbon (emissions from heat and power) and embodied carbon (emissions from materials and


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construction), the project has been designed based on its wholeplace carbon footprint, which includes emissions caused by transport and human behaviour on the site up to the year 2100. Circulareconomy principles are embedded into plans for design and operation. The hoenixs buildings will be constructed from engineered timber including CLT (crosslaminated timber), with prefabricated cassettes made from local timber and biomaterials such as hemp  with local apprenticeships trained onsite in modern methods of construction, one of the ways the proect will maximise social impact,” said Human Nature. Where possible, existing materials from the sites industrial past  including cladding, steel trusses, bricks and buttresses  will be salvaged, and repurposed or “reconstituted.”


COLLABORATION, CONNECTION & COMMUNITY


The hoenix team have worked closely with thousands of local residents, three dedicated community working groups and more than 0 businesses and stakeholder organisations to evolve the proect in response to community needs. Since the initial planning application was submitted in early 2023, there have been three rounds of consultation, resulting in a number of refi nements to the initial plan including the relocation of the proposed neighbourhood health centre to a more accessible site in a future phase. At the planning committee in


February, members voted for a resolution to grant planning permission, subject to section 106 agreements and resolution of any outstanding issues with National Highways.


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