Hillside Houses
Two houses on a difficult sloping site, using section, retaining strategy and careful planning judgement to unlock development value. The topography is not treated as a nuisance to be hidden, but as the generator of the scheme.
Steep sites are where planning logic, structural thinking and commercial judgement have to work together. This project shows how value can be created by understanding section properly rather than forcing a flat-site solution onto difficult ground.
It is an important project because it demonstrates the practice's ability to turn constraints into a coherent development strategy.
The brief
To unlock a constrained sloping site for two viable houses without losing control of planning risk or buildability.
The response
REA used section, retaining strategy and the stepped character of the land as the basis of the design, rather than trying to disguise the slope.
Outcome
A developer-facing scheme that makes a difficult site legible, buildable and commercially credible.
