Within the context of the growing knowledge economy of Cambridge, and the rising demand for quality housing for knowledge workers within the peripheries of the city, around the campuses located there, this thesis addresses the problem of traditional suburban housing typology, and attempts to derive an alternative dwelling system.

 

Traditional suburban housing provides the knowledge worker with an individual set of conveniences and facilities – from a drive way and garage to a private back garden – which can quickly turn into maintenance burdens when both partners lead busy professional lives. Traditional suburbia is becoming increasingly irrelevant in the context of the knowledge worker family in flux. Using the Accordia project, by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, as a starting reference, the thesis argues for a collectivised approach to suburban dwelling and argues for the implementation of higher densities and the implementation of greater hierarchy, to achieve vitality.

 

The problem is one that needs to be addressed across scales – from the dwelling to the regional network of peripheral housing around knowledge campuses within the London Stansted Cambridge Corridor. This thesis examines the problem at the dwelling and neighbourhood scales, while stressing the need for environments which facilitate social life and entrepreneurial culture.