Grand Designs - New Series
Discussion
WinstonWolf said:
Rules appear f
king ridiculous.
Many of them are king ridiculous.Showers, lockers, solar panels etc
But, given its being built where it was, using local materials and being Eco-friendly seems a reasonable way of bypassing planning controls.
Turning to the house itself as is so often the case the build cost isn't reflected in the amount of useable space.
garyhun said:
WinstonWolf said:
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Quick question.
dxg said:
and a building itself that showed no sympathy to its surroundings.
Why should a new build have to do that?A large number of great houses would never had been built if they had to show sympathy to their surroundings.
Even your great 18th century country houses which - at first sight - might appear to dominate their surroundings still connected with the surrounding countryside. The fact that the surrounding countryside may have been shaped and moulded to provide the desired vistas and that some of those vistas would not mature for another couple of generations is another matter altogether, yet one entirely in keeping with the nature of the hereditary family estate.
This was just a house in a field. Neither spoke to the other.
This was just a house in a field. Neither spoke to the other.
dxg said:
Even your great 18th century country houses which - at first sight - might appear to dominate their surroundings still connected with the surrounding countryside. The fact that the surrounding countryside may have been shaped and moulded to provide the desired vistas and that some of those vistas would not mature for another couple of generations is another matter altogether, yet one entirely in keeping with the nature of the hereditary family estate.
This was just a house in a field. Neither spoke to the other.
St. Pauls Cathedral would never have been built if it had had to conform to sympathy with its surroundings.This was just a house in a field. Neither spoke to the other.
dxg said:
Even your great 18th century country houses which - at first sight - might appear to dominate their surroundings still connected with the surrounding countryside. The fact that the surrounding countryside may have been shaped and moulded to provide the desired vistas and that some of those vistas would not mature for another couple of generations is another matter altogether, yet one entirely in keeping with the nature of the hereditary family estate.
This was just a house in a field. Neither spoke to the other.
Agreed that a house in a field is challenging, but the idea that historic buildings were all built with some innate sympathy is nonsense. Most of our street scenes, from inner city to rural village, were built at random and feel natural to us as the rhythms built up over time. Modern planning tries (and largely fails) to recreate that natural variance.This was just a house in a field. Neither spoke to the other.
In the case of this place, you can't judge how it sits in its landscape for years yet - or perhaps until generations of landscaping have responded to the new focus.
garyhun said:
Actually it's the planning departments that are the key to exciting architecture.
Many are afraid/reluctant to allow ambitious/creative/daring architecture so that architects know there is no point designing such buildings.
Quite right and it's a shame. But often those who are restrictive are because of a general resistance to new styles from the public and the councillors who ultimately often decide on the application in cases such as these as they'll be committee decisions rather than delegated.Many are afraid/reluctant to allow ambitious/creative/daring architecture so that architects know there is no point designing such buildings.
Some NPPF paragraphs actively encourage good new design and deviation from developer house types.
I think if you speak to most council planners they are open to new building styles, certainly most I've come across are, but they are often constrained.
Most private planners like this stuff (bigger fees!) and a good consultants can find ways of gaining consents for building such large replacement dwellings in sensitive locations rather than going down passivhaus, code 6 or outstanding design rules, but many private clients don't want to pay relatively small amounts for the planning advice at the outset and then get clobbered with a higher build cost down the line.
WinstonWolf said:
garyhun said:
WinstonWolf said:
garyhun said:
Finished house was OK, nothing more.
I felt they could have created something so much better in such a large and open plot.
But that's just me
One word, planners...I felt they could have created something so much better in such a large and open plot.
But that's just me
Someone earlier said the house would have been better with a completely glass rear elevation. I'm sure one of the original architects ideas was very much along this line. It either changed due to cost implications, or there would have been too much glass preventing Code 6 being attainable or the planners just wanted what they felt she should have.
Having recently self-built, I'm fully aware of just how crazy the planners minds work at times.
They marked them down on the size of the bath, I'm amazed they didn't have to build it with wattle and daub 
Damned if you do...
Though I'm a private sector planner, I have a lot of sympathy for those working in planning in councils. They are constantly panned by politicians who haven't a clue and an easy scapegoat for the public. Don't get me wrong, there are some bad planners in local authorities, these are generally the older school, who are a little moe, let's say politically motivated, but there are lots of good LPA planners who want to do cool stuff and make positive contributions to how we live. The way Kevin spoke about them in this episode really pissed me off quite frankly and he should be helping to make the development industry less of a fight rather than resort to lowest common denominator 'them and us' side taking to ingratiate himself to the faux outraged armchair critic sitting with crossed arms a frown ranting at the telly at 'bloody planners'. Come on Kev, instead of glossing over things, actually try a balanced explanation of the role of development management in British planning...
PS I thought she could have done better with that budget. Looked just like every final year architecture students' project. Far preferred the one in Ireland a few weeks back.
It was an interesting episode for various reasons; The eco tokenism being just one of them. The design wasn't my cup of tea - It looks like a giant Bose stereo stuck in a field - but I'm sure it'll make a nice home, even if the flat roof will be a constant worry.
Hopefully they'll do a follow up episode in a few years, once she's had time to establish a garden and the wood has mellowed a bit.
There's some photos of the house here:
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/film-news/gr...
Hopefully they'll do a follow up episode in a few years, once she's had time to establish a garden and the wood has mellowed a bit.
There's some photos of the house here:
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/film-news/gr...
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