design of new rural cottages
- This topic has 11 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 23 years, 6 months ago by
.
- Posts
I’m looking for help designing a new rural cottage in the West. I’m not fond of bungalow appearance; I do like traditional cottages but am addicted to light and view. Where might I go look for alternate templates, for houses that fit into the landscape and have the softnesses of cottages and yet can be done with modern building resources. Where else are there pockets of interest in these issues….e.g. how do you light an internal level without skylights? Are there other ways of hiding light souces in a roofline and so on…
Many Thanks,
TH
I remember telling someone about this before, some gov department maybe Environment produced a booklet in the 1970s with tips on building sensitively into the irish countryside, modern housing with the attributed and insertion qualities of the trad cottage. I was a kid at the time so I cannot remember the name.
I also recommend that you ignore ‘The roadstone book of house designs’ which includes bungalow designs by Burke_Kennedy Doyle and Arthur Gibney & Partners. Some are incredibly tacky and 70s, while others ‘nod’ towards traditional cottage elements.
Galway County Council have produced the following guideline document for one-off rural houses…
http://www.galway.ie/planning/developmentplan/devplan_single_list.htm
Dear Starch and Mr. Clerkin,
Is “building Sensitively in the Irish countryside,” a booklet from the government, or something else….a book or article?In my opinion the secret is in the immediate landscaping and walls surrounding the house. You can use small windows for the parts looking directly on to the open landscape, and large ones for getting light in looking onto an enclosed outdoor space – mediating perhaps between a simple cottage shape and the landscape.
Instead of looking for a “template” surely one should consider enlisting the help of an architect ?!?
How can one really expect to find a template that magically fits into one’s already purchased site ?!?
Could this (which to me seems a pretty good example of what we should be demanding in our countryside) have be built from a template ?!? Me thinks not !!
If you go to Galway Co Co link above, there seems to be a very good listing of guidlines/reports etc (including that discussed above) in the “Useful Publications/Resources” section…
(Pity Galway CoCo couldn’t have made that document into a pdf instead of having individual pages in gif format…)
I am looking for an architect, too, and would be happy to find someone keenly interested in these issues; on the other hand, it has been my experience that the more familiar one is with the problems and possibilities, the better it all goes.
Is this, by the way, an inappropriate place to ask for recommendations? I’m asking as one new to the forum….
thanks to all who replied. The Galway link appears useful. Mr. Roskav’s thoughtful remark — makes me think a little of Christopher Alexander’s work: I wonder if he is as well known in Ireland? And, if so, is there someone who has written on his relevance to the Irish landscape….?
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
