Madam’s Paddock A contemporary house in the Greenbelt
This project replaces an existing 1960s house. It is close to the centre of the village, yet is on an Island, surrounded by the River Chew and located within the Greenbelt. The proposed house is placed so that the garden is maximised, with the house placed to form an arrival space, separated from the garden. The radial layout, with its centre point defined by a large oak tree on the site boundary allows different parts of the house to relate specifically to various character areas of the garden: The house is lifted out of the ground on the masonry radial walls, allowing floodwater to flow beneath the house and keeping the ground floor clear of the predicted flood levels. The majority of the accommodation is on the ground floor, with just the master bedroom and the guest bedroom elevated above the stone plinth as two separate first floor volumes, clad in a dark coloured zinc cladding in order to break down the mass of the house. The landscape has been designed to improve the flood resilience of the site and at the same time to allow better access from the garden to the water’s edge, and also to provide wildlife / ecological enhancements.
Landscape design: B:D Landscape
Rodwell Road Six modern apartments
A development of six flats in Weymouth, replacing a 1930s detached house on a prominent corner on the edge of the town centre. As a response to the acute need for housing, both in Weymouth and elsewhere, the flats are all designed with two “equal” bedrooms and two bathrooms – to suit a number of different potential occupiers – from a retired couple to a young family or potentially two single people or two couples sharing a flat. One side of the site fronts onto a busy road, so the building is organised with the circulation and public areas on the noisy side, and all the living spaces are arranged on the quiet East facing side, so that every flat has a large outside terrace, with views towards the sea.
Rotork A new factory
This project is for a new 12,000 sq.m. factory building for Bath based engineering manufacturers Rotork. With business expanding beyond the capacity of their existing site, the company needed to consider alternative locations nearby. The building includes office, manufacturing, storage and distribution spaces employing 400 people. Our proposal sought to use the natural slope of the site to accommodate the different volumes required for each activity in an attractive setting and create a high-quality working environment for staff and visitors.
Bannerdown RoadContemporary residential development
Located on a site below The Fosse, this scheme is for a new long term home for a private client. They provided a very specific brief that included the provision of a lap pool and ceramics studio. The house and garden are designed to respond to the steep contours of the site and incorporate the ruins of an old ‘poor house’ which will be preserved.
At the site entrance off the main highway there are two small houses that will fill the break in the existing street frontage and provide rental income. The architectural treatments of each building is to linked with the use of a common language and materials that is both contemporary and modest, as well as being respectful of the village environment.
Equestrian HouseContemporary New Home in the Greenbelt’
The Equestrian house is a proposal for a new dwelling with associated equestrian facilities in the Green Belt on a 20 acre site, just outside Windsor. It was submitted for planning under the NPPF clause 55 criteria. The brief includes a family house along with equestrian facilities suitable for either professional use or for a family with horses. A Landscape Management plan, along with various sustainable technologies were also introduced in order to enhance the existing landscape and context and contribute towards the Bracknell Forest Biodiversity Action Plan. Sustainable technologies such as the installation of PV’s, ground source heat pump and rain water collection are key elements in the design of this equestrian house.
The Beacon A contemporary House in the World Heritage City
This scheme replaces an unremarkable 1930s house on an exceptional site, at the top of a steep south facing, wooded site overlooking the City of Bath. The site is in a special and spectacular location and demands a bold and high-quality scheme to take advantage of the opportunities that it offers.
The proposed new house sits almost exactly on the footprint of the existing house so that the wooded site can be maintained with minimal impact. In the summer the living rooms and the extensive balcony cantilever out into the tree canopies. In the winter the trees still screen the views from the city below towards this sensitive site, but the trees become a veil through which the city lights below can be glimpsed.
A drystone wall plinth forms the base of the building, with lightweight framed elements cantilevering off this base and reaching out into the tree canopies, and towards the sun and the views. The context of the site is more wooded hillside than any nearby buildings, so the base of the building references the predominant local building material, translating it from the urban ashlar walling of the nearby terraces, into the more naturalistic rubble walling, and the dark grey fibre cement cladding, partly overclad with cedar battens to reference the woods – predominantly dark and shady, with vertical timber elements.
Seco Tools New Headquarters
Seco Tools are a tool manufacturer based in Sweden with more than 40 subsidiaries around the world. Designscape Architects were appointed as part of the Seco Tools Global real estate team, in conjunction with workplace specialists Wylde IA to design a replacement to the existing office administration block at the headquarters of Seco France. The existing building, built in the 1960’s was suffering numerous building failures to structure envelope and services. We designed the building to allow for phased demolition and development of the site whilst the existing offices were in occupation. Re-positioning the office accommodation next to the production space also provides an opportunity to better integrate departments, staff and company culture. Seco see the benefits of creating a positive flexible working environment for their staff and customers and have sought to reflect the company’s core values of open and friendly working, client commitment, dedication and expertise in their building facilities. Designscape’s design was developed by the in-country team and is currently under construction.
Designscape have also provided architectural advice; master planning, concept, through to construction design information for several other European sites including; Budapest Hungary and the HQ facility in Fagersta Sweden.
Sun House An experimental rural home
The house sits at the top of the Claverton Valley on the outskirts of Bath, and replaces a low-grade mobile home. The design is a response to the woodland setting and arranges accommodation into two distinct elements. The main volume is clad with rough-cut oak boarding and contains the entrance and kitchen on the ground floor and living room above. A second, single storey wing is faced with oxidised steel panels and contains sleeping areas that open directly into the garden. The grass roof of the bedroom wing provides a terrace to the adjacent first floor space. The house employs experimental construction and technology, incorporating rainwater harvesting, passive and active solar energy, and is virtually free from pvc materials.
Soil Association An innovative prototype HQ Building
Designscape came second in a European wide competition for the new £20m headquarters for the Soil Association on the Harbourside site in Bristol. The design sought to put the building users first and create a healthy and respectful workplace which would reflect the core values of the charity: A work environment for ‘free range’ employees. The proposal demonstrated a holistic approach to environmental design by minimising energy usage, using low embodied energy materials and maximising the passive energy potential of the site. This was an opportunity to design a prototype office building fit for the future and the ideas generated are relevant to many situations. We look forward to putting these into practice in future projects.
Jetty House An engineered timber Passive House
The Jetty House is conceived as a place of refuge, a counterpoint to the busy urban world that most of us live in. A place for quiet and family life. The proposal offers the possibility of privacy and individual space but also of a sense of community within the groups of houses. The houses bring the occupants into direct contact with the natural world, and whilst providing a high degree of comfort and sustainable living, the design exploits the whole potential of sustainable living rather than simply to focus on low energy usage. The Jetty House is designed to perform to Passivhaus standards. Nonetheless the design allows for large areas of opening windows and woodburning stoves, enabling seamless integration and enjoyment of the rich context.