House of the year inspiring or what!

[ToughButterCup]

On 11/25/2016 at 22:26, ProDave said:

[...] There is never any "stuff" about the place. It's all crisp, clean and bare, like walking into a hotel room with no personal effects to be seen.

and 

On 11/28/2016 at 20:24, Bitpipe said:

 

[...] then we started to empty the caravan, shed and container. Full of junk again now...

 

Precisely that phenomenon made us realise the importance of a humble piggery nestling inconspicuously next to our build. It has now become the central storage system for Great Crested Newt Towers. (Salamander Cottage to the more refined readers)

Knock down and rebuild starts Monday. Can't wait.

[ProDave]

Just got round to watching the latest one.

 

4 storey town house. Nearly all open plan. Stairs in the middle of the house, only one exit, the front door. Hardly any internal doors at all, let alone fire doors. The bedroom doors were Japanese style paper doors.

 

How did that get passed?
 

[MikeSharp01]

57 minutes ago, ProDave said:

4 storey town house. Nearly all open plan. Stairs in the middle of the house, only one exit, the front door. Hardly any internal doors at all, let alone fire doors. The bedroom doors were Japanese style paper doors.

 

How did that get passed?

They must have a sprinkler system and perhaps a ladder out the back, or a secret door through into next door - good point!

[Dudda]

1 hour ago, ProDave said:

Just got round to watching the latest one.

 

4 storey town house. Nearly all open plan. Stairs in the middle of the house, only one exit, the front door. Hardly any internal doors at all, let alone fire doors. The bedroom doors were Japanese style paper doors.

 

How did that get passed?
 

I heard them say the rainwater which is collected is used for the toilets, washing machine and the sprinkler system. 

 

Kinda cool. Never heard anyone using rainwater tanks for fire sprinklers.

[TheMitchells]

I noticed that some had stairs without any banisters - isnt that against the regulations? And I too find bits and pieces that I think I may use.  That house with the central staircase had beautiful lengths of wood going all the way up, instead of stair rods and I love that idea.  Hopefully I'll be able to use that in Scooby Cottage to let light into the downstairs from the landing. We have opened it up but it needs some work yet. 

 

 

  Like this. Good job I have a good imagination.

Edited December 16, 2016 by TheMitchells

[Ferdinand]

I really enjoyed the finals, and have commented on the winner on the other thread.

 

I liked the cladding on the "huts house" in London, and the arch for entry is very Lutyens. 0.6mm mild steel cladding that is cut with snips and rolled on site and weathers like COR-TEN looks truly excellent.

 

But was there a single house that was built for under about £300k?

 

Ferdinand

[Ferdinand]

1 hour ago, TheMitchells said:

I noticed that some had stairs without any banisters - isnt that against the regulations? And I too find bits and pieces that I think I may use.  That house with the central staircase had beautiful lengths of wood going all the way up, instead of stair rods and I love that idea.  Hopefully I'll be able to use that in Scooby Cottage to let light into the downstairs from the landing. We have opened it up but it needs some work yet. 

 

 

  Like this. Good job I have a good imagination.

 

Guessing - the banister requirement might not apply below x mm from the ground or steps, which may be why the two halves are separate.

 

Ferdinand

[ProDave]

Re banisters. The Scottish regs say "A 100mm diameter sphere must not pass through" so as long as they are close enough together, those vertical rails would do. Not sure about them ending 5 steps up though. I believe any "drop" over 600mm requires rails, so at most 2 steps up I would say.

 

Also there just seems something very "wrong" about having a fire under the only means of escape from the basement of a 4 storey house. What could possibly go wrong?
 

[Ferdinand]

Re: banisters

 

Agree with @ProDave. I think regs are that the first 2 steps can be sans banisters, so I would say it is an element of retrofit.

 

Looking at the regs, I can't see exceptions - unless perhaps this was a second staircase (unlikely). We had a pigeon-toe stair to several rooms because there was a main staircase elsewhere. But banisters are a universal safety reg, so would not be suspended.

 

Or perhaps they just didn't ask.

 

Re: Winner

 

The facade reminds me of the Sainsbury Wing of the Tate Gallery, in the way that the facade apes different styles at each end.  As somebody put it, Post-Modern is back.

 

Re: Curmudgeon

 

It is interesting that the T&C prevent non-architect designed projects from being entered. Not very good, that. Channel4 should read the riot act and point it out.

 

https://awards.architecture.com/Content/pdfs/RIBA Awards 2017_Entry guidelines.pdf

 

Ferdinand

 

Edited December 17, 2016 by Ferdinand

[Ferdinand]

Further reflections, having watched two of the episodes while working this morning.

 

Internal chimneys are a bit of a theme. That is, using heat moving up staircases by natural means.

 

That was done with the Modern Mews, with the fire under the stairs in the basement.

 

And also in the winner, where "A computerised internal air circulation system takes warm air from the top of the house to the basement via a gravel rock store to produce a delayed heat source for evening use."

 

There was at least one other - the one in the old town in the Lakes? - which used a preheated air intake by taking the air inlet pipe underground for a distance first. Presumably we can all do that as part of our earthworks.

 

They also are nearly all infill/replacement. I tracked down the "Covert House" in "Old Town Clapham" to the garden of The Farmhouse, Broadhinton Road.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.4663272,-0.1449109,270m/data=!3m1!1e3

 

They got the plot by buying a backlands detached house and reselling without the garden. Good strategy. But I reckon the house purchase was a cool million or so. You need to be moneyed somehow.

 

Ferdinand

 

 

 

Edited December 17, 2016 by Ferdinand

[daiking]

40 minutes ago, Ferdinand said:

Further reflections, having watched two of the episodes while working this morning.

 

Internal chimneys are a bit of a theme. That is, using heat moving up staircases by natural means.

 

That was done with the Modern Mews, with the fire under the stairs in the basement.

 

And also in the winner, where "A computerised internal air circulation system takes warm air from the top of the house to the basement via a gravel rock store to produce a delayed heat source for evening use."

 

There was at least one other - the one in the old town in the Lakes? - which used a preheated air intake by taking the air inlet pipe underground for a distance first. Presumably we can all do that as part of our earthworks.

 

They also are nearly all infill/replacement. I tracked down the "Covert House" in "Old Town Clapham" to the garden of The Farmhouse, Broadhinton Road.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.4663272,-0.1449109,270m/data=!3m1!1e3

 

They got the plot by buying a backlands detached house and reselling without the garden. Good strategy. But I reckon the house purchase was a cool million or so. You need to be moneyed somehow.

 

Ferdinand

 

 

 

 

Of course.

 

Kevin McCloud is the Clarkson of houses and all these shows are his Top Gear.

[daiking]

I thought the red oxide house was a hideous carbuncle. But what do I know? I'm not a 'playful' architect.

 

as far as I could see, architects play with borescopes 

[ProDave]

Re pre heating intake air by passing it through an underground duct.  This was discussed on EB and you must use special, I think silver coated, ducting otherwise you will get mould growth and then severe problems with air quality inside the house.
 

[Ferdinand]

On 17/12/2016 at 08:35, Ferdinand said:

They got the plot by buying a backlands detached house and reselling without the garden. Good strategy. But I reckon the house purchase was a cool million or so. You need to be moneyed somehow.

 

Ferdinand

 

Forgot to say that anybody doing that now would be facing a Stamp Duty bill of at least 10% = 100k if you moved in, or 13% = 130k if you didn't move in, and (I think) plus an annual charge of approx 0.5% to 1% for owning it in a company should you do that if it is a residential property and not rented out.

 

It is so complicated that some of that last para may be too simplistic.

 

Loadsamoney !

 

Ferdinand

 

Edited December 18, 2016 by Ferdinand