Ben and Kay Adam-Smith visit their architects Parsons + Whittley to discuss how to move their project forward. There are decisions to be made over which designs to pursue, what materials to embrace and how to address the various constraints (including bringing down the height of the building).
The story so far
After buying a plot of land and hiring our architecture firm, we briefed them on what we were after.
We really liked our first sketches back and we developed the floor plan within. Chris also submitted these sketches to the local planning department for feedback.
Whilst waiting for the feedback from the planners, we had moved onto materials.
The first option presented to us was a brick finish.
The second option embraced black timber cladding (more of a barn aesthetic).
Kay and I felt these routes weren’t quite right for us.
And we asked about whether we could break up the building by using more than one material (e.g. lime render, lighter timber cladding, etc.). Little did we know that this suggestion would mean redesigning the house!
However, this was also at the stage where the planners had fed back that they wanted the height of our building to be more in line with the extant consent.
So the third option, which now addresses the height of the building and therefore the amenity of the neighbour (really down to overshadowing and view of the sky), is a house that steps down.
The fourth route introduced something called a cat slide at the back of the house as a way to prevent a loss of amenity for the neighbour.
These were the options we discussed in the meeting but we were keen to return to a simpler form if possible.
The route we chose to pursue returned almost to the initial designs but with a cat slide at the back.
Our finished house designs
Find out more
Visit the website of Parsons + Whittley
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