Oaks Prague is set to be one of the most innovative residential developments in the whole world. The 400 million Euro project will see 220 homes built on a 140 hectare site located 20km to the South-East of the capital city. It will showcase the best in European design thanks to the fact that ten different companies will be contributing designs to the project, seven from the UK and three from the Czech Republic. Architects from each company are set to work alongside Edward Durell Stone Jr and Associates and John Thompson & Partners (the designers of leisure facilities for the site and developer of the style guide respectively).

We were asked to contribute our design for the project, and have been selected as one of the seven UK based specialists. As a environmentally conscious architect in London, our plan represents the kind of community feel we want to create and how we can blend the residential properties into their surrounding environment. Each property should be pleasant on the eye and highly marketable once it is finished.

The ten designs each showcase different takes on residential projects, including various types of housing. Each design is modern and contemporary but maintains the forms of similar villages in the country. The development is set to include a mixture of different properties including detached, semi and terraced houses, apartments and villas. The site will also be home to a golf club, spa and hotel to offer residents the best in relaxation and leisure facilities,

Work on the site is set to begin in the spring of 2015 and could take anywhere from four to five years to get everything finished. If progress is made as planned the first residents will be able to move in during the first phase in the summer of 2016. The project could transform how we look at community architecture and encourage more firms to work together to create sustainable solutions for the residential market.