Kevin McCloud’s HAB Scheme Gets Green Light

News reaches us today that Kevin McCloud’s development company HAB (Happiness Architecture Beauty) has been granted planning permission for a 42-unit housing scheme in Swindon.

The Triangle, as it’s called, will be developed in partnership with housing group GreenSquare and should be completed by the end of 2010.

What kind of steel and glass eco-friendly extravaganza will Kev unleash on the good people of Swindon?

Err … well … look … not sure how to tell all you Grand Designs dreamers this, but Kev’s first effort is built around a village green and is based on a terrace of railway cottages in Swindon Old Town (pic below).

I quote:

The scheme consists of two and two-and-a-half storey terraces containing two-, three-, and four-bedroom homes around a central village green.

The architectural expression is deliberately low-key, deriving its character from perfect proportions, carefully-defined details, and high-quality execution.

Hmmmm. If Kev could be cloned and Kev#2 was asked to walk around this development in a hard hat and deliver his thoughts to camera I suspect he’d probably say something like this:

“Contextual sensitivity is admirable and this development, drawing on a very traditional template, is trying very hard indeed to blend in with its surroundings.

“But this project has some big questions to answer. At what point does sensitivity become timidity? At what point does homage become pastiche?

“And is it really possible to pull off this delicate balancing act without ending up with something like … well, Poundbury?”

Cue theme music. Cut to ad break. Await denoument and final judgement.