Design guide · Kilkenny County Council
County Kilkenny Rural Design Guide
The council's guidance on siting and designing a house in the countryside.
Kilkenny County Council · 95 pages
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- defning your brief – things to consider Key Elements of a Brief- ■ How many rooms do you need? ■ What do you need to accommodate within each room? ■ Remember that some rooms can do two jobs- a sunroom can double up as a porch, or a sitting/dining room. Each additional room will have cost and energy implications both in terms of construction and lifetime heating/lighting costs ■ Build to meet your foreseeable needs in the medium term. it is worth asking your designer to give some thought to where a future extension could be accommodated should your needs change in the future Many factors will inform the design of your home. Your brief will be individual to you, your needs, your site, and of course, your budget! Remember, your brief should be a refection of who you are, and should focus on YOUR NEEDS. Your needs… Below are some questions, aspirations and needs that could inform a design brief. This is not an exhaustive list but should give you a feel for the kinds of issues you should be thinking about: ■ I would like a house that looks low key/relaxed and is discreet, sitting comfortably in the landscape ■ I would like a house that is “Eco friendly” and uses natural materials as much as possible ■ I would like to have a secluded, private, sunny, south and south west facing garden that takes advantage of views ■ I would like a house that looks distinctively Irish ■ I would like a house that is modern in character OR traditional in character ■ I would like rooms where the light streams in from a variety of directions throughout the day ■ I would like to use rooms for a variety of uses so they are not lying empty most of the time ■ I would like to make the house as small and compact as possible to reduce the volume we have to heat ■ I don’t want to waste money on the capital/running cost of garden lighting ■ I would like a garden that is easy to keep ■ I love native Irish trees and plants and want lots of them to help give our new house privacy and shelter ■ I’d like to retain the existing planting within the site and along the site boundaries ■ I would like to have a wood pellet boiler, and need space to store wood pellets and to accommodate recycling bins ■ I need a garage/storage for garden equipment and bicycles ■ I don’t want a view of the car when I look out the window ■ I would like a spacious, open plan living room/kitchen/dining area ■ I would like a house that adds to the character of the surrounding landscape ■ I would like to encourage wildlife into my garden
- . selecting your designer Building a new house is often the biggest capital expenditure any of us will make in the course of our lifetime. It stands to reason that if we are going to spend a lot of money we should try to spend it well. If we decide to buy a brand new car it is normal practice to shop around to see various models and try to assess their various features so that we can choose one that suits us best within our price range. When a new house is designed for a person or family it is bespoke and so it is not possible to view the different models in advance. This means taking a leap into the unknown. This can be slightly nerve wracking so it is important that you have faith in the ability of the professional you have appointed to produce the drawings that will be used by the builder to construct your new house. This is the architect or architectural agent. If you aspire to a house that is handsome and well designed, that both respects and refects its landscape setting, the calibre of your designer is critical...and this is someone you can shop around for. The frst step in selecting a good designer or architect is to have a clear idea of what you want. Before proceeding with any aspect of your new house (even before buying the site) it is a good idea to look at houses completed by a variety of different architects and agents. This may take some time and you should allow for the possibility of visiting examples of interesting houses in other areas of the country. Cut pictures out from design or architecture magazines Draw sketches Take photographs of your favourite personal belongings These will all help your potential designer or architect to understand you and your ideas. Take time to notice buildings and homes in your area that you like. You could then fnd out the name of the architect responsible. Even if that particular architect isn’t available for your project, he or she might be able to refer you to someone else who does similar work. If you are unsure where or how to start, contact the RIAI (Royal Institute of Architects in Ireland) or the AAI (Architectural Association of Ireland) and ask for information on houses that have been commended or that have won awards under their annual awards schemes. Once you get a feel for what appeals to you it is worth arranging to meet a few designers whose work interests you. Ask them to show you other examples of their work and get them to explain their approach. See if this marries with your own approach.
- Discuss your budget with your designer and if possible look at examples of work within that budget range. Remember that in order to achieve a high quality design it is essential to have a high calibre designer. In addition it is essential to give this designer suffcient time to work up and refne your design if it is to have the quality you want. There is a fnancial price to be paid for the time that a good designer will take and this is refected in their fee. However, you should spread this fee over the lifetime of the house and consider the added value a good designer will bring to the project. A well designed house will increase the quality of your experience of living there, exploiting views and light you didn’t think existed, giving you a house that has timeless elegance and looks as good if not better in 0 years. If you aspire to build a well designed house you will value the skills, time and talent of your chosen designer and it is likely that you will consider their fee money well spent in the overall equation. Your choice of designer is critical to ensure you get the best house, suited to your needs, that also works in harmony with surrounding landscape. It is important that you allow your designer or architect creative fexibility - there’s no point in hiring someone else to design for you! However, it’s equally important that you speak up if you truly dislike a design decision, because you are ultimately going to have to live with that decision in the end. The relationship between the client and the designer of their new home is very important ensuring the best outcome. Selecting your designer: ■ What do you like? ■ Who is doing what? ■ Go shopping for your designer!!
- . site selection Not all sites are good sites! Once you have an idea of what you want from your new home and have appointed your designer to develop a design, it is critically important to carefully consider where you are going to build. A site that may at frst appear to satisfy your basic requirements can turn out to have host of problems and constraints. Ideally you should involve your designer when you are shopping for your site to ensure that the objectives of your brief can realistically be achieved within the site, or to ensure that problems with a site can be overcome with creativity. A good designer will be able to minimise or avoid constraints while making the most of a site’s potential and they can also steer you away from sites where any potential may be outweighed by greater problems. Consider the following ■ The size of the site- is it big enough for the house you need? Remember that large houses need very large sites (can the site accommodate a septic tank?) ■ Long distance, middle distance and near distance views within and without the site ■ Parts of the site may be more sheltered and private than others ■ Sloping sites can offer potential for changes in foor level and a variety of internal spaces but excessively steep gradients can present insurmountable problems in terms of access and achieving a house that blends in ■ Beware of potential overlooking issues with neighbours ■ Consider the impact your house may have on your neighbours and the local landscape setting ■ Sunpath- where does the sun rise and set? ■ Ideally the best views should be to the south (though south west or west are also acceptable) ■ Avoid sites where the south side has a poor outlook and is in shadow(for instance due to shadow caused by mature trees), or where the best views are to the north ■ When buying a site with outline planning permission ensure there are no restrictive planning conditions that may limit its potential ■ Are there any existing structures or features within the site - built or natural? ■ Can existing `landscaping’ (mature trees and native hedges) be retained and incorporated into your site design? ■ How well drained is the site? ■ How do you get access onto the site? ■ Can the necessary visibility splays be provided within the boundary of the site, without excessive, undue removal of roadside hedges and trees? ■ Is the site visually prominent? ■ Is your site within an area designated for nature conservation, archaeological or built heritage? A poor choice of site will greatly limit the potential of a design project.
No text on this page — it is probably a drawing, a map, a photograph or a scanned page. See it in the PDF.
- . location and siting-integration There are many siting options for a new home. Consider the pros and cons that will affect the options for the position of the house aim for Sloping Sites Traditionally some farm houses were sited with their long axis parallel to the contours. For this to be successful, site house so that: ■ Extent of cut and fll is minimised by keeping house gable narrow (6m or less) ■ Allow house to “dig into” the hill ■ Keep terraces relatively low and narrow ■ Plant trees above house- this helps the house to blend in ■ One alternative to narrow houses sited parallel to the contour is the narrow house (max 6m wide) sited at right angles to the contours ■ Internal foor levels and external roofs step down in line with the natural gradient. ■ ■ Keep scale of house small Keep height low | 6M max | Relatively Flat or Open Landscapes ■ Low and smaller scale houses are easier to blend into an open or relatively fat landscape especially when they are supplemented by well considered planting of native species deciduous trees 6
- Poor drainage on low lying sites could indicate potential fooding Inadequate percolation ■ ■House on hill top or House that breaks skyline when viewed from County Road ■ ■ Top of Hill Hollows Relatively Flat Landscapes | |greater than 6M avoid Sloping Sites ■ ‘Big bulk houses’: it is virtually impossible to blend these into the landscape unless they are on generous sites of several acres and/or screened by extensive stands of mature trees ■ Several ‘big bulk houses’ in close proximity greater than 6M | | Avoid sites requiring built up percolation flter beds, where possible. ■ Extensive car turning + parking access on all sides of house ■ Excessive cut + fll ■ Excessively high retaining walls ■ Creating fat platforms on sloping sites for deep plan houses ■ Block good views from house ■ Jeopardise life span of existing trees by damaging their roots ■ Create unnatural landscape formation 7
- Sloping Site - Potential The sketch below shows, in more detail, a linear house stepping down a sloping site. This illustrates how a sloping site offers the opportunity to create a series of stepped, small intimate scale sheltered garden and yard spaces which can have a variety of uses and character depending on orientation and sun e.g. the orchard, a kitchen garden, a vegetable garden etc. Gravel lane and parking area Random rubble local stone ditch with native species hedging Sheltered, sunny patio area Orchard Sheltered courtyard Native species hedging Soft grass edge to verge Tress help provide shelter
No text on this page — it is probably a drawing, a map, a photograph or a scanned page. See it in the PDF.
- Sheltered, sunny and private patio where to put the building The site shown below benefts from several fne mature deciduous trees along its southern boundary. Apart from being beautiful to look at these help the house to blend into the surrounding countryside, give privacy and shelter and add character. The arrangement illustrated below (A) respects a number of established County Kilkenny character patterns in its siting relative to the County Road, vehicular access / parking layout and relationship to gardens. However it has been positioned much too close to the trees and suffers from overshadowing Both the external and internal spaces on the south side of the house are in deep shade in the middle of the day between May and September. This means that they miss the opportunity to maximise solar gain and the excellent quality of natural light. A ■ Arrangement (B) overcomes the problem caused by overshadowing (Illustrated in option A) by moving the house as close as possible to the northern boundary. Shadows cast by the mature trees no longer affect the house. ■ Aim to keep access roads, car parking and turning to one side of the house, preferably on the shady north side of the site. This releases more of the sunny areas of the site for gardens; a patios etc, and dramatically improves the near distance views from inside to outside. ■ This also helps to protect the lifespan of the mature trees. Building too close to their roots can cause fne trees to die prematurely. B Opportunity for extension or sunroom/ conservatory 0
Source Kilkenny County Council: County Kilkenny Rural Design Guide · 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.