Rural Design Guide (County Development Plan, chapter 13)

1. Page 21

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   Rural Design Guide 324 | P a g e Draft Carlow County Development Plan 2022-2028 Fig 13.38. Certified Passive House Co. Wexford, Uses contemporary language based on traditional elements and materials. (Source: Isabel Barros Architect) Key Principles - Sustainability and Energy Efficiency ▪ Achieve the highest possible energy rating for your house. ▪ Ensure that the house is orientated to achieve the maximum benefit from solar gain and provide large areas of south facing glazing. ▪ Provide enhanced levels of insulation in order to reduce energy consumption. ▪ Incorporate solar water heaters and/or photovoltaic panels into the design of the roof. ▪ Explore other renewable energy sources such as micro wind turbines, heat pumps, heat recovery systems, biomass – such as wood burning stoves and wood pellet boilers. Information on renewable energy sources and possible grants available can be found on www.seai.ie. ▪ Reduce water consumption by rainwater recycling – rainwater collected from the roof which can be used to flush toilets. ▪ Use sustainable building materials such as locally sourced natural materials and recyclable building materials. ▪ Use intelligent heating systems with time/ temperature/zone/function controls. ▪ Incorporate energy efficient lighting systems into the design of the house. ▪ Conserve vegetation and landscapes to help maintain biodiversity. 13.4.11 Accessibility and Lifetime Adaptability Buildings should be designed with flexibility and adaptability in mind. All new houses should be reasonably accessible for older people, the very young and people with disabilities. The house should be able to provide for the needs of people with moderate mobility difficulties and the normal frailty associated with old age. Designers should consider not just the immediate needs of the occupiers but also their changing needs over their lifetime. The design of the new house should provide flexibility in use and adaptability. Ensure that the house can provide for the needs of older people who may wish to remain independent in their homes by planning for a future bedroom downstairs during the design phase so that costly remodelling of the house is avoided at a later stage. This room could also facilitate ‘working from home’ possibilities. Ensure that the house at the very least complies with the requirements of Part M of the Building Regulations.

2. Page 22

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   Rural Design Guide 325 | P a g e Draft Carlow County Development Plan 2022-2028 Key Principles Accessibility and Lifetime Adaptability ▪ Plan to facilitate change ensuring that the house can meet the changing needs of the occupants over their lifetimes without costly remodelling of the dwelling. ▪ Ensure that the house is capable of providing for the needs associated with moderate mobility difficulties. ▪ Refer to documents such as ‘Buildings for Everyone’ by the National Rehabilitation Board or www.nda.ie, ‘Meeting Part M and designing lifetime homes’ by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and ‘Quality Housing for Sustainable Communities’ by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. 13.4.12 Extensions A new rural house should be designed so that it is capable of absorbing a sensitive future extension if necessary, rather than building a new house. The design of an extension should be sympathetic to the existing house. This does not mean that it has to exactly match the existing style, height and finishes, but that it should complement the existing house and not look out of place. A good extension is usually subservient to the main building i.e. extensions should be designed so that they look like extensions rather than a new house ‘attached’ to an old house. A good design should not confuse the legibility of the original building’s footprint and form. Extensions can reflect traditional aspects of the existing building, but contemporary extensions can also serve to complement the existing building. A distinction between the old and the new enables the various building phases to be seen as a harmonious progression of development, allowing for the external form and historic character of a building to be maintained.

3. Page 23

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   Rural Design Guide 326 | P a g e Draft Carlow County Development Plan 2022-2028 Fig. 13.39 Some simple examples of extension locations, forms and shapes that can work with existing dwellings. Where extensions are proposed to an existing rural cottage care should be taken so that the extension does not detract from the original character of the building. As a rule, extensions to the front and gable of cottages are to be avoided. An extension to the front can mask original detailing or it can alter the proportions of the front facade which detracts from the original character. An extension to the side can upset the symmetry of the cottage or can result in the loss of the original scale of the cottage. An extension to the rear that is visible from the road or above the original ridge line can also detract from the character of the cottage. Rear extensions should take account of side and rear views from a public road, and the extension should not dominate the existing cottage. Fig. 13.40 Avoid extensions shown in this image in which character and appearance of the original cottage is lost by extension which breaks ridge line. Bu original cottage being absorbed into extension, or by original cottage being overwhelmed by poorly sized and scaled extension. Fig. 13.41 Use of flat roof link and appropriately designed and scaled rear extension that is sympathetic to the single storey character and design of the original house. Fig. 13.42 –Well defined forms are used with a clear hierarchical relationship to the existing dwelling. (Cairnview House Extension by BGA Architects)

4. Page 24

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   Rural Design Guide 327 | P a g e Draft Carlow County Development Plan 2022-2028 13.4.13 Restoration and Re-Use The Council would encourage the restoration and re-use of existing established vernacular structures for use as dwellings, as an alternative to the construction of a new rural house elsewhere in the countryside. The structure or house must be capable of being suitably restored to habitable accommodation in keeping with its original character and without the necessity to demolish or significantly alter it. The distinctive character and original historic fabric of the structure should also be retained using appropriate traditional construction methods and materials. Refer to Rural Housing Policy RHP15 in Chapter 3 of this Plan. Key Principles Extensions and Restoration and Re-Use ▪ Design a house in a manner that can allow a sensitive extension in the future if necessary. ▪ Extensions should be simple and complement the existing building. ▪ Extensions are generally best located to the rear of the house. ▪ Care should be taken that larger extensions do not disturb the scale of the original house. ▪ Where possible match the existing widths of the gables of the original house and maintain a similar pitch and eaves height. ▪ Where extensions are being added to traditional vernacular architecture it is good practice to make the new extension demonstrably different from the old. ▪ The restoration of established vernacular structures should retain original historic fabric and appropriate traditional construction methods and materials should be used.

Source Carlow County Council: Rural Design Guide (County Development Plan, chapter 13) · Licence the publisher's termsText read from the publisher’s PDF; tables, maps and drawings do not survive as text, and page numbers are the PDF’s (its first page is 1). Check the original before relying on a passage.