Urban apartments · Play & SuDS
Staines Road, Hounslow
35 apartments across two buildings in a dense urban setting, with integrated play, shared amenity spaces, wildflower green roofs and legible water management.
Project overview
Compact urban living with integrated play, planting and SuDS
Staines Road, Hounslow delivers 35 apartments across two buildings on a tightly constrained urban plot. The landscape needed to provide meaningful amenity, play and ecological uplift while responding to overlooking, access and drainage requirements.
The design weaves together doorstep play, shared gardens, a wildflower meadow, green roofs and a swale into a coherent ground and roofscape. Legible water management runs through the proposals, making SuDS visible and understandable as part of everyday resident experience.
Tags
Urban apartments Integrated play Wildflower green roofs SuDS & swales Amenity spaces
Project snapshot
- Client
- Residential developer client
- Location
- Staines Road, Hounslow, London
- Scope
- Landscape proposals to support planning, including amenity, play, green roofs and SuDS.
- Key elements
- 35 apartments across two buildings, doorstep play area, shared amenity spaces, wildflower meadow, green roofs and a planted swale for surface water management.
The challenge
Making space for play, planting and SuDS in a tight urban plot
The site sits within a dense urban context, with a compact footprint and neighbouring properties on several sides. Ground level open space was limited, yet the scheme needed to provide play, amenity, biodiversity and robust drainage.
The challenge was to organise movement, entrances, parking and services while carving out multi-functional spaces that would feel generous, safe and green, rather than leftover or purely functional.
Our approach
Layering amenity, play and water management into one coherent landscape
The landscape strategy focuses on making every square metre work hard – combining play, seating, planting and SuDS so that the external spaces read as a single, legible environment for residents.
1 · Clarifying the ground plane
We organised access, entrances and circulation first, ensuring safe and intuitive movement around the two buildings while protecting key areas for planting, play and quiet amenity.
2 · Integrated play & amenity
Play is located close to homes as part of a broader shared garden, with seating, planting and informal spaces that work for all ages, not just children.
3 · Legible water management
A swale and planted drainage features are used as visible elements of the landscape, making surface water management understandable while contributing to character and habitat.
Outcomes
A compact, multi-layered landscape that works hard for residents and ecology
The proposals demonstrate how a relatively small external area can deliver genuine amenity, play, biodiversity and clear SuDS benefits when treated as a single, integrated system.
Better use of limited space
Every part of the site contributes – from play and seating to green roofs and swales – creating a richer environment than conventional hardstand and token planting.
Clear SuDS narrative
Water management is visible and understandable, supporting planning discussions and highlighting the benefits of SuDS within a dense urban context.
Enhanced biodiversity & resident experience
Wildflower planting, green roofs and the swale system contribute to ecology, while providing a more attractive outlook and everyday experience for residents.
Looking to unlock more from compact urban sites?
We can help you integrate play, amenity, biodiversity and SuDS into dense residential schemes, creating landscapes that perform well for residents, ecology and planning.
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