Lonsdale
New Build
Location:
Dorking, Surrey
Client:
Private Developer Client
RIBA Stages:
1 - 4 (Inception to Technical Design)
Description:
The client came to us having acquired a derelict 2-storey house with surrounding gardens, set in a row of established semi-detached dwellings on a private street, within the Dorking Conservation Area. A great number of structural issues and significant internal deterioration meant that refurbishment of the house was deemed impractical, leading instead to the demolition of the existing property and replacement with two new-build symmetrical semi-detached 4-bedroom houses, following an Edwardian aesthetic sympathetic to the street and original house.
Although within an historic envelope, internal layouts meeting modern needs were created, featuring large open plan kitchen, living, dining areas to the rear of the ground floors, separate living room with front bay feature window and utility room set in the centre of the plans with their own external access. Full utilisation of the volume within the roofs meant two large en-suite bedrooms could be included on the second floor of each house, along with an additional double bedroom, family bathroom, separate study and generous master bedroom with dressing room and en-suite, on the first floors.
Externally the design aimed to replicate the previous dwelling’s original appearance with the use of pebbledash, mock-Tudor timber façade detailing and Dorking Red bricks, satisfying the conservation area requirements and ensuring a coherent street scene for the road. To the rear, although still principally following the historic aesthetic, full height glazing and bi-fold doors within a more modern single storey element create an effortless connection between the living spaces and large rear gardens.
