Main St, Desford
Development of 3 New-build Detached Houses
The site, a haulage yard, lies within the heart of a village conservation area in Desford, Leicestershire. The client wanted an architect that could design something sympathetic to the adjacent vernacular architecture whilst maximising the value of the development.
Early consultation with the local Conservation Officer proved beneficial and designs were given approval for a large detached house facing the street and two semi-detached homes at the rear.
In terms of design the brief was to create a more traditional appearance to the front elevation of the detached house by referencing some of the materials and details of the buildings on the street.
Elsewhere, the overall objective was to retain a simplicity to the elevations but to use high quality materials. Internally we wanted to maximise the room sizes and ceiling heights as much as possible as this is something that we feel would set this apart from the volume house builder’s developments.
During the planning application, a process of mandatory archaeological investigation was carried out, as it was thought to be the site of a Roman kiln. They did not find anything of interest and so construction was allowed to proceed under a ‘watching brief’.
