Location
Downderry, Cornwall
Client
Private
Contractor
F D Hall & Sons
Contract Value
£Undisclosed
Services Provided
Building Design
Building Regulations
Planning Permission
Project Management
Site Investigation
Structural Design
Structural Drawing & Detailing
Structural Survey
Sustainable Construction
Tendering Process
The Project
This project successfully updated and improved a tired and deteriorated building in much need of modernisation and improvement. Making the most of its enviable coastal location of Downderry overlooking the sea, an attractive, modern home has been created, enhancing the local built environment.
Retaining the existing footprint of the building, the basic design requirements were to add another habitable living area and build a much needed internal staircase from lower ground floor level. Converting the existing loft space was a consideration, though building a new first floor with a mono-pitch roof in place of the existing roof structure would both maximise floor area and the views along the coast and out to sea.
Both the architectural and main structural design were developed using a BIM approach, modelling the proposed first floor extension and it’s steelwork structure using Autodesk Revit software. This process allowed development from the initial design to progress much faster and more efficiently.
The extended building boasts the use of modern materials from the thin silicone render finish to the external timber framed walls, to the mono-pitch standing seam zinc roof, it was an important part of creating the building’s new modern aesthetic to use modern building products. The modern approach is also apparent in the use of marine grade polyester powder coated aluminium windows and doors, used due to the exposed coastal position. An energy efficient Air Source Heat Pump provides power to the zoned under-floor heating system and roof mounted PV array provides a boost to the electricity supply, vastly improving the overall efficiency of the building.
James Lockyer Associates Ltd provided a multi-disciplinary service through a delicate planning stage, to detailed design and construction stages and provided a single point responsibility ensuring good coordination of the multi-faceted tasks and requirements involved in the works. The improvement to this modest 1980’s building is evident, precisely designed for client purpose and buildability with modern construction methods and great attention to detail.
