When our clients came to us and asked if we could create a multi-use entertainment space that nestles into the south-west garden and simultaneously complements their Grade II listed, early nineteenth century home, we were more than happy to oblige.
From the offset, the aim was to ensure that both the garden room and shower room were wheelchair accessible. This required extensive conversations, calculations, and agreements with our clients and the wider design team at the early stages of the project.
The positioning meant that we were able to undertake some minor landscaping tweaks to create a gentle sloped area from the private car park, in which wheelchair users would be able to gain direct access to the veranda, garden room, and shower room. Travelling further into the site, wheelchair users are also able to enter the lower garden, venturing right up to the jetty on the River Thet, for the first time. This was achievable via an ergonomic ramped and planted landscaping scheme to the side of the garden room.
To create accessible internal spaces, the size of the rooms and veranda were contemplated, making sure to allow for adequate wheelchair turning circles and general user comfort for large gatherings. Door thresholds had to be purpose-made, minimising the upstand at all access points, allowing a smooth transition from the outside to inside spaces. The glazing was full height, enabling all patrons to enjoy the views over the large garden and towards the river. The external shower room door was designed to swing both ways, leading into an accessible wet room. Flooring finishes were carefully considered, making sure that the surface was neither too shiny, nor uneven.
Furthermore, to help the modern structure harmonise with the Listed property – without creating a pastiche lookalike – high quality materials and traditional craftmanship were a must, paired with the need to minimise maintenance, where possible. This was delivered using local businesses and craftsmen throughout the project, in the form of a clay plain tiled roof, zinc ogee guttering, an off-site purpose-made mixed SIP and oak-framed structure with mortice and tenon joints, double glazed built-in windows with integral blinds, buff bricks that were matched to the property, limestone flooring with differing textures inside and out, and beautiful scorched larch cladding, alongside a contemporary looking log burner and aesthetically pleasing lighting design.
It was also important that we worked closely with the natural undulations of the landscape, allowing the structure to coherently flow with its surroundings, whilst minimising flood risk, and ensuring that the building remained unseen from the primary street scape.
Overall, this created a warm and inviting multi-use entertainment space that can be enjoyed by family and friends throughout the year, as well as a piece of architecture that combines the best of contemporary and traditional techniques and products, affording the building accessibility, aesthetics, and longevity.
