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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- proportion massing and volume Massing and Volume Massing and volume are inextricably linked to scale and proportion. One will affect the other. Get massing and volume right and you will frequently beneft the work required to refne scale and proportion. The massing of a house refers to the size and shape of its overall volume ie. What is its degree of bulkiness? The one and a half storey, half hipped linear house illustrated below is very bulky, and overly complex. What makes it so bulky? •■ Excessively wide gables (>7.0m); •■ These generate very high ridges and a big roof mass; •■ Several dormer windows; •■ Gable projections (with varying roof pitches); •■ Bay windows; •■ Incongruous conservatory appendage; •■ Overhanging, deep soffts and fascias at eaves A lot can be learnt from the simple, unfussy massing of traditional houses. The typical linear double pitched form of the farmhouse usually had a relatively narrow gable width. When this is combined with traditional roof pitches for slates or thatch, (even o up to pitch) the volume of roof that is generated is relatively small compared to the modern house opposite. How can we reduce bulkiness? Eliminate dormers, gable projections and bay windows whose roof penetrates the main roof. Keep the roof and walls very simple. Then the overall appearance will be much simpler and less bulky. ■ storey traditional linear double pitched roof ■ Traditional Gable Widths : Single Storey . - 6.0m / Storey .0 - 6.m Storey .0 - 7.0m 7
- Simple rubble stone boundary wall + gate posts Local stone rubble walls enclose walled garden Breaking down the Bulk – Double Pitched Linear Farmhouse The traditional grouping of simple, relatively small, single storey or two storey linear farmhouses (or the more classical form of the two storey “cube” with hipped roofs) arranged at right angles to one or more farm outbuildings forming a yard, forecourt or walled garden offers a great solution to the growing problem of very large, overly bulky houses. Mature native hedging Breaking down the Bulk – “Big Box” The size of what appears to be the main house can be kept relatively small by gathering secondary living accommodation (such as guest bedrooms, games rooms, teenager’s dens, utility rooms, garages etc) together and locating these in one or more fanking buildings (either single or two storey or a combination). When these individual forms adhere to the gable widths and simple roof form and pitches described previously, their scale and overall bulkiness is substantially reduced. Linking each block with fat roofs that are below the eaves line of the pitched roofs maintains the simplicity of the overall grouping. Flat roofs fnished in well detailed and constructed traditional materials such as lead sheeting not only look great but will last every bit as long as a slated roof. mature native hedging 7
- badly proportioned houses This house is poorly proportioned in every way: its overall shape, and the variety of window shapes and sizes are completely unrelated to each other. 7 Although the house above is long and low and these are generally held to be good qualities in a house in the countryside this case illustrates that it is not enough to make your house long and low for it to be beautiful. The projecting front gable is very wide and in conjunction with a low roof pitch its overall shape and proportion are not visually pleasing. The change in roof pitch at the entrance canopy and the hexagonal hipped roof on the gable end conservatory are both out of kilter with the remainder of the roofs. Window shapes are drawn from a variety of unrelated architectural periods: medieval gothic; classical Roman segmental arch and the 70s era of Irish bungalows. Their proportions are ungainly in themselves and when combined the overall composition worsens.
- badly proportioned houses This house demonstrates a motley collection of ill proportioned roof shapes: hipped gables, hexagonal hips and mono pitches. These crown an awkwardly shaped conservatory and walls, resulting in a whole that is incongruous and overly fussy. Apart from the fact that the house above breaks the cardinal rule of never breaking the skyline the shape forming the basis of this house is not too bad in terms of proportion (though the introduction of the half hipped gables is an unfortunate departure from a strong traditional character pattern - ie full gables on linear slated farmhouses). It is the smaller elements that have been tacked on that signifcantly damage the potential that this house once had to be well proportioned. Several badly proportioned roof dormers and lean-tos combined with single storey gable projections and a very ungainly fat roofed portico all impact negatively. The windows themselves detract further from the overall. These are a wide range of poorly proportioned shapes and sizes that bear no relation to each other. In addition the attempt to simulate the small glass panes found traditionally in Georgian timber sliding sash windows by sandwiching a grid of PVCu strips between the large panels of double glazing is regrettable. It is a pale imitation of the th century original and fails in terms of achieving good proportion. 7
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- section i would like a house that will be easy to heat, gentle on the environment and will last a lifetime… PM AM 76
- 77 photos courtesy of Berenice Maher and Stan McWilliams 77
- .0 sustainable design In the UIA ( International Union of Architects) Declaration of Interdependence for a Sustainable Future, Chicago proclaimed: “ Sustainable design integrates consideration of resource and energy effciency, healthy buildings and materials, ecologically and socially sensitive land-use, and an aesthetic sensitivity that inspires, affrms and enables” Sustainable development is about using the earth’s fnite resources – agricultural land, air, water, fuel and mineral reserves – wisely and without waste so that the developments we create today meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of our children and grandchildren to meet their own needs. As well as minimising our consumption of physical fnite resources sustainable development does not detract from the beauty of the natural landscape. The basic principles of sustainable design of new houses in the countryside are: ■ use site and materials wisely and without waste ■ maintain and enhance nature’s diversity and beauty ■ minimise non-renewable energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions ■ minimise use of non-renewable and toxic materials ■ avoid air-conditioning ■ conserve water ■ recycle where possible ■ reduce waste ■ minimise use of hazardous/polluting substances 7 A great deal can be achieved by intelligent designing and without using untried technologies. It is in your interest to give careful consideration to how you can minimise energy consumption through the design of your home. Energy effciency in the design of buildings is not just an eco-friendly initiative. It is pragmatic and cost effective. Energy effciency in design can result in reduced heating, cooling and lighting costs, as well as reducing individual and collective dependence on natural resources and artifcial materials that impact on the environment. This chapter will explore some of the ways in which you can ensure that your home is energy effcient, minimising both running costs and environmental impact. Perhaps the frst thing to consider is the size of the house you are planning to buildwhat are your actual accommodation needs? Every extra room has an additional cost both in terms of construction, use of materials and the lifetime running costs of heating and lighting the building. You should ensure that infrequently used rooms have more than one role (e.g. a study doubling as a spare bedroom). Avoid unnecessary bathrooms and en suites. To achieve optimum levels of energy effciency you should ensure that the size of your home refects your actual needs, and that it is simple and compact in form. photos courtesy of Marcus McCabe, Hempire Building Materials, Clones, Co. Monaghan
- There are a number of other measures that can be taken, and your designer should be Whilst there are a host of renewable energy technologies available, not all are able to help you explore these further: appropriate to the Irish climate, it is important to remember that a careful and considered approach to the design of the house can itself achieve a great deal in terms of sustainable design.■ Have you kept the size of your house as small and compact as possible? ■ Have you eliminated little used rooms as much as possible? ■ Have you minimised the number of bathrooms and en suites? ■ Has your designer oriented the rooms and windows within the house to maximise the benefts of free heat from the sun directly into the most used rooms? This is known as passive solar heating or the Direct Gain Method (See section ) ■ Have you considered the use of active systems for capturing renewable energy? Active systems that are appropriate in the countryside and in the Irish climate include geothermal ground source heat pumps, biomass heating systems (eg wood chip and wood pellet fuelled boilers), evacuated tube solar collectors (these work well under grey sky conditions and heat water only), and (on larger sites) wind turbines. ■ Aim to minimise energy lost from the building itself by maximising insulation ■ Aim to minimise the energy lost in manufacturing processes and transportation by using natural materials sourced locally or within Ireland as much as possible. ■ Install water saving technology where possible eg dual fush toilets ■ Save rain water and grey water (water from washing applicances) for secondary use eg watering the garden ■ Consider sustainable drainage ■ Develop the site so that it protects the best natural features and supports a wide range of wildlife and bio-diversity ■ Ensure that your house blends into the landscape and enhances it as much as possible. 7 photos courtesy of Marcus McCabe, Hempire Building Materials Clones, Co. Monaghan
- The house below outside Muff in Inishowen, was commended by the RIAI in its annual regional awards. It was designed by Paul Leech of Gaia Associates and commissioned by Stan McWilliams and Berenice Maher. As clients their personal commitment to energy effciency and renewable energy set the stage for their choice of architect and the ethos of design approach. This house could not have happened without the attitude of the clients. Built in 0 it was ahead of its time. 0 photos courtesy of Berenice Maher and Stan McWilliams 0 It is an excellent example of a house that incorporates a wide range of passive energy saving methods at design stage to substantially reduce its consumption of the earth’s natural resources. Designed to accommodate a family of living on a working farm this house incorporates exemplary passive solar heating features : ■ It is modest in size and compact ■ Main habitable rooms are oriented to the south and west ■ Largest and greatest number of windows are on the east, south and west facades ■ Small number and size of windows on the north façade ■ South facing sunspace is a “lean-to” against an internal ‘Trombe Wall’ that backs onto an open plan kitchen/living/dining space and a bedroom above ■ High levels of insulation ■ Wood burning stoves provide back-up heating (The wood comes from trees grown on the farm for the purpose) ■ Solar panels on the roof in conjunction with the heat pump provides additional space heating ■ There is no oil fred central heating system ■ Natural stone used on the exterior of the house was salvaged from old farm sheds on the site ■ The south side of the house faces directly onto a hedge lined private garden space, and access lane that supports a wide range of wildlife ■ The muted colour of the stone and roof tiles helps the house to blend into the landscape very well ■ Remember that roof mounted solar panels on houses in the countryside can jump out visually . If they can be ground mounted this is preferable
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.