There was a volume limit on the site limited to a 3-bedroom bungalow with a pitched roof. However, the clients required a large 4-bedroom forever home with pool room, dog room, triple garage and large open plan living spaces.
The site is surrounded by dense, mature trees with a small orchard to the centre of the site, all of which needed to be retained and unaffected. The design needed to avoid all of the root protection areas of the trees, whilst maintaining a front elevation to the main road, and simultaneously ensuring that afternoon and evening sunlight can be achieved on an otherwise North-facing garden and site which is heavily shaded.
To achieve the above, we used our 3D modelling software and inserted every existing tree at the correct height along with the existing site topography to analyse the sunlight at different times of the day, and in each season to assess where sunlight is achieved across the site.
The proposed design meanders around the root protection areas, to ensure that natural sunlight can be achieved within the primary living spaces and external seating areas at the correct time of day. The property is highly sustainable, needed to maximise natural light, and worked with the natural gradient of the site by including a split level layout.
