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Southwest Home & Garden Show
On the 9th and 10th of April, we will be at the Southwest Home & Garden Show
The event will be held next weekend at Westpoint Arena, Exeter and we have 10 free tickets to give away.
If you would like one please email Studio@livingspacearchitects.com with the following:
We have a limited quantity of tickets although you can book a ticket below:
Land Suitability Checklist
A lot of sites will only have a few constraints, but by taking a careful approach you will head- up any potential issues of the land quickly and avoid the expensive mistake of falling in love with a site that will cost a lot of money to develop.
By checking these things you will be more certain you can create your project and form a more accurate budget.
If there is anything you are unsure about, get further advice. You can speak to your local authority about planning matters, ask your solicitor for legal advice or get in touch with us about design advice for the land and other specialists you can talk to.
You can also look at planning applications for similar projects that have been granted permission nearby using the council’s online records. This might highlight potential stumbling blocks or show how others have dealt with them.
To find your Local Authority’s planning applications online look for “search for applications online”.
New Build Interview – Exeter Living
Building your own new build home?
We asked Stuart Bayley for his top tips…
What ‘homework’ should a person have already done before they approach an architecture firm like yours?
It is helpful to have created a scrapbook or Pinterest board of houses and projects that you like – including their materials.
What is a really important thing to think about before proceeding?
Consider the orientation of the house to the sunshine and views – ideally, combine the two together so the house can open up to the landscape whilst still benefitting from an ideal solar orientation for natural/passive design.
What are the main pitfalls?
Rising material prices and construction costs are increasing the contingency that builders are having to apply to their tender / fixed prices – making the overall projects more expensive.
When it comes to design how much do you do and how much does the customer do? How does that relationship work?
We like to create a few alternative layouts at an early stage for our clients which can then lead to a strong element of client-guided development and working together in developing a suitable design. Many of our clients are families and couples – rather than developers – so they engage us to help them create their unique dream house.
Any new trends we should be paying attention to?
the increasing need to incorporate renewable technologies to heat our houses in the future and the need to create our own PV for electrical supply – often in conjunction with a large storage battery for the home.
Is there an increased demand at the moment for new builds/ extensions? How has Covid affected your company?
land with planning permission and that is suitable for new houses in short supply – so consider barn conversions or replacement dwellings as a fall-back position for a new contemporary home.
The brief was to create an eco-friendly family home. The client’s vision was rather unusual though they wanted an upsidedown house. Stuart Bayley, co-director at living space architects, tells us how they did it…
As anyone who loves their property programs will know connecting with nature is currently a big thing for those designing and producing a new home, especially in these parts. few pull off the development which immerses itself so unequivocally in the surrounding landscape as this family home though.
Located in Dunsford, just outside of Exeter nestled into lush greenness the smooth curved roof is the first thing you notice it sets the tone for the property and conveys that this is a place of calm; a gentle space where there is something of a free flow between the inside and outside.
The house split level is a quirky design; all the bedrooms are on the ground floor, the living spaces on the first floor (hence being called an ‘upside-down’ house); and amazingly, all rooms in this property have access to the outside garden.
Stuart tells us that his favorite space are the windows of the ground floor bedrooms as these are designed to avoid any potential overlooking off the neighboring land and house.
What are the other eco-friendly credentials of the property?
Read the full latest edition of Exeter living here.
Our Latest Eco-Homes
Planning Win: New House In Exminster
We have received planning permission for this exciting new house design just outside Exeter. A replacement dwelling, the home will be constructed using ICF insulated blocks to a high level of insulation and airtightness.
The heating will be supplied via an air-source heat pump and use mechanical ventilation and heat recovery meaning it will reach near Passive energy standards. The broken form was designed to respond to views, light, and the prevailing winds, with large overhands offering shade and reducing glare.
On-Site: Modern English Farmhouse,
On-Site: New Family Farm House, Dunkeswell
The design of the proposed dwelling is a two-storey farmhouse with local flint stone details and a timber oak frame kitchen and sunroom.
Planning Win: Listed House Extension in Exeter
We have received planning permission for a replacement extension to a Grade II listed detached townhouse, situated on a private road in St Leonards. The replacement extension features crittal doors and a section of glass flooring to allow natural lighting into the basement.
Our RIBA Work Stage Videos
Stage 1 – we complete a measured survey of the project and or site. The laser scanner produces a 360º image and laser scan data for each room, we then align the scans from each room with the last. When we are back in the office we use the point cloud data to draw a 3D model in Revit bim software, based on the existing plans elevation and site.
Stage 2 we illustrate the basic concept of the designs. We do this by creating a series of sketch designs or design options for you, looking at how to make the most of your site, existing building, or interior. This stage is essential to help you make the most of your brief and budget. In the second half of stage 2, we draw up the sketch designs in Revit and provide 3D views to our clients.
This phase also includes developing the designs based on client feedback.
Featured in Self Build And Design
We are pleased to see our ‘Origami’ Project featured in the September 2021 edition of Self Build & Design!
Dartmoor Planning Advice
Going to visit a new project on Dartmoor is one of our favourite parts of our job. No matter what time of year, Dartmoor always has a new colour to reveal, new light over the moorland or mossy corner down a lane. Dartmoor is full of contrasts and those of you who have chosen it as your home know only too well; a special kind of magic.
Planning advice
Designing architecture in Dartmoor national park requires a particular sensitivity to these special things; the changing light, materials and existing farm buildings that nestle into the landscape. It isn’t the place for high-end architectural acrobatics, however, it is for the creation of quiet, beautiful spaces. When we start a project we begin by considering what makes the place special? What is the particular microclimate of the site? And of course what will work with the particular landscape and site features?
If you are creating an extension or altering an existing home on Dartmoor, it is important to consider the design guidance available on the local authority website. This includes a wealth of information about what you need to consider in relation to their planning policy.
You may think the guidance would steer you towards a more traditional approach, but appropriate contemporary architecture still has its place and there are some really good examples of how modern design approaches can sit really well within the National Park. You can access the design guide here.
Of course if you are thinking of carrying out a project on Dartmoor we would be delighted to come and talk to you or have a remote chat on Zoom or Skype.
Living Space has a wealth of experience working within Dartmoor National Park and carry out planning applications and appeals for clients across the south-west. If you have a particular question or would like someone to get in touch fill out our enquiry form here:
Shortlisted For the Build It 2020 Awards
Living Space is delighted to announce that we have been shortlisted for the Build it awards, under the category: ‘Best Architect or Designer for a Self Build Project’
*Voting closes on the 12th November 2020*
Using Virtual Reality at Living Space
At living space architects, we offer our clients the opportunity to experience their designs.
Our 3D visualisation software creates a walkthrough experience, which allows the client to gain a better spacial understanding of their project long before it is built.
These 3D visualisations are created by our rendering software, Enscape, which you can try for yourself by following the link below.
https://api2.enscape3d.com/v1/view/72bf5c61-9fb8-4da0-bbaf-79e95e4c93f2
(Currently there is no support for Internet Explorer/Edge/Safari or iOS devices)
A a result of lockdown, we have not been able to have meetings in the office to show clients our designs. Instead we have been sending over web links, (like the one above) that the clients can use to explore their projects from home.
The Process:
When we visit the clients site we use 3D scanning and point cloud technology to measure the property. We can then use these measurements to create the existing structure on Enscape.
Class Q Barn Conversions
Class Q legislation provides a means of increasing the value of agricultural buildings through transforming them into new accommodation. We have worked on many of these projects, taking unused barns and converting them into spacious new homes or ancillary living quarters. Gaining consent for the works requires careful consideration in order to justify the barn’s eligibility for Class Q conversion.
Crucially important to the success of these works is the collaborative effort involved. Both Alister King-Smith of Stags planning services as well as Robert Thomson of Simon Bastone Associates have been involved on a range of our projects, providing the necessary specialisation to make our designs fly.
At the moment, we are working on a number of different schemes and below we highlight a few case studies of recently-approved Class Q applications that we have been involved in:
Conversion of Two Barns – Cullompton
Our clients in Cullompton came to us with the exciting brief of converting two barns on the same plot – one steel-framed and fully clad, the other mainly block.
Our designs for the barns transformed the larger, steel-framed structure into a three-bedroom dwelling and the finalised designs can be seen below:
Dutch Barn – Bickington, Newton Abbot
This Class Q conversion project has created a two-storey dwelling within a barn situated in the garden of a farmhouse. The steel structural frame and curved roof, archetypal features of Dutch barns, will be retained whilst some of the cladding is removed in order to allow for the insertion of windows and doors.
Piggery – Stoke Climsand, Cornwall
This project concerned the change of use of an old piggery into a residential property. The building lies on farmland and we have worked in collaboration with both Stags planning as well as Simon Bastone Associates’ structural engineering services in order to gain permission for its development.
The building has always been in agricultural use and will retain its current external materials whilst having windows, doors and services installed in order to enable it to become a three-bedroom residential dwelling.
Featured In Self Build & Design
We are pleased to have been featured in the July 2020 edition of Self Build & Design, in this article our directors where interviewed by Debbie Jeffery about Life as Architects.