Do you like any of these? (click image to enlarge.) What makes a good place to live? Well we want our built environment to be good for us, and for the planet.
Whether we live in the town or the countryside we tend to always want space and natural light. We want good facilities for washing, preparing food and dining etc. The appearance of our buildings matters to us too, traditional and modern can raise very subjective feelings. Both have their place, there can be good and bad versions of both.
Most buildings have potential to be improved in some way. For example, some houses benefit from a 180 degree turnaround in their planning – to get advantage of a garden or a view – life improving qualities.
Site orientation has a huge importance in the design the sun always rises in the east and sets in the west, therefore the sun and shadows will move around your building in a totally predictable way. Our starting point for house design is always orienattion with regrad to the sun, a south or west aspect is higly desirable, but east or north facing sites can be dealt with by careful placement of rooflights, light wells, courtyards or conservatories. In this country we usally want to capture as much sunshine as possible. Building regulations now mean having large windows has to be dealt with very carefully due to concerns about high heat loss through glazing.
A well controlled junction between inside and outside spaces is really helpful and enables us to use our external spaces better. Connections to gardens and outside spaces can be big wide openings like in Studio MG’s stunning modern house in London, or more modestly, elegant pairs of double doors. Our old buildings need to adapt and change to survive in their usefulness. (Adapt, change, survive is the company motto in these recessionary times. Normally our motto is quality not quantity). Whether a building is brand new or elderly, the same issues arise and each should be treated with design integrity undertsamding the merits of what exists in the building, whther that is aspect, spaciousness, good planning, detailing, quality of materials and workmanship or something else.
Sitting comfortably with you neighbours and respecting their privacy is important as we build and rebuild our communities. Whether you live in London, Bath or St Albans, the issues are similar.
Ecological concerns and energy consumption are now really understood as critical. There are lots of things we can do to help save energy. The Energy Saving Trust aims to cut carbon emissions by promoting the sustainable and efficient use of energy in households, the public sector and the transport sector.
The Simon Conder design for the modern house on Marshal’s Drive in St Albans Hertfordshire is a rare of contemporary modernism in the St Albans area. Exceptional circumstances led to the design being accepted. St Albans has a reputation as one of the most conservative councils for example, whereas Bath, a World Heritage City, a huge conservation area, has allowed some unashamedly modern extensions if they are of high enough quality and well integrated into their context. A Spanish hacienda in St Albans or rural outskirts of Bristol, would have to be exceptional to be able to sit in context successfully. Overall its the design quality in context and integrity of what is built, that matters, not the styling.