New planning consent in the Cornwall AONB!
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We are very happy to announce that our planning application for a replacement dwelling, annex and garage in the Cornwall National Landscape has been granted planning consent!
The new home will be a 4 bedroom family home on a 0.26 acre plot on the Roseland Penninsula. It will be a net zero Passivhaus certified home that will benefit from a series of energy and water saving measures including PV panels.
The location
The site lies to the southwestern side of Gorran Haven within the Community Network Area of St Austell and Mevagissey, and the Parish of St Goran.
Gorran Haven is a fishing village, in the civil parish of St Goran, on the south coast of Cornwall, England, UK. It is about 2 miles south of Mevagissey and lies within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
To the west of Rice Lane it is surrounded by other residential development and is separate to the historic centre of the village.
Rice Lane is entirely residential with a wide-ranging vernacular of mainly larger detached houses set in generous plots.
Styles range from more traditional bungalows and homes built during the late 19th / early 20th century residential expansion of the village, to much more recent replacement two storey dwellings of a more modern aesthetic.
The village is served by a regular bus network, has community facilities and services as well as the wider network of other nearby villages.
There are several other examples of contemporary architecture in the vicinity of the proposal site, please see local examples below.
The existing dwelling
The existing dwelling, known as Grenexmore is one of the original, older houses remaining on Rice Lane, with many others having been replaced. Grenexmore is a c.1930s style bungalow of no particular architectural merit. It is in a dilapidated state and requires significant modernisation, extension and investment to make it habitable. It was also found to have asbestos contamination.
The brief
The family set an ambitious project brief to build their permanent home. They wanted to create a highly efficient, low carbon, Passivhaus certified home to replace an existing dilapidated dwelling and suit the living needs of an active family. Plus a replacement annexe and garage with enough storage space to accommodate paddle boards and outdoor pursuits equipment.
It was essential that this was delivered whilst the design sensitively responded to the beautiful surroundings.
The architect
We asked Owen Jones, Kiss Architecture Lead, to tell us how he approached planning in the AONB and what factors influenced the form and plan of the home. We also discussed his design influences, advice for others, challenges faced and how he designed for Passivhaus and net zero. Read the interview here.
The proposal
Kiss designed a low-carbon, net-zero energy, Passivhaus home of simple appearance within the street scene. The design rationale being driven by sustainability principles rather than aesthetic preferences. In this way the space could work hard for the family, perform brilliantly for the environment and have no negative impact on its AONB setting.
The design & the street scene
Throughout the Kiss team was especially mindful of the AONB and existing street scene. As a result Owen has designed a home which does not differ materially in position, size or form from the existing dwelling in relation to the north-east facing, front elevation — instead all of the drama and wow factor are hidden at the back.
The design’s hidden wow factor
Owen made clever use of the existing roof line which was characterised by a high pitch to enable two storey living throughout. He maintained the same ridge height and a similar appearance to the original single storey bungalow at the front in relation to the street scene as above. However into the garden he opened the design by siting the principal glazing for optimal solar gain for Passivhaus, and incorporated a curved corner and brise soleil shading.
Sustainability and perfromance
The project aims to achieve the highest sustainability standards and will be a beacon of best practice for low carbon sustainable building.
Passivhaus
To date >65,000 buildings have been certified worldwide with approximately 1,400 buildings of all building types in the UK.
There are currently very few Passivhaus homes in Cornwall and none in the surrounding areas. This demonstrates how exceptional it is that this project will deliver a Passivhaus home in the area.
Summary
The proposed home provides an exciting opportunity to build an example of brilliant design which directly respond to the needs of modern living and the requirements to reduce construction’s impact on the natural environment.
It has maintained a very similar footprint to the existing building and maintained the same ridge height, ensuring neighbouring properties and the landscape are not dominated. An independent Landscape Architect has confirmed that the replacement dwelling will have no adverse effect and the design and materials specified are carefully thought through to ensure a balance between providing a sustainable, low carbon family home and protecting the AONB and surrounding landscape.
Let us help you
We’d love to help you with your project. Get in contact today to set-up a call to discuss your requirements and how we can help you achieve your self-build dream.
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