We were appointed to design a new contemporary three-bedroom dwelling as a replacement to the existing house on the site. The new house needed to be contemporary, but correspond to its surroundings and interpret the previous context of the old property, while also addressing the owners’ lifestyle.
The site is located on Greenbelt land in the parish of Great Altcar and primarily surrounded by farmland, with agricultural buildings and railway cottages situated nearby. It was key that the new house design didn’t interrupt the openness of the Greenbelt and blended well into its surroundings, as well as fitting all of the desired spaces into a very specific and limited footprint of the existing building.
We proposed a contemporary dwelling focused on the key living areas – the kitchen, dining room and lounge – which were open plan with each space flowing into the other. We introduced a snug and office area into the design, which could function independently from the rest of the house, creating defined living and working areas.
Framing the views and the connections with the garden were another priority during the design process. We provided a secondary entrance to the house, a farmer’s entrance, which was key to facilitating a smooth, natural flow around the building.
The three bedrooms were placed on the second level of the house, where they retained privacy yet could still experience the views. We also included secondary storage spaces on this level to enhance the functionality of the new house and a balcony facing the big open fields.
At the heart of the design we placed a staircase that would not just be a circulation space, but also as a room with magnificent views throughout and designated areas for activities.
The client wanted the new house to have a unique character, so we designed a striking roof to deliver this. The roof is broken up in three parts, one single storey mono pitched roof, one two storey mono pitched roof and a flat roof element. The first element is the more prominent one, forming a big sloping roof that echoes the character of the former building.
Gaining approval from the council regarding the scale and appearance of the proposed new dwelling was challenging but the creativity, efficiency and tenacity of our team meant that full planning permission was granted in December 2018, with the project completed on site in 2021.
