On Wednesday 19 March, the design by Mecanoo for 232 key worker homes on the North West Cambridge Development of the University of Cambridge was approved by the local planning authorities. Mecanoo integrates characteristics of Dutch architecture and brickwork within the Cambridge context for the apartment blocks.

They include formal and informal groupings of buildings along with two interior courtyards complete with lawns, flower fields and raised decks that all stimulate activity within the communal areas.

The North West Cambridge Development is the largest single capital project that the University of Cambridge has undertaken in its 800-year history. It includes, among other things, 3,000 homes, 100,000 m2 of research space and community facilities including a primary school, a doctors’ surgery, a supermarket and retail units.

It has been designed as an extension to the city, with an urban rather than suburban grain and will be of the highest design quality as well as being an example of sustainable living. Construction on the North West Cambridge Development infrastructure will start later this year with phased completions of the different parts from late 2015 through 2016.