Valeside
The site is within the Durham City conservation area and 2 sides of the site adjoin the Flass Vale Nature Reserve which is designated green belt land. The existing house is located at the back of a sloping site in the corner of the cul-de-sac. To address the sloping site the single storey house has been built on a raised podium with a single garage below part of the house. The front door is accessed by a set of external stairs next the garage. There are mature hedges and/or trees to most of the property boundary except around the entrance. The boundary planting and location of the building on the site means only the south elevation is visible from outside of the site.
The proposed alterations to the house have been designed to be contemporary in appearance whilst being sympathetic the scale, layout and massing of the existing property and surrounding properties. The majority of the house footprint is retained with only the area currently occupied by the garage with bedrooms above be to altered. This section of the building has been rotated to better face the site entrance and improve the view of the house from the road.
The front entrance door has been brought down to the lower level to improve the main access. The main floor of the house retains the same principal layout of the existing with bedrooms to the east and reception rooms the west. The reception rooms make the most of the south facing aspects and views. The existing terrace to the south is retained and extended to the west to create a larger outside space on the same level as the main living areas.
It is proposed to introduce a small upper floor extension to create a study and bathroom with access to a rooftop terrace. This extension has been located at the north of the plan to ensure that is does not increase the perceived massing of the house from the road.
The house utilises a simple palette of materials which vary in terms of durability, appearance and recyle-abilty depending on their location. The use of large horizontal glazing on the property is influenced by the existing fenestration on the house. The large horizontal glazing was a key design feature of the original property and is also a characteristic of the surrounding properties.
