This Sussex cottage dates back to the 15th Century and is Grade 2 listed. Our client, a Virgin executive, purchased the property with a Victorian style conservatory without planning consent, which had to be removed.
Our brief was to rebuild a series of out houses to create one large playroom and changing facilities for the pool with a link extension to the main house incorporating a dining area.
The planners were happy to see the outhouses being rebuilt but were against an extension to the main house. We had an archeology report done on the house and this gave us the inspiration for our design. We were subsequently able to argue that the original cottage had been extended 4 times in 4 different centuries in a linear pattern. Therefore our 21st century glass extension was entirely appropriate to the buildings architectural heritage, and provided us with a transparent link to the other building with a sunken eating area leading out to a terrace.
Eco File: the design incorporated ground heat source pumps, utilizing the earths energy to provide heat for the low temperature underfloor heating and additional heat to the pool. Low voltage and energy efficient lighting used along with additional roof lights to increase natural daylight, reducing the lighting energy consumption.