Bungalows are the happiest type of home in Britain, say Countryside Properties quoting the Halifax’s most recent Happiest Home report which states that bungalows are rated by their occupants on average 8.15 out of 10 on a 'happiness' scale. That’s good news for Doncaster residents when news has broke about the Crawford Partnership's RIBA competition winning scheme to extend a stock of up 3,000 bungalows in the Doncaster area.
The existing bungalows are managed by St Leger Homes which is the Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) that manages council housing for Doncaster Metropolitan Borough. Currently these bungalows offer limited accommodation with the kitchens and bathrooms being particularly small and are increasingly failing to meet the aspirations of customers. Consequently a competition was launched on behalf of St Leger Homes seeking innovative design proposals to alter and extend these bungalows.
The clients brief highlighted the need to reverse the decline of the area and turn it into a sustainable community which will be able to thrive in the future. The need to provide new and improved homes to meet the existing and future housing needs of the local community is imperative in achieving this goal. The design solution would need to be inherently flexible to meet the needs of a diverse range of occupants, be economic to construct, act as a catalyst in creating a greater sense of identity and place and sustainable in the materials employed in the construction.
The scheme switches the front and rear access and attaches a partially prefabricated module to the new front. A light well articulates the connection to the bungalow which subsequently dictates a more coherent internal layout. This influence spreads to the rear where further works are undertaken to improve the external spaces. In order to facilitate a staggered implementation, the front, internal and rear works work independently of one another and can be adapted to suit slight variations in bungalow types.
The entire design seeks to incorporate sustainable and energy saving products and methods of construction. The extension would be constructed utilising timber framed ‘off site’ prefabricated construction for walls, floor and roof and delivered as a ‘flat pack’ to site ready for immediate installation on the proposed innovative foundation supports. It is anticipated that individual extensions could be substantially completed within 10 – 14 days, with minimal disruption to occupants and neighbours.
SPECIFICATION
External Walls
The timber structure meets modern house building standards. The multi layered construction provides a wall thickness of 200mm which is fully insulated with high performance ‘Warmcel 100’ natural cellulose fibre loose fill insulation including vapour control & membrane. Ventilated layers prevent the timbers from decay. The western red cedar cladding is naturally resistant to moisture, decay and insect damage. It is a sustainable timber from certified managed forests with a high durability; up to 40 years untreated and with high dimensional stability.
Planted green roof
The flat and pitched roof areas of the Garden Room are finished with ultra-low maintenance organic ‘Sedum’ plants which reduce visual impact, absorb rainwater reducing the impact of run off on the storm water drainage system and the likelihood of local flooding, provide biodiversity of wildlife, provide cooling in summer and improved insulation in winter.
Internal Walls
Premium-grade birch plywood
Windows
High-energy, engineered, sealed-unit double glazed pivot windows incorporating Pilkington’s ‘Low E’ glass and argon filled cavity with high-performance, Scandinavian pine frames incorporating inbuilt trickle ventilation.
Doors
Hollow core plywood painted internal doors with Cedar clad external door.
Ceiling
Foil backed plasterboard with painted finish.
Floor
The multi layered construction provides a substantial floor thickness of 170mm. The suspended structural timber floor meets modern house building standards with high insulation performance, vapour control and membranes. The floor finish is proposed as wood; however other finishes can be accommodated to suit individual requirements.
Heating
2mm-thick electric underfloor heating matt fitted directly under wooden, laminate or carpeted flooring.
Foundations
The new extensions will be constructed utilising the ‘ScrewFast’ proprietary steel piling system. The lightweight system ensures minimum impact to the surrounding ground, providing a high degree of flexibility which compliments the dry construction techniques proposed for the main structure of the extension.
