Moll Architects have been featured in the Architect’s Journal for their 14-flat sustainable development in Dartford, which has now received planning approval. Dartford lies within the area known as the London Basin. The surrounding landscape presents impressive cliffs where the different strata of the surrounding area can be observed. Evoking these textured natural surfaces, Moll Architects have designed a building which is a sculpted mass of soil that has eroded to respond to its immediate surroundings through a series of recesses and deep shadows that animate the external appearance.

The predominant material of the façade is rammed earth. Prefabricated blocks of large format of up to 1m in length are assembled forming masonry planes. These blocks are rich in natural tonal variations and contain 10 times less embedded carbon than conventional bricks. A plinth clad in GRC panels of light colour contrasts the beige tone of the volume, and folds to become the canopy and walls of the access areas.

The building provides a mix of one-bed and two-bed apartments for rental accommodation. The particularity of the volumetric composition is the result of shifting positions of flats on each floor. This movement reacts against the simple repetition of a layout across all levels and provides a complex arrangement that offers multiple choices of views and apartment sizes. The project will also incorporate sustainability strategies like grey water recycling, PV panels or geothermal energy.

Read more from the AJ article here.

Image: Render of the development by Moll Architects.