Design guide · Roscommon County Council
Rural Design Guidelines
The council's guidance on siting and designing a house in the countryside.
Roscommon County Council · 70 pages
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- 15 Our Place in the Landscape Rural Design Guidelines Two storey vernacular farmhouse With the re-organisation of landholdings in the late 19th and early 20th centuries a vernacular type emerged. These houses were 3 bay in form with a narrow depth, normally one room deep. The chimneys were located at the ridge and typically on the gables. They are typically accessed by a straight avenue aligned to the side of the house while some are located adjacent to the road. Associated outbuildings are adjacent, often forming a courtyard. “The long house” The traditional cottage was characterized by its stone walls and whitewash finish. The houses are one room deep with each room opening into the next. The original cottage would have been extended over time with enlargement of windows, replacement of roof and provision of an entrance porch being the most common improvements. The houses are often grouped with out-buildings to enclose a yard that fronts onto the road. The houses were typically accessed by a short avenue to the side of the dwelling and gables of the buildings often formed the boundary along the road. Single storey cottage The single storey 3 or 4 bay dwelling became a popular model for individual dwellings in the first half of the 20th century. Often constructed by public bodies such as the Congested Districts Board and Local Authorities, the dwellings were set within their own plot and often mirrored the classical lodge type design. The dwellings introduced a central hallway and can be seen as the forerunner of the modern bungalow. 5 6 7
- 16 Our Place in the Landscape Rural Design Guidelines 3.4 Vernacular Architecture of Co. Roscommon Vernacular architecture is a type of community architecture using local building styles and materials. Vernacular architecture uses crafts and techniques which respond to the local climate, topography and socio-economic circumstances. House styles in the vernacular building tradition have evolved over centuries in response to their local environment. The vernacular house has been remodeled over the past few centuries in line with the distinct phases of development in the county. During the late 18th and early 19th Centuries a trend of gradual enlargement of the traditional vernacular house form emerged. This did not however result in a break with vernacular architectural form. The tradition also retained its almost exclusively one room deep plan with façade windows larger than rear fenestration and the very restrained use of gable fenestration. The large estate houses in County Roscommon have traditionally been of exceptionally low distribution, and sited on secluded and heavily screened sites within large landed estates. These structures would have reflected prevailing international architectural styles rather than vernacular traditions. 3.5 The built form in Co. Roscommon Each county in Ireland has a mixture of building types that are particular to that area. There may be aspects of these buildings that are similar to those found in other parts of the country however they often take on subtle differences to connect them to that specific area. Within the county itself patterns emerge relating to house size, shape and materials which in turn reflect the landscape of the county. It is through these patterns that a sense of regional identity is formed. Recent housing construction has seen a move away from the vernacular style to be replaced with a more generic type of dwelling. This has led to the reduction of regional identity which can be preserved by re-using and replacing our vernacular dwellings and by incorporating their characteristics when approaching the design of a new build rural house. Characteristics of vernacular architecture include the following: • Materials sourced locally • Rectangular building form • No more than one room deep • Doors and windows on façade and back only • Utilises local topography and vegetation for shelter • Chimneys located at the ridge and typically on the gables • The use of simple proportions to give aesthetic appeal
- 8 12 13 14 15 1110 9 Other common building forms
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- 20 Siting and Integration Rural Design Guidelines 4.1 Choosing the right site Of all the factors, site selection has the biggest influence on how successfully a dwelling can assimilate into its rural surroundings. While building form is also a crucial determinant, poor site selection places significant limitations on how you create your living space as its position in the landscape will make its assimilation difficult, while good site selections opens up significant number of potential possibilities for the creation of your living space. Essentially good siting is when a building appears to “belong” to the landscape rather than intruding upon it. The key to allowing a new dwelling to “belong in the landscape” is the selection of the correct site within the landscape and then to consider the characteristics of that site and develop the design of your house based on these characteristics. It is important for a dwelling to pay particular attention to the existing contours on a site to determine if a specifically designed dwelling can be accommodated on a site, making use of and working with the site levels. Digging out the site can be expensive and the creation an artificial platform can make the site more prominent. Site A is located too close to a corner which presents a danger to traffic safety. Site B is located along a straighter section of the road with good visibility. Site C is a poor location as it contributes to ribbon development. A B C
- 21 Siting and Integration Rural Design Guidelines 4.2 Locating the house The siting of a house in the countryside is the most important part of the process and if the site does not provide the necessary criteria, then other sites should be considered. In respect to the landscape character area, it will require the house to assimilate into the distinct landscape of County Roscommon. The site should be sheltered and in close proximity to infrastructure and characteristics such as contours, vegetation and site orientation should be to the fore. The building should be orientated to maximise shelter as well as direct sunlight and elements such as the access and driveway should not have a greater impact than the dwelling itself. A principle factor in house location on a rural site is the development pattern of the area which is fundamental in the ability of the dwelling to assimilate into the existing landscape. The pattern should reflect the character of the locality itself and at this stage it is important to differentiate between the rural and suburban pattern of development. In a traditional rural pattern, the dwelling is surrounded by the landscape and indeed forms part of the landscape as compared to the suburban pattern where dwellings occupy individual plots of land with the building form being the dominant object on the site. One of the biggest mistakes in recent rural house design is the attempt to “drop in” the suburban model in the rural setting.Rural development pattern Suburban development pattern
- 22 Siting and Integration Rural Design Guidelines 4.3 Working with sunlight The sun is an important source of heat and light which is often taken for granted in house design. Advances in technology mean that we are now able to harness the sun’s energy and use it to help heat our buildings, our water, and also to produce electricity. It is worth noting that Solar light can also be exploited in building design to minimise the need for artificial lighting. Passive solar heat is a term used to describe the heat gain which is, effectively, captured solar energy released as heat. Solar radiation is transmitted indoors through glazing and is then converted into heat when it is absorbed by surfaces such as concrete, stone or brick walls and masonry. The surfaces then store and release this heat within the building. A building can then be designed to make maximum use of these gains, by optimising the room shape, room size, glazing size and type, room position and orientation (south facing rooms take most solar heat energy). A building can achieve 30% energy savings if the dwelling is orientated within 15o of south once the living areas are arranged so as to avail of solar passive gains. East: • Facades should be designed to maximise gain from morning to midday sun. • Optimum aspect for kitchen, morning circulation spaces and bedrooms. North: • Facades should have smaller opes to minimise heat loss. • Rooms orientated towards the north may include a study, utility room, bathroom and corridors. West: • Facades should be designed to maximise gain from afternoon and evening sun. • Suitable for evening living spaces and sun rooms. South: • Facades should incorporate larger opes to living spaces. • Optimum aspect for larger living spaces. • Optimum location for solar collectors.
- 23 Siting and Integration Rural Design Guidelines 4.4 Dealing with contours The sloping contours of a site play an important part when choosing the location of and indeed the specific design of a dwelling for a particular site. A good design approach will work with the existing contours of the site and integrate the dwelling into the site as compared building on the site. Excessive excavation or the creation of an artificial platform can lead to a conspicuous building which is unrelated to the site. On sloping sites the house should ideally have stepped floor levels which reflect the contours of the site. When excavation is necessary, narrow plan houses with minimal cut and fill is recommended. Over scaled deep plan houses with large excavations and platforms should be avoided. On flat or open sites, small scale houses are easier to blend into the landscape especially when supplemented by native species deciduous trees. On relatively flat sites, large bulky houses should be avoided as it is very difficult to blend them into the landscape. Houses should avoid being placed on a hill top or in a position where they break the horizon or skyline.
- 24 Siting and Integration Rural Design Guidelines 4.5 Access A key consideration for siting a dwelling is the position and design of the access. A new access will often result in the necessary removal of roadside hedges and trees so that sight-lines can be achieved. The existing boundaries, hedgerows and walls should be retained where possible and if their removal is necessary, for example in the provision of visibility splays, they should be reinstated. Visibility splays for local roads will be determined on a site-specific basis subject to traffic safety. In general visibility splays of 90m are to be shown on local roads and 160m on regional roads. New accesses should minimise the removal of existing hedgerow and stone walls. The appearance of the access should be offset from the location of the dwelling where possible, which can maximise the retention of the existing roadside boundary. Where hedgerows or stone walls are removed to facilitate a new development (or upgrade an existing development) the replacement boundary treatment should endeavour to replicate the removed or disturbed boundary. Roadside boundaries should be sympathetically scaled and should not be adorned with disproportionately elaborate entrance pillars and/or gate designs. Ornate precast concrete wall and pillar cappings should be avoided along with metal railings. Where timber fence arrangements are proposed they should not be over dominant in their construction. It is desirable that such fencing arrangements be backed with a hedgerow of natural tree species to offset their visual impact and blend in with the natural surroundings. Unnecessary removal of hedgerows and trees should be avoided and non-indigenous hedge species should not be used. Status of Road X Y Regional Road 3.0m 160m Local Road 2.4m 90m 3m 45o
Source Roscommon County Council: Rural Design Guidelines · 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.