Building Workshop: June 2011

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Building Workshop's project 009 is going on site next week. All of the preparations are being made and we are looking forwards to it all taking shape. There have been a lot of people involved in the design process up until this point - Building Workshop, our engineer Ferg, the local planning officers, the building standards team and a surveyor as well as heating engineers, technical advisors for various product manufacturers, renewable energy specialists, the list is long. And of course, the clients have been very much involved because it is their home and they will be living there so it needs to work well for their lifestyle.

The existing house is a traditional farmhouse and the brief was to turn it into a contemporary, comfortable, modern family home with more bedrooms and a larger entertaining space.

The existing house is a traditional farmhouse and the brief was to turn it into a contemporary, comfortable, modern family home with more bedrooms and a larger entertaining space.

Our design process involved figuring out how best to extend the house whilst respecting and enhancing the existing building. We were keen to give part of the house a contemporary feel and in order to achieve a sharp contrast, we are restoring the existing house and it's original features.

The planners were keen for the view of the farmhouse from the road to be largely unaltered. This has been done by leaving the main house unaltered while adding on to each side, taking inspiration from the farm surroundings.

Sketches are the first stage in making the floor plan work. Then we build on the design making sketch models and exploring design options.

The design for the farmhouse has two extensions - one is very traditional and in-keeping with the style of the existing house and the other is contemporary with lots of glass which will give great views of the farm.

To connect the old part with the new, there is going to be a glass link with the kitchen island acting as a link between the two parts. Our clients had seen a glass link on a Grand Designs project and were keen to incorporate structural glass into the project.

At this stage, everything is drawn up on our 3D 'Building Information Modelling' computer package which allows you to walk through the building and get a feel for the finished building before building work commences.

With the house all drawn up, we can work on the details and make sure that we have addressed everything in the brief. Everything needs to be considered at this stage from choice of light fittings to heating systems, floor coverings, kitchen layouts, storage options, drainage, where to position electrical sockets, fire alarms, wood burning stoves.......

This is where our client's scrap books come in handy, as the finishing details really make a house a home. These are some pictures from the scrap book for this project. We keep a scrap book too and gather pictures which will inspire each project.