2009 WINNING SCHEMES > Project Winners

 

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Small infill developments on the edge of villages create more resistance per dwelling than anything sleek and soaring in the city. So this proposal, to replace two houses to the edge of Liphook (where the A3 leaves Surrey), in spite of environmental sensitivity and scale, is sure to have experienced powerful negative forces. A website, set up by the site owner who planned to build the homes for members of his extended family, gives a clue to the battles fought (www.thebonnars.com).

The final successful application of four rather than six units could be seen as design insurance for sensitive neighbours. Each of the four detached 2-storey villas has an inward-facing courtyard garden so that many principal windows are inverted.

Shallow pitched roofs mean that the highest point of the villas is 6.7 m, less than the 9 m ridge that would have been created by a commonplace 40 degree pitch. The resulting scale means that houses will be wrapped with existing planting and screened from the plots beyond for much of the year.

Houses are oriented north-south and northern elevations are also reduced in height, although here to allow daylight into courtyards and to reduce heat loss through exposed surfaces. The orientation of courtyards is planned to allow solar gain in Winter months, while planting above will screen from overheating in the Summer.

The design also proposes to exploit thermal mass, including the natural stone elements which are both used to bounce light into the homes from the courtyards and screen the outdoor space for the pair of 3-bed units at the back of the site. These also have garages topped with green roofs.

All houses have three bedrooms on the first floor, but the two larger 163 m2 units close to the access have a study/bedroom at ground floor complete with private WC, creating the level of flexibility ideal for someone working from home and perhaps making their way up to London on a regular basis.

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