Our Green Designs
Design
House Plotting
Whilst planning and planting a garden we were also planning the house so had our hands full. The previous owners had intended to build a house but decided against it. By the time we arrived they had already demolished the old house that had once stood there, leaving only a pile of rubble with a young tree growing out of it.
As we had a different vision for the house, we needed to create our own plans. If these plans were approved by the local council, we could move forward with construction.
original house design
map showing the position of the original house in red
I booked a pre-application meeting to test the water and someone came over from the council not long after. I had prepared some basic drawings to show her of a two story round house with a thatched roof, mainly because the house that had already been accepted was two story and there were houses with thatched roofs not far away. To my surprise, she seemed open to the idea provided we made a few changes.
She explained that she would have to approve a building anyway as permission already existed for a new house
something but as it was an area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) she would prefer the design to be as unobtrusive as possible. As she was leaving I said, almost jokingly, I would’ve asked for an underground house if I thought it would be allowed, she said "why didn’t you ask?" That got me thinking..
After we received the report I worked on a design that might be acceptable, I wanted to come up with something that I would like to live in firstly, and secondly that the council would have trouble refusing. I had no idea what that might be but realised that the less you could see the house from the road, the more likely it might be to be approved. I was very excited to realise that an underground or earth sheltered house or something like it wasn’t out of the question.
Below is the design and access statement I sent in to the council. I had never filled one in before and wasn't quite sure what I wanted so it was quite a challenge. I knew I wanted the house to be round with a green roof and straw bale walls, but it was a long time before we had a finished application. A big thank you to our neighbour Jamie for his help!
We spent some time with another Robert who we call Tall Rob for obvious reasons. He knows the intricacies of house construction and helped us turn our ideas into a set of technical drawings.
We sent the application in and it was returned a couple of times because of my mistakes. Then we faced eight weeks of nail-biting worrying about all the reasons they might say no. When you apply for planning permission all of the neighbouring people are sent a letter to let them know of a potential build and to see if they approve of what you want to do. We went around to all of our new neighbours early on to show them the designs of what we were hoping to do. We were very fortunate that everyone was supportive and most even sent their forms back in to the council with very positive comments. Thanks to their encouragement we were feeling cautiously optimistic.
Design and Access Statement
The Green House
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1 Design and Access Statement
1.1 Site Address
1.2 Introduction
1.3 Overview
1.4 Amount
1.5 Layout
1.6 Scale
1.7 Landscaping
1.8 Appearance
1.9 Access
1.10 Sustainability / Materials
1.11 Conclusion
1.12 Photograph
1.13 Artist's Impression
1.14 Response to Pre-Application Consultation
1.15 Colour Chart
1 Design and Access Statement
1.1 Site Address
The Green House, Somerset
1.2 Introduction
An interest and involvement in organic, non-linear, and ecological architecture, and a desire to live close to nature has inspired the design for this house.
With a background in the arts, building and organic farming, we want to combine our skills and create something beautiful and practical which respects, and sits within nature, rather than dominating it. We want to build a home with a healthy and peaceful atmosphere, in which we can feel comfortable and safe. We have designed the house to be simple, attractive and functional.
The plot of land lends itself to a structure partly dug into the slope. As we are using straw bales for the walls which need air to circulate around them, we have chosen to build a traditional Devon bank to the north of the house where the roof can overhang to meet it, forming a corridor. This will help to protect the house, mask it from view. and provide some storage space.
It is important to us that we use the available materials from the land creatively and sensitively, also to reuse and recycle where we can. We plan to build the house ourselves with traditional building methods as well as including some up to date technologies.
1.3 Overview
This is a proposal for a single dwelling on a site in the Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the site already has planning permission
for a two storey four bedroom house. This proposal is for a round house with a turf roof, which will be screened from view from the road and the adjacent school by an earth bank. The project will be integrated with a high degree of sensitivity into the local environment through low visual impact, use of locally sourced, natural materials and labour, along with renewable energy collection and a high specification of insulation.
1.4 Amount
A single storey two bedroom house with separate double garage with storage space, plus six solar panels.
1.5 Layout
The proposed building will be central to the plot of land with the garage in close proximity. The solar panels will be to the north of the property.
1.6 Scale
The scale of the house and garage are appropriate to the size of the plot and its surroundings.
1.7 Landscaping
There will be native wild flowers growing on the earth bank and roof. Adjacent to the front (south elevation) of the house there will be low growing
perennials and herbs, and at the back (north elevation) of the house, fruit trees with underplanting. There will be hard standing for cars and an adjoining stone path around the front of the house and the side of the garage. The solar panels will be set into stone banks which will also be planted with wild flowers.
1.8 Appearance
The house will have a very small visual footprint, viewed from the north it will blend into the surrounding landscape. A small chimney and some low
lying roof lights will be visible. The outside walls of the house will be rendered and painted a cream colour, to be similar to the colour of local chert stone. (See 1.15 below) The door and window frames will be made of wood.
The garage will be positioned substantially out of view in the corner of the plot. It will also be rendered and have a turf roof.
The solar panels will also blend into their surroundings, particularly when seen from the north. From the west the boundary wall will conceal the panels.
1.9 Access
We will use the existing access
.
1.10 Sustainability / Materials
The house will be built with a timber and steel frame. There will be a high level of insulation from straw bale walls, sheeps wool and Celotex in the turf roof, and sheeps wool in the floor. There will be triple glazing, and the windows will be on the south, southwest and southeast side of the house to make the most of the solar gain. Much of the wood used in the building will be from the land adjacent to the plot as there are some non native trees which can be utilised. The bank will be built from stone and earth from the excavation for the foundations. Locally sourced building materials will be used where possible to minimise the environmental impact of the project. We will utilise the existing septic tank. The house will be as self sufficient as possible, with solar panels, water from a spring and a wood burner fuelled by our coppiced trees.The solar panels will be a 4kWp array consisting of two rows of three panels, fixed onto metal frames and set into earth and stone banks of suitable size.
1.11 Conclusion
The house will be built with sensitivity to the environment and will also be pleasing to the eye, it will be comfortable to live in and sustainable long
term.
1.12 Photograph
This photograph shows the outline of the proposed house marked out in yellow fence posts from the southern end of the plot, it also shows the position of the school to the north.
1.13 Artist's Impressions
East Elevation
Aerial view from the direction of the school, north west elevation.
1.14 Response to Pre-Application Consultation
PRE-APPLICATION CONSULTATION
10/14/****/ENQ
ERECTION OF DWELLING -24/03/2014
I have responded to the points raised in blue text for clarity.
In regard to our meeting and to your comments on what we spoke of, particularly in reference to low impact building, we have revised our design. We have designed and orientated the house and garage to be less intrusive to the plot and its surroundings.
OFFICERS PRESENT Karen Walker
OPINIONS GIVEN
The site lies in a remote rural location within the Blackdown Hills AONB. Planning permission has been granted in the past for a replacement dwelling and there is now deemed to be an extant permission for this.
It is understood you wish to revise the design of the approved dwelling to erect a rendered round house with a thatched roof. As discussed on site, whilst the principle of render is acceptable, the colour would need consideration so as to blend in with the stone properties of the area and not appear stark.
In terms of the overall design, whilst the principle of a round house is likely to be acceptable, as discussed, the suggested span of 10 metres, combined with the required pitch results in a significant element of roof. This does result in the proposal appearing somewhat top heavy (a significant volume of roof compared to the element of walls) and I would suggest that further consideration is given to this, along with the removal of the dormer windows. We also discussed the overall proportions and the option of lifting the position of the first floor windows marginally so that these come in under the eaves and incorporating eyebrow dormers.
The new design is of a rendered round house but now instead of thatch has a flat turf roof and only one storey. The colour of the render will match the colour of local stone.
It is understood you would seek to use timber windows and a similar timber framed structure for the conservatory. As stated, the conservatory does appear somewhat large and consideration should be given to the size. You suggested the option of a sedum flat roof on the garden room element and subject to size, this is likely to be acceptable.
We have kept the conservatory size to a minimum but large enough to benefit from solar gain.
You queried the approved footprint area and whether there is scope to increase
this at all. I have looked at the site history and the dwelling approved was significantly larger than the bungalow it would replace. On this basis, it is considered that the footprint size already approved is already on the limit in terms of being in accordance with the policy regarding replacement dwellings. On this basis, we would seek for the proposed dwelling, including garden room to fall within the dimensions of the footprint previously approved.
During our telephone call after our meeting it was agreed on principle that a larger footprint might be acceptable. This was due to the new design having only one storey compared to the previously permitted design which had two storeys and would have been quite imposing. We have calculated the floor area of the new proposal (including garage) compared to the previously accepted design, it is approximately 50 m2 less. We have designed this house to make as little visual impact on its surroundings as possible.
In terms of positioning within the site, as stated the garage was formerly tucked into the corner of the site where it related well to the adjacent high hedges and trees. It is acknowledged that you wish to install PV panels on the roof of the garage and therefore positioning and orientation would be more important. As explained, the buildings should be grouped together to reduce the prominence of the new structures within the rural landscape of the AONB. You suggested the possibility of an oval house rather than round, which is acceptable in principle subject to design. However, in view of the plot being reasonably long and narrow, position and orientation would be important to avoid any potentially cramped appearance.
We have grouped together the house and garage as you suggested. We plan to install the PV panels away from the house and garage. We are acutely aware of the beauty of the area and it is a high priority for us to build something attractive which sits well in the landscape.
It is noted that the existing site is sloping and it is understood you would seek to dig into the site in order to reduce the dominating impact of the buildings.
We will be doing this to a certain extent, we also plan to build a stone bank (as is common in the area) at the back (north aspect) to 'hide' the house from view and to lower the overall visual impact of the building.
It is understood that the garage would be constructed of chert stone to match the nearby school building, which was the approved material for the replacement dwelling.
The garage will be constructed and finished with the same materials as the house and be of one storey for a sense of consistency.
In view of the close proximity of the school, window positioning will be a consideration, along with the use of obscure glazing to bathrooms, etc.
There will be no windows overlooking the school. At the back (north) of the house, which faces the school, there will only be skylights in the roof.
You also queried my thoughts on an underground dwelling. As stated this is not out of the question and the acceptability would depend on size and the impact upon the surrounding landscape/AONB of the elements that would be visible above the ground.
This will not be an underground dwelling but will be set down into the ground somewhat at the back (north aspect).
In terms of access, it is understood you would utilise the existing access, which was approved under the previous application.
We will be utilising the existing access.
Our advice is provided based on the available information but will not be any guarantee that any subsequent planning application will result in a particular decision and will not be binding on the Council in any way. Our opinion may change during the formal application process as a result of views of Consultees and other interested parties. Furthermore, the final decision may be made by the Planning Committee, rather than by officers, and it is possible that the Committee may reach a different view.
Yours sincerely
Mrs K W
Planning Officer
1.15 Colour Chart
Colour of lime render for finishing house and garage R/21
Landscape Design
Report from the case officer...
And then...THEY SAID YES!!!
We were so excited and pleased, and then began realising the extent of what we had got ourselves into!!
As it is just the two of us building this house we have decided there will be no hurry, we are comfortable in our caravan and so we are trying to make it a pleasure to build....a slow project, a creative challenge and a way of life that is meaningful to us both. Sometimes I want it to hurry up but mostly I'm enjoying the process.
