Liverpool Street

Porter Robson was appointed to unlock the potential of a small under-used site at the junction of Liverpool Street and Mordaunt Road in Southampton, creating four new studio apartments within an established residential neighbourhood.

The project evolved through an extended planning process. An earlier five-unit proposal was refused, prompting a substantial reassessment of the site's capacity, scale and relationship with the surrounding streets. The scheme proposed the development to four apartments, using a simple building form and aligned its height and massing closely with the neighbouring two-storey terraces.

The final design uses a simple two-storey brick volume to continue the established building line along Liverpool Street, completing a previously open corner within the streetscape. Its scale, proportions and pitched roof respond to the prevailing residential character of the area, while dark-framed windows, feature brickwork and carefully controlled detailing give the building a contemporary identity.

Internally, the scheme provides four studio apartments, two at ground floor and two at first floor, each designed to meet national space standards. A shared entrance and stair provide a compact and efficient circulation arrangement, while a private landscaped amenity area, secure cycle storage and refuse provision are integrated into the site.

The development was deliberately conceived as car-free housing. Its location close to Southampton city centre, local shops, bus routes, Southampton Common and wider public transport connections supported a zero-parking strategy, with secure cycle storage provided to encourage more sustainable patterns of travel.

Environmental performance was also embedded in the design from the outset. A fabric-first approach reduces heat loss through improved insulation, compact form and careful junction detailing, while the orientation and placement of windows support natural daylight and cross ventilation. A substantial integrated photovoltaic array provides on-site renewable electricity and further reduces operational energy demand.

The completed architecture retains the straightforward material language of its surroundings. Brickwork gives the building a robust urban character, while the slate-toned roof, dark glazing and photovoltaic panels create a restrained contemporary layer. The result is deliberately familiar in scale but clearly of its time.

Liverpool Street demonstrates how careful design and sustained planning engagement can unlock small urban sites, creating new homes through an efficient use of land while strengthening the existing street and supporting lower-carbon city living.