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Western Morning News: A Labour of Love
Apprentice Awards 2017
An English take on a German design: Stoke Poges
Our client came to us with the brief of creating a house with a similar feel to the award-winning German Huf Haus design.
Creeping into the UK market, these timber and glass houses are generally two-storeys high with pitched roof separated at the gable. Typical features include terraces, canopies, roof lights and large windows…we were excited to get started!
The interior is often a very open design with double-height spaces, galleries, high ceilings, open dining, living and kitchen rooms, and connected yet private bedrooms. The design aims to maximise the sunlight and bring the natural world directly into the living space.
Big open spaces and the natural light appealed to our client, but they wanted to have a little more privacy and a more ‘homely’ feel than the original German design.
Our design
For the ground floor, we designed a bright, open living dining and kitchen space, capturing sunlight from the top of the roof and big sliding windows and connecting to a glazed dining area..
The bedrooms were placed in the first floor with en-suites and connections to a large terrace.
We decided to use a innovative construction for our new building, settling on Structural Insulated Panels (SIP) from Kingspan TEK. These fit into the Huf House feel as were made of wood and had an invisible structure which allowed interior design freedom. They are also prefabricated which shortens construction time on site meaning that there is minimal on-site waste and internal work can begin earlier. The panels have a thinner construction than usual insulation and high energy efficiency.
To incorporate the look of an English house while maintaining the dark-light contrast feature of a typical Huf Haus, we supplemented a brick wall on the outside ground floor and white walls above.
Restoration of Listed Medieval Hall House, Dartmoor
Today saw the completion of one of our favourite ever projects – the restoration of Staddon House in Walkhampton on the edge of Dartmoor National Park. Our clients, Sue & Geoff Edwards, bought Staddons back in 2014, and after a year negotiating planning consent and 14 months on site the building is now unrecognisable.
When they bought Staddons, Sue & Geoff understood they had taken on a challenge. Having previously restored a house in Cornwall and another in rural Italy, they weren’t under any illusion about the work that would be involved. What they didn’t realise however was that Staddons had much more waiting to be uncovered beneath it’s damp carpets and concrete rendered walls.
On his first visit to the site, Keith McKay the Conservation officer from Dartmoor National Park realised the building might be more than it first appeared. What everyone had assumed was just another Dartmoor Longhouse could actually be something else entirely. As a result the planning process had to be paused whilst archeologists were brought in to help piece together Staddon’s long and varied history and shed some light on how the building had been used.
A stunning Grand Medieval fireplace was uncovered behind the small victorian hearth, lumps of granite on the fireplace in the bedroom were confirmed as Medieval candle sconces. The most exciting news was the uncovering of a medieval beam in the roof space tarred with soot. From all this information it was clear that Staddons had once been a much higher status home and was likely much older than it first appeared. Possibly a high status Medieval Hall House with two storey chamber at one end – perhaps one of the first houses in the village.
The photos attached to this post show how the team at RM builders have brought this fabulous building back to life with the help of the consultants and the passion of the clients. A real team effort from all has lead to a successful result and a studding home.
Thanks to everyone from RM Builders in Tavistock, Rawlings joinery, DB Heating, D Farnham electrical, Devon Stone and Amos lighting for helping us with this amazing project. (Sorry if we missed you off list – we owe you a drink!)
Living Space Architects are based in Exeter, Devon and are specialists in building Conservation and the refurbishment and extension of Listed and Historic buildings. We enjoy working in a Modern Rustic style and introducing new contemporary elements into a historic setting. We work across the south west on refurbishment and restoration projects with a particular expertise working on projects in Dartmoor National Park, Teignbridge, East Devon, Mid Devon, West Devon and Somerset.
LABC Awards
Homebuilding & Renovating – Highly Commended: Most Inspiring Home
Grand Designs: Country Curves
Architects in Residence at The Maynard School Exeter
Designing Homes For An Ageing Generation
Sketches of our project in Dawlish creating homes for later living
Life expectancy among Britons is increasing exponentially and the proportion of the population over 65 years of age is expected to rise from five percent in 1950 to 16 percent in 2015.
Scientists are predicting an explosion of dementia cases, expected to almost triple by 2050 to over 115 million.
The majority of people with dementia live at home, and with no known medical cure, suitable housing is going to be vital in order to meet their needs and improve quality of life.
So how can buildings be designed to help those suffering with dementia?
Living Space Architects specialises in housing and developments for later living, and prides itself on attention to detail and meeting client needs. Through our work, we have been able to look into how different aspects of housing influence later living and shape our projects accordingly.
Sustainable design solutions that we think are most effective in creating dementia-friendly homes include:
In addition to these, architectural features that support fascination, curiosity or involuntary attention can reduce the effects of mental fatigue, often suffered by dementia patients as they struggle to recall basic information and maintain their daily activities.
All of these elements improve a person’s sense of control, which affects how tense or relaxed they feel in their home. These design features contribute to the patient feeling more secure and safe and basic considerations to space, flow and lighting can help improve the quality of life for those suffering from dementia and make them feel at home.
Could Garden Cities be the solution to the UK Housing Crisis?
Does the UK’s Housing Crisis ever seem to slow?
The UK’s shortage of affordable, decent homes continues to persist and with the pressing need to accommodate refugees escaping persecution from abroad, finding solutions to this problem couldn’t be more crucial.
Planners after World War Two faced a considerable feat. They were tasked with finding a solution to deal with accommodation shortage caused by bomb damage, returning service personnel and the resulting baby boom. Their solution? Garden Cities.
Seven Garden Cities were build, based on the concept proposed by Sir Ebenezer Howard in the early 20th century. They were seen to be an opportunity for maximising economies of scale in a sustainable development by creating social housing with zero carbon design, a sustainable transport network and local work and food sourcing. Milton Keynes, one of those cities built after WW2 now attracts over 16,000 net in-commuters and is a successful economic hub in the South East.
Now, there’s no doubt that this was years ago, but how feasible are Garden Cities in the 21st century?
Creating a healthier, safer community with all the amenities at your finger tips does seem appealing. Here are the some benefits of the garden suburb ideal:
Garden cities can replace ageing housing stock with energy-efficient buildings, green spaces and car-free zones.
This will result in cleaner air and lower greenhouse gas emissions.
They can contribute to enhanced mental health
A 17-year study by the University of Exeter found that households living in greener urban environments are likely to have lower levels of mental stress and higher levels of well-being.
This would save the government money…
Sue Holden from the Woodland Trust predicts that the health benefits from access to green spaces could shave £2.1bn off the NHS healthcare bill every year.
They have investment potential
Government schemes- such as the Help-to-Buy and Right-to-Buy- recognise the difficulty young adults and families have getting onto the housing ladder. It is that generation that is most likely to move into an up and coming community, with work and leisure nearby. Garden cities are an opportunity to create new housing for the young and close to employment, it can be a very attractive investment for many.
There is garden space
The space available in the Garden City model allows new houses to benefit from more garden space for each and every unit. The appeal of your own garden and amenity space shouldn’t be underestimated. Not to mention that the shared landscape of the site would be an overall improvement.
Sherford in Plymouth and Cranbrook in Devon are two local examples of Garden Cities. Whilst they are currently small, both have the potential to attract and develop a vibrant community if the houses are sufficiently well laid out and create a new sense of place and in these fantastic locations.
Garden Cities take time to establish and it is not an overnight solution, but rather than allowing ad hoc urban sprawl, they could continue to provide a sustainable and successful answer and create a functional new village or town in a beautiful environment for future generations to come.