New Forest House site progress

Last week we went to site to see the fantastic progress on our deep retrofit project, reimagining the existing Brockenhurst House dwelling in the heart of the New Forest National Park.

Our work has reimagined the distinctive 1970’s chalet house, adding an extension to reconfiguring the property alongside a full thermal upgrade to the property. The contractor has nearly finished on the main construction to a very high standard, leaving the smaller finishing touches to be completed by the owners. We are really looking forward to seeing this project complete very soon.

Site visits are really important for us in the design journey, they give us an opportunity to check in with the contractor and owner to help with any design issues that may have arisen, to ensure the finished project reflects the original design intention and is finished with the attention to detail our clients expect.

Achieving planning permission within a National Park

Last week we won unanimous approval at planning committee for a replacement dwelling in Burley, right at the heart of the New Forest National Park. This was a brilliant win for our client and for our design, it also got us thinking about the process of achieving permission when your property is located within a UK National Park.

If you are looking to build a new property, make a significant change to a building (like an extension) or make a change of use (for example from agricultural barn to residential house) you will probably need planning permission before you start any construction on site. If you are luck enough to live within a National Park this can sometimes add another layer of complexity to be taken into account.

How to get planning in a National Park

To account for the sensitively of each National Park, they all have their own planning policy document and rather than submitting planning to your local authority (as you would with a standard planning application) you have to submit the planning to the individual National Park Authority.

If your design proposal is relatively straightforward then planning might not be too difficult to achieve, however an experienced architect who understands the local planning policy document can really push your design and maximise the potential of the site.

Successful planning approval

In the instances where the project is slightly more daring, working with an experienced architect can really pay off to help you see your designs come to life. To have the knowledge of articulating design to third parties, can help to enable planners to fully understand the concept behind your project. Often it is a collaborative effort to get tricky planning approvals, a good architect should have a network of specialist and trusted collaborators such as Planning Consultants, Energy Consultants, Landscape Designers and Structural Engineers to name a few. By working together, the expert team can demonstrate how the design preserves the unique, natural beauty of the National Park.

New Forest and South Downs design

The team at Studio BAD have successfully achieved planning permission for schemes within the South Downs National Park and the New Forest National Park, including an extensive extension to a bungalow, a contemporary extension to a Listed building and a new build replacement home.

The concept of National Parks is relatively new, with the government only having established National Parks in 1949 with a purpose to conserve, enhance their natural beauty and provide recreation opportunities for the public. There are now ten National Parks across England, and we are fortunate to be located between the New Forest and the South Downs National Park, both situated on the south coast where our studio is located.

If you have a project you would like to discuss, get in touch with our team today.

 

 

 

 

 

Brixham completes

We were down in Brixham last week for a site visit at our Harbour View project, which is now completed and is looking brilliant. Professional photos will be coming in the new year to show it properly, in the meantime please enjoy some quick snaps we took.

The house is in an amazing position, perched on a steep hill overlooking the harbour and offering spectacular views over the Breakwater and Torbay, but the original 1960’s bungalow did not take full advantage of the site.

Our design has extended and upgraded the property, transforming it into a contemporary family home. The design offers flexibility over how the house is lived in, prominently as a main residence but also with the ability to welcome three generations of the family to all be together over holidays.

Internally it was critical that our design did not just increase the space, but that it enhanced the quality of the internal space. We introduced large glazing which has increased the natural daylight deep within, whilst also improved the connectivity to the stunning coastal views on each level of the home.

We were thrilled with the results and can just imagine what a magical Christmas the whole family are going to have, gathered in their new home enjoying spectacular views from the warmth inside. We cannot wait to be back in early spring to take better photos, when everything has settled and the house looking like a home.

Cedar Wood near completed onsite

We are really proud to see our Cedar Wood project nearing completion, it is great to see our designs and ideas come into reality onsite and we cannot wait to see this home finish very soon.

The designs have retrofitted the existing home; extending and reconfiguring the space to transform the existing house and make it more suitable for the family life of the owners. As the home is set within a sensitive rural location the designs had to carefully alter the home without impacting the original mass or form, to reduce to impact on the surrounding area.

Once the work has been completed Cedar Wood will be a comfortable, low energy family home with flexibility built into the design so it can adapt to the many phases of their family life.

We look forward to sharing professional photos of the completed home very soon.