House extension, alteration & refurbishment. Horton, Gower.
Existing house: 58m2 Remodelled property: 110m2
Planning approval granted , so detailed design now under way on another extremely ‘fine grained’ extension.
Existing property is a tiny c.200 yr old cottage, one of the oldest surviving buildings in Horton, that has been insensitively ‘modernised’ in the past, and whose Read the rest of this entry »
Ruperra Castle, nr Rudry
GRAND DECLINES: THE DERELICT MANSIONS OF WALES 1995 – 2010
Photographs of the ruined mansions and larger houses of Wales
Family Home, Swansea. 3 bedrooms + detached garage & garden room [238m2 total floor area]
Floor plans [click to enlarge]
The site is South facing and inclined with lovely distant views which drove the design towards passive solar layouts and large openings facing South. Read the rest of this entry »
For better or worse, the boiler scrappage scheme is now in Wales:
The Welsh boiler scrappage scheme will be launched 6 April 2010.Then the scheme will be open to applications from homeowners over the age of 60. Successful applicants will be offered a voucher worth £500 which can be used to help replace G-rated boilers with A-rated boilers.
The boiler scrappage scheme will be managed alongside our Home Energy Efficiency Scheme by Eaga Cymru.
After 6 April, you can apply by:
Telephone: 0800 316 2816 or
Visit:
Successful applicants will be sent a voucher worth £500. The voucher then needs to be presented to an installer registered with the scheme who would install the replacement boiler.
If you are eligible for this scheme, you may also be able to benefit from additional discounts offered by British Gas, Eaga Heat, npower and Scottish & Southern Energy. For more information on these discounts, please contact the relevant energy provider.
We’re signed up for Architect in the House again.
For a minimum donation of £40 to SHELTER, the housing & homelessness charity, you’ll get a ‘brainstorming’ session to find or refine design ideas for your home - new kitchen / diner, extra bedroom, energy saving refurb…
The link at the bottom of the page goes to the website to find out more.
I love stairs.
Most architects love stairs and dream of extravagant jobs that would fund explorations into more adventurous designs, I know I’ve go a few ideas up my sleeve given half a chance! but until then we must satisfy ourselves with tantalising pictures of other designer’s work - stair porn!
from http://asaptucson.com
Bookshop in Porto from http://www.flickr.com/photos/stukinha
There IS a website dedicated to the pursuit of the perfect stair, that delicate balance between physics, invention, art, aesthetics, safety, economy… and it IS called STAIR PORN. Check out some of Read the rest of this entry »
House Extension, Herts. Extension: 43 m2 / Total House Area: 152 m2.
Grotty side alley with neighbour built against asymmetric boundary.
Side and rear extension to create extra living areas, making maximum use of limited site. Boundary asymmetrically aligned requiring an unusual solution.
Sketch scheme with [part] two storey vaulted side extension.
The design of the extension is typically ‘fine grained’ and results from the specific constraints of the site – the planning guidance restrictions and technical and performance constraints of marrying together existing & new construction. Read the rest of this entry »
Extension & Alterations, Herts. Extension Area: 4.8 m2
One of the smallest extensions I’ve ever done, but also one of the most successful in terms of improving flexibility, functionality and property value. Very ‘forensic’ and ‘tight grain’ design, 100% bespoke, resulting from close survey of the existing house and analysis of options to arrive at the ‘right’ scale of intervention.
Existing layout – crappy kitchen & use of space. This existing kitchen was definitely the low point in this otherwise nice house. The layout was of little practical use and offered little connection with the lovely mature gardens or distant panoramic views. Not contributing much to family life at all.
I proposed we open up the existing kitchen by removing all internal [loadbearing] partitions] and add a new projecting bay window to take full advantage of the views. We moved the utility space into the unused existing garage [with new children's play room in the loft] and formed a new asymmetric glazed link between house & garage that and really connects with the garden and floods the space with natural light.
Here’s a link to the AECB’s [Association of Environmentally Conscious Builders] latest newsletter. I’d recommend anyone with a general interest in building or who is considering building work to have a good at look at what the AECB offers.
http://www.aecb.net/networkfiles/
Loft Conversion & House Refurb, Herts.
House Area: 335 m2 / Loft Conversion: 50 m2.
This project was a major ‘roof off’ loft conversion with additional refurbishment and upgrades to the existing house. The house remained in use during the works; requiring a fair bit of ‘lateral thinking’ and sequencing to minimise disruption Read the rest of this entry »