Design guide · Cork County Council
Cork Rural Design Guide
The council's guidance on siting and designing a house in the countryside.
Cork County Council · 128 pages
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- 59 a cork rural house ... signature characteristics It is hoped that, by understanding the signature characteristics of our rural buildings, new rural houses will be designed that are more in harmony with our built heritage and countryside. Signature characteristics to develop Alien characteristics to avoid • Simplicity of form • Complexity of shape • Little or no modelling of front plane of building • Busy • Well proportioned • Poorly proportioned • Balanced • Large boxy looking • Quality in materials • Slap on `bits’ and `frills’ • Solid, simple construction • Proliferation of white plastic • Absence of frills • Suburban site treatment Traditional buildings in Cork demonstrated basic functional scale and simple proportions and little or no decorative detailing. Simple vernacular rural dwellings were generally single storey structures, with a rectilinear plan, usually no more than one room deep, with gable end or hipped roof details. From the second half of the 19th century corrugated iron and slate replaced thatch as the dominant roofing material. Ancillary buildings, byres and extensions were frequently added in an incremental fashion onto the gables of dwellings with lean-to roofs or split level roofs. These provided a visual break to the linear nature of the dwelling and contributed to the evolving vernacular form. Two storey dwellings were traditionally of simple classical proportions, generally retained the one room depth and had a symmetrical façade. In summary, Irish vernacular architecture is simple, honest and has inadvertently almost effortlessly integrated into the landscape; an unconscious technique that should be mastered in contemporary rural design practice. 9897 99 100
- 60 proportion, proportion, proportion Architect Robert Lorimer (a much regarded designer of Scottish houses) is quoted as saying that when it came to architecture there were only three things which were important: - Proportion, Proportion and Proportion. Certainly, proportion is fundamental to and a very significant part of successful design. It is something that affects every aspect of a house because each and every element is relative to the whole and that in turn is relative to where it is and what surrounds it. To define or explain it is difficult. Simply put, many would say that proportion is to building what harmony is to music. To ignore or dismiss it as a design nicety is a mistake. Traditional rural homes maintained a balance of proportions between the walls and openings (windows and doors) by demonstrating three key factors: • height of the building relative to its openings, with openings exhibiting a vertical emphasis; • a high solid-to-void relationship (i.e. greater wall surface area than windows and doors); • a simple, symmetrical arrangement of features (composition); Irish rural houses are generally characterised as being simple buildings, with horizontally proportioned roofs sitting on horizontally proportioned walls that are counterbalanced by elements with a strong vertical emphasis such as gables, chimneys and windows. This balance is destroyed all too frequently in current buildings by using much larger horizontal emphasis windows which reverse the solid-to-void relationship (i.e. the windows dominate) producing a structure that looks weak and unbalanced; lacking the simplicity and strength of traditional buildings as in the sketch above. The following pages seek to redress this imbalance and suggest ways in which a higher percentage of new houses, with all modern comforts, can still connect with and develop from what has gone before.
- 61 height Current Irish building regulations advice makes it impossible to replicate the proportions of vernacular houses. Even where the openings display a vertical emphasis, the solid-to-void relationship is ruined by the larger gap between the ground and first floor windows creating a larger surface area of wall. Building regulations and other factors have contributed to making our buildings higher, which, if insensitively handled, can overwhelm smaller scale neighbours. In order to work around this, designers of new houses will need to carefully work the section of the house to accommodate building regulations, escape windows, safe sill heights and so on, while bringing the eaves level as low as satisfactory window proportioning will allow. Cork County Council has made a representation to the DOE to have these amended in line with UK regulations, which permit better proportional relationships to be achieved. Using the current Irish regulations the designer should try to minimise the distance between the top of the ground floor window and the sill of the first floor window to achieve more favourable proportions. roof eaves as low as possible room partially accommodated within roof zone using modified roof trusses distance minimised bottom sash fixed Preferred arrangement - low eaves, vertical emphasis to windows, distance between ground and 1st floor windows minimised Rural houses were frequently low and more human scaled New houses can seem like giants with horizontal windows ceiling forms bottom to roof zone ceiling in roof zone
- 62 scale Scale is one very important aspect of proportion: the size of something relative to what is around it. It can be the size of a house relative to its site, the size of ahouse relative to those in the vicinity of that house, or the size of a conservatory or door relative to the type of house in which it is placed. When designing newhouses in the countryside, designers need to be aware of the appropriate ‘scale’ of their building while at the same time still incorporating all necessary moderncomforts and building regulations requirements. • A characteristic of vernacular buildings is their human scale. The size of the door openings, eaves height and first floor ceiling height all feel more closely related to the size of the person. For many this is what gives them a great charm; • It is more frequent today for new rural houses to be ‘out of scale’ with their surroundings. This is because they are bigger in terms of floor area and heights, without any measures being taken to reduce their scale; • The scale of a new dwelling in the countryside is perhaps the key element in design consideration. It is extremely important to ensure that the building’s size is relative to its surroundings. As a general rule, the larger the dwelling, the greater the impact; • A large dwelling, regardless of single or two storey, will appear awkward within enclosed landscapes or within an area characterised by small field patterns; • A large house needs a large site and that site needs to be set within a large scale landscape. In other words, a landscape where the views are long and there are mature landscape elements that have greater prominence than the house itself. The house should be reduced in size by being broken into smaller elements; • It is quite simply bad manners to place a large scale new house beside an existing small dwelling, as this may result in overlooking and invasion of privacy. Be conscious of the impact your new house will have on neighbouring buildings. A large new house out of scale (and keeping) with its neighbours (adapted from Moray District Local Plan 1993-98: Housing in the Countryside)
- 63 Absence of windows & large scale door make this building seem bigger 3 Houses identically proportioned in terms of height to width etc. but very differently scaled 2 dormer elements, identically sized but very different scale relative to respective house Satisfactorily scaled dormer with roof Landscaping absorbs the size of the house Size of windows & doors make this building seem smaller - human scale Windows & doors also give buildings their sense of size (both buildings in foreground exactly same size) Poorly scaled dormer with roof A large house looks completely out of proportion on a small, open site A large house requires a large site
- 64 form familiar building forms in the countryside Single Storey Cottage ‘L’ ‘T’ Long house ‘U’ ‘Doubled’ 1 + Half Storey No dormer Single eaves dormer Twin eaves dormer Triple eaves dormer Small roof dormer Unusual dormer Two Storey Simple 2 storey Long 2 storey and lean-to Long 2 storey and ‘T’ 2 storey and ‘L’ Combined Long Doubled and slipped Hipped Single storey Simple 2 storey 2 storey and ‘L’ 2 storey and ‘U’ 2 storey and ‘T’ Thatched Other Miscellaneous Forms Tower Tower with block Tin hayshed Tin Haysheds doubled Tin roof lean-to Tin and slate roof lean-to • Low eaves • Narrow plan • 35-55o roof pitch • Modest scale • Vertical emphasis to gables • Sturdy and solid • Natural finishes • Flat fronted • Well-mannered characteristics to retain
- 65 Odd Miscellaneous Shapes/Forms Wide splay roof Suburban gable type Swiss type Lean-to middle Asymmetrical roofs Eroded type Single Storey Common bungalow ‘L’Type bungalow Recessed porch type Hipped bungalow Mid-gable type Flat Roofed 1 + Half Storey Common dormer ‘L’Type dormer Dutch hipped type Twin gabled dormer Mansard dormerHipped + mid gabled Two Storey Gabled Half porch type Gable add-on type Multi dormered suburban 2 Storey bay Dutch hipped Twin gabled add-ons Two Storey 2 Storey Bay add-on Suburban Porch & Garage Suburban Hipped Type Hipped Plus Wings Hipped + twin gabled add-ons Flat top mansard pattern book forms, alien to the countryside • Highly modelled • High eaves • Wide gables • Low or no roof pitch • Bulky and squat • Awkward scale • Synthetic finishes • Plastic clad • Decorative frontage • Many additional details characteristics to avoid
- 66 the problem: bigger, higher, wider the problem with house sizes today Typical Bungalow - Double room depth internal corridor 7.3 - 8.5 m 7.3 - 8.5m 4.5 - 5.5 m Typical Cottage - Linear Plan organisation Cork cottage: Simple form, narrow widths, steep roofs, vertically proportioned windows, central chimney at gable, natural local finishes The 70’s bungalow: Wide plan - dark central corridor, shallow pitched roof, horizontally proportioned openings, imported synthetic finishes. The 90’s ‘big house’ - Double deep plan, bulky proportion, off centre chimney, shallow roof pitch, adorned frontages, mid-roof dormers, large roof spaces, cluttered finishes. gives or or Current Composition Unsatisfactory 11/2 Storey Suburban 2 Storey Type Unsatisfactory “Traditional” Copy Double room depth plan
- 67 Substitute bulky houses with traditional forms to obtain better massing Avoid over-complex forms resulting from unresolved plans Simple forms are best Projections to the side or rear Typical Bungalow substitute Traditional double Hipped dormer bungalow substitute 1 1/2 Storey `T’ 2 storey, twin-gabled substitute 2-storey `L’ add-on Traditional elevation ‘applied’ to bulky forms Double deep plan retained in parts Ancillary side accommodation used to reduce bulk one solution - break down the bulk, get the massing right Modern pattern book houses differ radically in form to those more familiar buildings of the countryside. It is an issue of bulk, size and scale - big houses, wide gables, deep plan forms, squat and `overweight’. Massing is about how you assemble the elements of the house - in one big bulky overweight mass, or in an assembly of more slimmed down elements. Solutions lie in breaking down massing using `traditional’ better proportioned forms. Guidance also seeks to avoid poor substitution
- 68 the narrow plan form... some advantages of ... 1 Building on a slope is easier 2. Heating costs can be reduced by 30% 3. Breaking away from double deep plan allows better balance of glass to masonry NARROW PLAN - Preference for house to face south east, if possible, to maximise on heat gains in winter & reduce over heating problems in summer. NARROW PLAN - plan facilitates window glazing options. Leads to more satisfactory ratio of glass to masonry. Greater freedom in composition. Larger window openings on sunny (south) side Parallel to slope - Large platform cut Internal corridor receives no natural light. Some main living spaces recieve little sunlight. 90º to slope - Large platform cut DOUBLE ROOM DEEP PLAN - typical plan layout with internal corridor places constraints which dictate the size and location of windows resulting in too much glass in relation to masonry. DOUBLE ROOM DEEP PLAN - Inflexible on slopes NARROW PLAN - Parallel with slope - narrow depth reduces cut Small windows/ openings on shady (north) side Narrow buffer zone to north incorporating utility areas, porch stairs etc... 90º to slope - absorbs level changes DOUBLE ROOM DEEP PLAN - 50% of house does not benefit from solar
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