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.

Design-as-Degrowth

We have written a new research module for MArch qualification called ‘Design-as-Degrowth’. The module has been written in partnership with our wide network of collaborators and University partners; this work continues our strong emphasis on teaching and research, which is core to the foundations of the company.

The concept of ‘growth’, particularly economic growth, is central to western capitalist economies. Economic growth requires ever-increasing consumption which have no tangible limits. However, given the physical, emotional, human and natural resources required to support this growth can be so destructive, we question if design hold the potential to question the assumed orthodoxies and encourage a paradigm of ‘Design as Degrowth’.

The module focuses on this concept of ‘Degrowth’, and how architecture may generate meaningful social and economic change. Encouraging a rethink or reuse of existing buildings and spaces which can offer a positive social and economic offer, whilst also providing value and flexibility for clients.

Working with students the module will offer an invaluable opportunity to work on live projects as part of a multidisciplinary team to research, test and offer design solutions. Some examples of past projects that highlight this concept include, St Margaret’s Church or Gosport High Street.

We look forward to sharing updates from this module, and project updates from future students work. For more information about the module, please contact us directly.

Celebrating design success

It is wonderful to see our designs for St Luke’s Church celebrated by the Diocese of Portsmouth, featuring on their website and social platforms. We are thrilled the scheme was recently given planning permission, and we are looking forward to seeing the project start onsite later this year.

This design concentrates on the courtyard area, creating an inviting space between the church and the main road that breaks down the threshold resistance to attract the whole community in from the street. A second phase, which looks at the interior space of the church, will be looked at once this project has been completed.

The vicar, the Rev Annie McCabe, commented: “We’ve already done a lot of work to create The Host as a welcoming space for workers during the day, to repair the church roof and make the building sound, and to open up these spaces to the local community.

“We hope the work to create the courtyard, revamp the church hall and create the garden space will take place over the next three years, and give our buildings a sense of being a ‘campus’ where all sorts of groups meet.”

St Luke’s is the second church renovation and re-imagination project that we have gained planning permission for with the Diocese of Portsmouth, following on from St Margaret’s Church which had phase one completed in 2021 and we have some of their others properties on the drawing board

Planning successes

We are thrilled to have been awarded planning for three quite different projects over the last few weeks – a re-imagination of a community church, a low energy house renovation and a town house reconfiguration. To get planning is such a positive milestone in the design process, it definitely is something we like to celebrate.

At St Lukes Church in Portsmouth, Hampshire, our design will enhance the engagement of the church building with the local community, making the space more welcoming and restful for visitors. Our scheme has been specifically designed to embrace a phased build, so the work is achievable in stages as the church is able to raise funds.

In Brixham, Devon, we have been granted our second planning approval, this time for Courtyard House, a traditional townhouse that needed some work to rationalise the layout and maximise the coastal views. The design focuses on reworking the internal space, to draw in natural daylight and help make the tall, thin house feel more spacious, a key design feature is the introduction of an internal courtyard to bring landscaping into the home whilst making sense of the steep site.

Our final approval to celebrate is for Cedarwood, a low energy home in Twyford, Hampshire set within the South Downs National Park. The project will reconfigure the existing home, making the space more suitable for the needs of the growing family. The design also concentrates on upgrading the sustainability of the home, to create a low energy dwelling, work includes increased insulation throughout, replacement glazing and a new roof. An external colonnade is to be added to the south side, to help mitigate overheating during the warmer summer months, which also creates a covered outdoor space that extends the time the clients can use the garden.

We are looking forward to sharing further updates of these three projects as they progress onsite soon.

National Park Planning Success

We are thrilled to have achieved planning approval for our contemporary extension of Moorlands, a distinctive 1970’s property in set in Brockenhurst, Hampshire, at the heart of the New Forest National Park.

The planning process within a national park can seem daunting for many homeowners, as there are additional rules and stipulations on what you can and cannot get planning for within the park. We are well versed in these details, having successfully worked on many properties within the New Forest national park, and were delighted to have achieved planning for this home in Brockenhurst on the first application.

The design reconfigures the ground floor, maximising the space available and enhancing the functionality of the house for the growing family. The scheme extends and opens up the kitchen and dining area, increasing connectivity to the rest of the home and the large garden. During the construction work the dwelling will be thermally upgraded to deliver a low energy, comfortably home. Full details of the project can be found here.