The Brief

We didn't want to knock the old two storey building down to make way for a new bungalow. The brief crystalised around retaining the various structures already on the site, converting and extending them as necessary to create a dwelling with an adjacent workshop. It would be interesting to explore issues of sustainability:

• Giving extended life to an existing building (avoiding squandering the embedded energy used in its construction).
• Linking to the urban fabric a short distance to shops and the national rail network, reducing car dependence.
• Building in high levels of insulation.
• Exploiting passive solar gain.
• Heating using renewable fuels, preferably harvested on site.
• Use of reflective and thermally insulated shutters to increase light penetration by day and heat retention during winter nights.
• Passive stack ventilation.
• Recycling rain water.
• Draining surplus rain water to a soak-away on site instead of burdening the storm drains.
• Creating a grass roof to encourage bio-diversity.
• Re-use/recycle construction materials.
  

Overlooking was an aspect that would have to be carefully considered in any design on the site. It was probably the reason that a bungalow was given planning permission rather than a two storey house in the first place.

We were not over concerned about providing parking on site, but recognised that it would probably be necessary to include at least 2 spaces in a planning application. The outline approval for the bungalow showed the gates moved into the plot to allow space to get out of a vehicle to open them. We were not keen on this because it cut into the useable area of the site.