Design guide · Offaly County Council
Rural Design Guidelines for Offaly
The council's guidance on siting and designing a house in the countryside.
Offaly County Council · 24 pages
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- Designing houses creating homes A guide for applicants on the siting and design of new houses in the Offaly countrysidePLanning and Economic Development Department Offaly County Council Offaly County Council Comhairle Chontae Uíbh Fhailí
- “The diverse landscape and topography of County Offaly, with its vast swathes of bog, raised eskers, rivers and belts of rich farmland, had a strong influence on settlement in the county. Historical events added another dimension; and all of these factors influenced the development of the architectural heritage of the county”. National Inventory of Architectural Heritage 2006 “The built environment influences every aspect of our lives – through the houses we live in, the schools we learn in, the offices or factories we work in, the public buildings we enter, the places where we spend our leisure time, and even the streets in which we move about. While few people think consciously about architecture, everyone experiences it. Poor standards of design and construction represent a waste of effort, energy, materials and opportunity”. Action in Architecture, Government Policy in Architecture “In any and every case, the character of the site is the beginning of the building that aspires to architecture”. Frank Lloyd Wright, 1937 Prepared by: Gordon Daly, Senior Planner and Rachel Mc Kenna, Senior Executive Architect, Offaly County Council, 2008. Cover: The cover of these guidelines is a reproduction of an original acrylic painting on canvas by Gerry Fox, Offaly County Council, entitled "Landscapes of Offaly". It depicts various Offaly landscape features including the Slieve Bloom Mountains, Clonmacnoise, peatlands, eskers, the Grand Canal and the spire of the Church of Assumption, Tullamore. The house is a reminder that well sited and designed houses can also contribute to our landscapes. Please note: This booklet is intended as a guide only in relation to the area of rural house design. The examples in this booklet are illustrative only. They are a response to their own unique set of circumstances and may not be transferable. This guide does not deal with eligibility or local need in terms of planning policy and other issues such as road safety and public health nor does it deal with other codes such as the Building Regulations. Please consult the current Offaly County Development Plan for more information on other planning matters. For an introduction to these other issues it is recommended that you obtain a ‘Planning Information Pack’ available from the Planning Office, Offaly County Council. Design and print: Brosna Press 090 6454327
- Designing Houses - Creating homes in the Offaly Countryside Page 1 I N T R O D U C T I O N If you have chosen to read this booklet it means you are probably considering or have decided to apply for planning permission to build a house in the Offaly countryside. It is an important time, an exciting time but also a major challenge to get it right. You are creating a home as well as designing a house. You want it to be comfortable, safe and an asset into the future. This booklet is intended to help you. These guidelines look at the various stages that you need to consider to (finally) be able to turn the key in the door – from choosing the right site to deciding the finished materials. It is not a book of house plans to choose from and it will not design the house for you but it will help bring you in the right direction. The most important next step after reading this guide is to choose a good designer. Choose very carefully. The best builders and tradesmen will not rescue a poor design – you will only, after all, get what is shown on your plans. The person you choose should have architectural design training and experience – generally, though not always, a professional architect. Look at other work they have done, talk if you can to previous clients. Be prepared to consider spending more money on the design – if you feel you have found the right designer for you. It will be money well spent. Look to build a smart house with a focus on sustainability and energy efficiency i.e. better designed and better finished, keeping in mind ever increasing energy costs. A small reduction in the size of the house can help reduce energy costs and offset the initial investment in an energy efficient design. It will be a more enjoyable home to live in, entertain family and friends and is more likely to increase in value. You will also be secure in the knowledge that you are doing your bit to ensure the protection and enhancement of the character and environment of rural Offaly. These guidelines will also be of use to planning officials in the local authority and agents submitting planning applications, but they are mainly aimed at you, the applicant. Their purpose is to be helpful and to give an understanding of the issues concerned with achieving good siting and design. They are not intended to restrict personal taste, stifle the imagination or introduce sameness. On the contrary, modern/contemporary designs on a suitable site are welcomed. Section 1 Site Location and Site Layout 2 Section 2 Scale and Form 6 Section 3 Design 8 Section 4 Materials, Finishes and Colour 14 Section 5 Roadside Boundary Treatments 16 Section 6 Landscaping 18 Section 7 Sustainability and Energy Efficiency 19 Section 8 Accessibility, Lifetime Adaptability and Extensions 20 Section 9 Sources / Further Reading 21 C O N T E N T S
- Section 1 : Site location and site layout S I T E L O C AT I O N Offaly is a very attractive county with its own unique character and sense of place. If you are a native of the ‘Faithful’ county, or have chosen to live in Offaly, you are part of a collective responsibility to ensure that it can be enjoyed by future generations. Well designed and sited houses can actually enhance the landscape. The county can be broken down into a number of different landscape types namely esker landscape, rural and agricultural landscape, boglands, cutaway bogs, River Shannon floodplains, the Grand Canal corridor, upland areas such as the Slieve Bloom and Croghan Hill, wetlands and archaeological and historical landscapes. In choosing a site location and deciding on a site layout you therefore need to be conscious of this wider canvas. This section deals with both choosing the right site and how best to approach the site layout. The key message is to ensure that any new house fits into and enhances the landscape, rather than detracting from it. This will also make for a more comfortable and economic home. S e c t i o n 1 Agricultural Slieve Bloom Grand Canal Boglands ESKER Designing Houses - Creating homes in the Offaly Countryside Page 2
- S I T E L O C AT I O N : W H AT T O A I M F O R A N D W H AT T O AV O I D The appropriate siting or location of a house is every bit as important as the design. Aim to choose a site that will allow the house fit into and enhance the landscape - not detract from it. Choose your site after careful consideration. Explore different options if you have a landholding. If you are a purchaser, exhaust all options before settling on a site. Purchase a site subject to planning permission. Consider if the site has any existing architectural, environmental, landscape or archaeological designations. Avoid creating linear/ribbon development particularly at the edges of towns and villages. The size of the house that you plan must be relative to the size of the site. A large house will need a large site and a landscape in which it will not be the dominant feature. Where there are a number of immediate family members seeking to build, a coordinated clustered approach could be considered in consultation with the planning authority. In order to maximise the enjoyment of new houses and to limit their visual impact, they are generally best located as far back from a road as possible. The use of existing laneways, or building in a site behind the immediate road frontage, is encouraged if it can be demonstrated that there will be no impact on the visual and residential amenities, current/future, in the area. Choosing a site location and site layout are closely linked. The tips to follow on site layout should inform actual site location in the first instance. Poor siting - breaking the horizon Good siting - nestled in the landscape Ribbon Development Proposed new dwelling Existing dwelling Existing (or new) entrance - ensure its suitability for two-way traffic Designing Houses - Creating homes in the Offaly Countryside Page 3
- S I T E L AY O U T: W H AT T O A I M F O R A N D W H AT T O AV O I D Determining the best layout should begin with a detailed site analysis. Identify existing features, prevailing winds, views to and from the site and sunshine patterns. Identify and use the natural sheltering features of the site; folds in the land or contours, existing trees and hedges. Do not break the horizon or skyline or build on the highest part of the site. Avoid breaking views of water e.g. rivers and lakes. 34455 Design and orientate dwellings to take account of site topography, increase wind shelter and optimise the benefits of sunlight, daylight and solar gain. Sunlight provides a feeling of warmth and well being. Adequate daylighting can contribute significantly to the creation of a satisfactory living environment and, together with passive solar gain, can also help reduce energy consumption and heating costs. Maximise the benefits of sunshine with living spaces and sheltered outdoor areas facing south or west and bedrooms facing east. Minimise and grade excavated material to help reduce the impact of any new dwelling. Designing Houses - Creating homes in the Offaly Countryside Page 4 Poor siting - breaking the horizon Poor siting T Y P I C A L S U N PAT H D I A G R A M
- Reduce where possible, cutting and filling into hills which can leave the landscape scarred. Driveways should respect existing contours and ensure that they do not have a greater visual impact than the house itself. Avoid a sense that a house has been “dropped into” the landscape. Remember that a site “can be seen from everything it can see”. Being partially visible may be acceptable. Avoid being visually obtrusive. If visual and residential amenity impacts can be avoided, houses do not have to be parallel to the road which can allow for better use of sunlight and other conditions. Avoid straight building lines where possible. Consider stepping back the dwelling from an existing house. If a considerable step back could create overlooking, it may be possible to line up the front wall of the new house with the rear wall of an existing house. Remember even an award-winning design cannot redeem poor siting. Poorly sited house Different Approaches to contours Designing Houses - Creating homes in the Offaly Countryside Page 5 Good siting - working with existing landscape features Working with contours 1
- Section 2 : Scale and Form S C A L E A N D F O R M : W H AT T O A I M F O R A N D W H AT T O AV O I D Avoid a house that is oversized for its site, the landscape into which the house is to be placed and surrounding features and buildings. Avoid large, wide, ill-designed gables to the road. Historically, gables were predominantly solid with relatively small openings. Aim to get the form right and avoid one bulky structure. Break down into smaller elements and remember simple forms are best. Avoid wide/deep plan houses. They will appear bulky and squat. Narrow plan houses generally make better use of sunlight and daylight. Avoid awkward and foreign built forms. Proportion is all important. It provides for a harmonious arrangement of the component parts. Generally getting the right scale – form and proportions should be the focus. The correct height will follow from that. Look at how traditional farmyards created sheltered courtyards This section provides advice on how to achieve appropriate scale and form. The key message is to ensure that the size of the house is in harmony within its site and surroundings, and that it is generally a combination of simple forms. Bolder forms or a modern design on a suitable site are also welcome. S e c t i o n 2 Designing Houses - Creating homes in the Offaly Countryside Page 6 Form: What to aim for (non exhaustive traditional examples) Form: What to avoid (non exhaustive examples)
- Foreign roof forms such as Dutch hipped, mansard and Swiss roofs should be avoided. Where a pitched roof is used it should generally be between 35-55 degrees. Avoid mid roof dormer designs and those with an oversized top heavy roof space. These lead to an unbalanced appearance where the roof becomes the dominant feature. Where first floor accommodation is required, single storey with attic development lit by roof lights or wall plate dormers (i.e. storey and a half house) are more preferable to mid roof dormers. A well designed two storey house on a suitable site can also fit well into the landscape. There are many fine examples around the county which could be interpreted in a modern fashion. Finally, the planning authority is not looking to achieve sameness in house type; bolder forms and modern designs on suitable sites are also welcome along with more traditional forms. Foreign roof forms Designing Houses - Creating homes in the Offaly Countryside Page 7 Avoid mid-dormer roof design Use rooflights to simplify roof form Storey and a half house 1
- Section 3 : Design D E S I G N : W H AT T O A I M F O R A N D W H AT T O AV O I D The first step in getting the design right is to choose the right site and location within that site and to achieve an appropriate scale and form. The actual final design, if it is to work, must evolve from these initial steps. It is not the purpose of these guidelines to be prescriptive or stifle taste or imagination. There are likely to be a multitude of designs that are suitable to a site. Have a look at older houses in the locality and use them to gain visual clues for the design of your home. Offaly has a particularly rich architectural heritage. These traditional forms can be considered in a modern context by a skilled designer. There are however, plenty of more recent examples throughout the country of poor design, which should not be viewed as a precedent. Standards of design should increase over time. Where possible use locally sourced materials. Appropriate design in a rural context can be either traditional or a modern interpretation of same or a more bold modern or contemporary design if properly executed. In some cases all that may be needed to sufficiently improve a design are elevational changes and a better standard of external materials. Avoid suburban, urban and other fussy, tired and complicated designs. They are often a “pick ‘n’ mix” of different styles and are unsuited to a rural area. Remember the saying “less is more, more is less”. This section looks at design and architectural style. The key message is that the house must be suitable to its rural area. Avoid urban or suburban designs, complex or monotonous designs. Traditional designs and particularly modern / contemporary design where appropriate are welcome. S e c t i o n 3 Designing Houses - Creating homes in the Offaly Countryside Page 8 Same house plan with simple details and material Inappropriate rural design complicated variety of unsuitable materials 1
Source Offaly County Council: Rural Design Guidelines for Offaly · 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.