The brief for this project was to develop the site of a derelict house, including refurbishment of the existing building and development of new property on the surrounding land. The greatest issue with this project was securing planning permission for this infill development where the client initially wanted to build three detached two-storey houses, but planners insisted on designs being consistent with two existing bungalows at the rear of the site.
Infill, or backland developments that involve buildings being added to sites where there are existing buildings, must be sympathetic to the architecture that surrounds them. While there was space to accommodate three two-storey detached houses, planners had clear views about the requirement to not exceed the height of the adjacent properties. The original planning application was for two pairs of semi-detached houses. Plans then changed to two detached properties and ultimately, we reached a consensus with planners for two bungalows.
Working with them, we carried out a measured building survey of the existing house and created designs for two contemporary bungalows. Large, full height windows and rooflights flood the interiors with natural light and the exterior vertical cladding and cream render ensure that the exteriors match the modern style of the interiors. Solar panels maximise the large surface area of the roofs to offer greater energy efficiency.
The initial objective from the developer to achieve ‘gross development value’ (GDV) by building four properties was ultimately realised through the two bungalows due to the demand for bungalows in the area and the contemporary design, making them highly desirable.
Accreditations: BSc (Hons) Architectural Technology, ACIAT
Skills: Adobe Photoshop, Autodesk CAD, BIM / Autodesk Revit, Computer Generated Images (CGI), SketchUp, Twinmotion
About Nathan
Joining us in 2023. Nathan is one of the freshest faces at Farrar Bamforth but he’s already making an impact. Nathan pursued a career in architecture due to a desire to create spaces that have a positive impact on both people and the environment and his favourite project so far was a residential development in Calderdale which made use of BIM to design a mix of dwellings on a multi-level site. He is also a regulation and policy enthusiast, and devoted to all the small details that help to keep us compliant. It was this attention to detail that helped secure him a promotion from Junior Architectural Technologist to Architectural Technologist in January 2024. See more here.
And finally…
Nathan’s favourite toast topping is… butter. In Nathan’s words “let’s make the world a butter place”. When not at work, Nathan enjoys baking cakes (more butter!) and then wondering where they’ve gone. We’re sure you feel ‘butter’ for knowing that 🙄
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Accreditations: BSc (Hons) Architectural Technology, ICIOB – Incorporated Chartered Institute of Building, CIAT affiliate
Skills: Autodesk CAD, project management, specification writing, contract administration, principal designer, knowledge of building regulations, energy performance of buildings, designing for neurodiversity.
About Tony
Tony is the Big Dog of Farrar Bamforth Architecture. Starting his career here in 1999, he acquired the business and became Managing Director in 2018. Tony loves process driven buildings; creating buildings that can make a positive impact on business performance and people’s lives. Tony takes an intuitive approach to architecture and can often be found in buildings waving his hands around to indicate where rooms should go. He’s also a ‘fixer’; solving problems and dealing with the difficult issues others would rather delegate. Think ‘Mr Wolf’ in Pulp Fiction but with building regulations rather than dead bodies.
In his many years with the company, his favourite project so far has been Berendsen Laundry in Durham. A £5million build and £5million fit-out, Tony was involved from start to finish and enjoyed the perfect combination of interesting job, great client, and good team of contractors and consultants.
And finally…
Tony’s favourite toast topping is two rashers of bacon, brown sauce, and another slice of toast. That’s a sandwich Tony (there’s always one 🙄). When not standing in buildings waving his arms around, he can often be found at heavy metal or Adam Ant concerts, supporting Wakefield Trinity, playing touch rugby, or watching bad car chase movies. Though not, apparently, the Fast and the Furious (too bad).
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A topographical (topo) survey is essential for determining the physical features of a piece of land before building on it or adapting existing structures. It creates an accurate assessment of factors such as boundaries, surfaces, and gradients. Types of survey will differ (depending on the land) but all will provide you with a meaningful analysis of the characteristics of the land and any limitations they create. Topo surveys must be undertaken by specialist topographical surveyors. We can advise on and coordinate this on your behalf.
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A feasibility study allows you to comprehensively evaluate the viability of an architectural project before committing significant investments to it. Viability is assessed from architectural, financial, and environmental perspectives. As well as the functional aspects of the build, it also includes some preliminary designs, allowing you to start visualising the outcome. The process could include a pre-application submission to the planning department for their opinion prior to a formal application. Conducting a detailed feasibility study protects you against the, often costly, ‘surprises’ that can come from not anticipating and taking steps to avoid the pitfalls that come from not being suitably prepared.
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There is a much-used phrase that applies to all design but was specifically coined for architecture: ‘form follows function’ and it’s something that we live by. Primarily, buildings and interios have to work so we listen to our clients when they tell us what the structure needs to do for them. For our commercial and industrial clients, this is often 95% of the brief. For residential projects, whether a housing development or a bespoke high-end dwelling, functionality and aesthetic appeal need to be finely balanced. We are equally skilled in both approaches and always client-led.
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Building regulations are simultaneously the rules that keep us safe and the requirements that give architects and builders headaches as they strive for compliance with ever-evolving specifications. Not a problem for us though, as several members of the team live for the minutiae and details of regulations, and standards so we’re all over them. That not only means that your development complies with (and often, exceeds) building regs but that we also know the strategies for working with regulations in ways that don’t compromise creativity, function, or budgets.
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Photo-realistic Computer Generated Images (CGIs) bring a project to life like nothing else, creating a vision of the finished development or interior before a hard hat and hi-vis jacket has even been donned! Our CGI artists transform technical specs into hyper-real representations of what we can deliver.
×Our residential projects span bespoke contemporary homes for individuals, such as Primrose Farm Barn Conversion or Quarmby, and housing developments such as Erris Homes at Greetland or Yorkshire Country Properties. For more information, please contact Tony at tony@farrarbamforth.co.uk or call 01484 424008 where any member of the team will be able to help you.
