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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- 35 Re-use, re-organise, re-place Rural Design Guidelines 5.4 Re-placement dwellings Replacement dwellings can help to re-establish our rural communities by redeveloping long established buildings. Notwithstanding this, the importance of these vernacular buildings to the character of an area means that replacement should only be considered where it is clear that the building is not capable of being made structurally sound. Replacement opportunities are beneficial in that they are normally in close proximity to exiting infrastructure and will also benefit from established mature boundaries. Where it is planned to replace an existing dwelling, the house being replaced should clearly be recognised as a dwelling i.e. the external walls, roof and openings are relatively intact, and it must also have been last used as a dwelling. The county of Roscommon contains a large variety of building types and forms. Most of these traditional buildings are relatively simple in their form. For a successful replacement dwelling, the form and shape of the building being replaced should be reflected. In some exceptional circumstances a replacement dwelling with a high quality design will be considered where it differs from the original vernacular on site. These projects should however still reflect the vernacular elements in the overall concept. Basic Rules for replacement dwellings: 1) The replacement dwelling should be of a form and scale that fits into the existing site and integrates with the characteristics of the site. 2) The dwelling should be located as close to the existing footprint as possible unless there is a planning gain in terms of visual and functional integration. 3) Established characteristics on site such as mature hedgerows, trees site boundaries and access points should be retained as much as possible. 4) The replacement dwelling should incorporate materials from the former dwelling as much as possible. Traditional iron gates should be salvaged and reused where possible. Replacement/Renovation opportunity for vernacular dwelling 63 64
- 36 Re-use, re-organise, re-place Rural Design Guidelines 5.5 Options for replacement Replacement Opportunity Option 2 Option 3 Option 1 Mature trees and hedgerows Former dwelling and outbuildings Existing laneway with natural hedgerow Mature trees and hedgerows retained on site Former dwelling renovated and used as outbuilding New dwelling of similar form sited perpendicular to contours Mature trees and hedgerows retained on site Slightly larger modern dwelling with similar form to former dwelling Dwelling on similar footprint to the former dwelling New hedgerow and natural trees to match existing No relationship between former dwelling and new dwelling Some site clearance to accommodate large deep plan dwelling and garage Hedgerow removed and replaced by ornate gateway
- 37 Re-use, re-organise, re-place Rural Design Guidelines 5.6 Garages Traditionally storage for dwellings was narrow in form and comprised of predominantly single storey barns and stables. Two storey barns were often used together with two storey dwellings and were of a high aesthetic quality. Where possible these elements should be retained on site and utilised as part of any design solution. The siting of a garage can be used to break up the overall massing of the house. It could also provide for the provision of an enclosed courtyard effect to the front or to the rear of the dwelling. Consideration of the size of the garage should be in direct proportion to the size of the house. Large scale steel and pre-cast concrete structures should be avoided. If there is a requirement for additional space for the dwelling this should be sought through the provision of a series of smaller blocks rather than a single large garage. Finally the siting of the garage should not dominate the front elevation of the house. Traditional forms should be used as compared to ‘industrial’ style sheds 65 66
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No text on this page — it is probably a drawing, a map, a photograph or a scanned page. See it in the PDF.
- 40 New Build Rural Design Guidelines 6.1 Designing the right house for the right site We have seen in Section 4 the importance of site selection and locating the dwelling appropriately in the site. The key to designing a dwelling successfully is that the dwelling is designed for the site where it is to be built. It is important that designs are not just copied of other sites which the applicant may like for one reason or another. These dwellings may not suit the chosen site or indeed the individual needs of the applicant. Before you start to think about a house type, it is important to study the character and physical attributes of the site. A site contour map (right) should be drawn up and any proposal on this site should have minimal intervention with landscape features. It is vital that you design a dwelling based on the sites features and not the other way around. The following characteristics should be central to the design process. What characteristics should be encouraged Simple building form Well proportioned Sitting comfortably in the landscape Maximise solar gain Sheltered from the weather Simple construction Rooms where natural light streams in throughout the day Little or no modelling on front plane of building Modern but distinctively rural Minimise areas of hard standing A garden that is easy to manage Quality of materials What characteristics should be avoided Complex building forms Poorly proportioned elements Poorly integrated buildings Over elaborate elevations Too big, full of empty rooms that are rarely used Proliferation of white plastic (doors, windows, eaves and downpipes) Suburban site treatment that is difficult to manage No privacy or shelter in outdoor spaces Large hard standing platforms Addition of ‘frills’ and extra detailing Solely reliant on fossil fuel heating system
- 41 New Build Rural Design Guidelines 6.2 Form follows Function The theory that form follows function is a fundamental principle in architecture. Essentially it means that the form of a building is a direct result of the uses of the spaces within the building. Traditionally this lead to dwellings which were simple in shape with a scale determined by the site. It also meant well defined elevations with minimal protrusions with the bulk and scale of the dwelling broken down. These forms are for indicative purposes only and attempt to indicate appropriate rural forms. The characteristics shown should be applied to achieve a successful rural design solution. Single storey Storey and half Two Storey Miscellaneous Cottage ‘L’ Form ‘T’ Form Long House ‘U’ Form No dormer Single eave dormer Double eaves dormer Triple eaves dormer Contemporary style eave dormer Simple Two Storey Long Two Storey Long Two Storey and ‘T’ Two Storey and ‘L’ Two Storey slipped Tatch Tin Hayshed Slate and tin lean-to Front barn Gable barn 6.3 Rural Building Forms
- 67 69 68 70 72 71 73 74 Contemporary interpretations of rural typologies
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- 44 New Build Rural Design Guidelines 6.4 Suburban Building Forms In recent years there has been a move towards large blocky house types with a deep plan form. The ‘pattern-book’ designs have also contributed to this trend and the result is a design which has no relationship with its site. While the vernacular typologies followed the form follows function principle, these recent trends are a reverse of this in that they are trying to squeeze the highest number of rooms into a rectangular shape without appreciating the function of these spaces. These forms are for indicative purposes only and attempt to indicate forms which are not appropriate in a rural setting. The characteristics shown should be avoided in rural design. Deep plan bungalow Gabled deep plan bungalow Hipped bungalow Twin gabled deep plan Common Dormer Half-hipped dormer Gabled dormer Half-hipped and gable add-on Suburban porch deep plan Gable add-on Deep plan with gable add-ons Suburban hipped Single storey Storey and half Two Storey
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.