Marmalade Lane, Cambridge – Projects

Marmalade Lane is a collective custom build development in Cambridge, and the town’s first cohousing community. It is also an excellent example of the benefits of collaborative use of factory-based timber construction.

We worked closely with MOLE Architects and Trivselhus to deliver the 42 new homes. The scheme’s construction is fully prefabricated with a Swedish closed panel timber frame used for the new homes, and a cross laminated timber frame for the apartment block and common house.

By applying a BIM enabled process, we could work closely with MOLE architects from the get-go, bringing customised design features into the scheme early in the process. Once the coordinated design was developed, the model files could be engineered, optimised and transferred directly to the Swedish factory for prefabrication. Working directly with Swedish off-site specialist Trivselhus, our in-house timber team also developed a new design process, design manual and Revit template, ensuring transparent and efficient collaboration throughout.

The Trivselhus system is built around a high-performance closed panel timber wall frame, with pre-installed windows and service containment. The use of large panel factory assembly was chosen because it leads to extremely low air leakage (<2m³) and has high thermal performance. The factory provides a heated, dry, safe environment for prefabrication. The outputs’ quality far exceeds anything that could have been achieved onsite.

In addition to this, the apartment block and co-house building designed and built with Cross Laminated Timber. The material’s strong aesthetic and sustainable qualities closely matched the aspirations of the co-housing community and the client team.

2019 National Urban Design Award Winner - Public Sector

2019 RIBA National Award

2019 Structural Timber Award Shortlist - Social Housing Project of the Year