Brilliant Bungalows

Single-storey homes can often carry connotations of bland, brick-clad estate buildings of old. Here, Daisy Jeffery reveals some stunning examples using different build routes that showcase how bungalows can be anything but boring

We take a look at some striking projects that remove the stigma surrounding single-storey living

A Replacement Bungalow

Previously home to a run-down 1950s bungalow and a large garage, along with a number of derelict buildings and barns, clients Living Architecture (a company specialising in architect-designed holiday rentals) enlisted the services of Uk-based Mole Architects to collaborate with Dutch architects MVRDV (specialists in playful designs) to create a single-storey replacement dwelling.

Exploiting the two levels of the site, the new 35m-long house, formed of a steel structure, is balanced on the edge of a slope, with half of its length cantilevered out over a meadow 5m below. Working with structural engineers Jane Wernick Associates, MVRDV decided that the 15m cantilever was the optimal length, both to keep the price reasonable and to minimise vibration and deflection at the very end of the cantilever. The resulting effect allows half of the building to feel as if it is floating over the Suffolk landscape, offering views of the adjacent lake and garden.

Approached via a long track, the single-storey barn-like form appears almost futuristic thanks to the mirrored polished stainless steel cladding, which reflects the house’s surroundings.

Internally, the house is lined with ash veneered plywood planks, broken up by alcoves or cupboards, and punctured by full-height picture windows that immerse the occupants into the landscape. Four generous bedrooms, each with their own bathroom, along with a kitchen diner and open plan living space provides comfortable accommodation to be used as a holiday home. Meanwhile, a semi-concealed door off the corridor gives access, via a staircase, to the garden below.

An Agricultural Design

Sitting comfortably within the Monmouthshire landscape, you would never guess that this single-storey home, designed by architectural practice Hall + Bednarczyk, began life as a rundown chicken shed.

“We received a phone call from a lady who’d grown up on the land and had since inherited it. She was interested in exploring the scope for maximising the value of the land through the prospect of making something of the existing chicken shed on site,” begins architect Martin Hall.

“The building was in a sorry state and significant work had to be carried out,” he continues. “While the walls, foundations, roof and external cladding are all new, the retention of the existing trusses allowed the building to classify as a conversion. It was a contentious application, however, and it got through planning committee by one vote.”

What also helped the project gain planning permission was the fact that the building would be put to use as a holiday home, offering an economic benefit to the rural location in the Wye Valley.

Remaining in keeping with the local vernacular, and paying homage to the existing larch-clad chicken shed with corrugated concrete roof, the reworked building has retained its single-storey frame although it is now wrapped in updated materials. Vertical cedar cladding that will weather to a silver grey clads the majority of the façade, while black onduline corrugated sheeting replaces the old roof and has also been used to help break up some of the elevations to add architectural interest.

Internally, the four-bed, three-bath property has been designed to comfortably accommodate eight people, with its ‘ holiday home’ nature creating an emphasis on maximising communal space. Here, a large open plan volume houses a kitchen/ dining/living space underneath a 4m-high vaulted ceiling — low eaves of 2.5m however retain a cosy feel. “By using a minimal number of subdivisions, we’ve been able to retain the barn-like feel of the interiors and maximise on space — yet the open plan area is still clearly zoned,” says Martin Hall. “We purposefully chose to use rugged materials internally too, including a polished concrete floor (with underfloor heating) and painted timber boarding for the walls as opposed to plasterboard to create a pleasingly sophisticated yet authentic agricultural feel that gives a nod to the building’s humble origins.”

The retention of the existing building’s structural framework, low profile, and marrying of traditional raw materials used within a contemporary design has resulted in a beautiful holiday home.

A Prefabricated Park Home

After falling in love with a picturesque five-acre site in a conservation area in the New Forest, Hampshire, Jess and Ian Fletcher chose to purchase the site as an investment, buying an off-the-shelf £30,000 mobile home to sit on the site. “Since there were only two of us, it suited our needs perfectly,” says Jess.

Looking to increase their living accommodation, but reluctant to leave the site, the couple explored the possibility of replacing their existing park home. With none of the models on the market fitting the couple’s needs in terms of space, or their desire for a sustainable, energyefficient house, they approached architectural practice PAD Studio with a brief to create a park home that would take full advantage of the views offered by the site.

Once the design was finalised, the new mobile dwelling was prefabricated and fully fitted out internally off site by Eco Modular Living. When the final steel frame structure arrived on site, four to five months later, it was delivered on flatbed trucks and craned on to the existing concrete and limestone plinth. Once in place, the two parts of the building were lined up and bolted together, with all the joints taped to ensure full airtightness.

In order to meet the couple’s wishes for an energy-efficient home, the new building has been designed with Passivhaus standard in mind, although it is not a certified Passivhaus. As a result, the property now boasts a 3.8kw photovoltaic array to generate electricity, and an air source heat pump provides hot water for the underfloor heating system. A sewage treatment plant manages waste, and rainwater is harvested from the roof, which also features structural ‘eyelets’, should Ian and Jess ever want to pick up and leave.

Internally, the interiors benefit from the full-height glazing, with the couple enjoying light-filled open plan spaces that offer a more stylish Scandinavian feel than their former traditional park home. The external horizontal timber cladding, meanwhile, beds the new home within its surroundings — making this an exemplar of contextual single-storey design.

“It may be built to a restricted size, but it suits our needs perfectly,” concludes Jess. “We could literally pick up and move whenever we want, but we have no intention of doing so.”

From Cottage to Modern Comfort

After discovering the half-acre plot of land in Surrey with a 200-year-old single-storey cottage on site, Matt Watton saw the potential to create a family home. Despite his initial intention to renovate the derelict cottage, it quickly became clear that a replacement dwelling would be the more favourable option in order to achieve the modern property they were after.

“We searched online for local architects and one of them, James Spiteri, is a similar age to me and we hit it off immedi- ately,” says Matt. “He understood what we wanted instantly and we changed little from his original design.”

Wishing to take an active role in the project, Matt liaised with James to develop a phased plan to build the watertight shell, which Matt could fit out and complete. “It meant I had more control over what was going on, and was able to try my hand at some of the work,” explains Matt, who built several internal walls and an outbuilding to contain the air source heat pump that heats the house and generates hot water.

Thanks to the SIPS (structural insulated panels) construction, the highly insulated structure means that noise from the road is virtually eradicated and the house remains warm even though the glazed ‘open’ side faces north. Despite featuring so much glass, the building is energy efficient and extremely airtight. For this reason, a ventilation and heat recovery system has been installed, which means that the interior retains a constant comfortable temperature.

With the main focus for the new single-storey house to centre around family life, the interiors now feature a glazed open plan kitchen/dining/living space with bifold doors that completely opened up the corner of the building. A glazed link entrance hall connects this to the bedroom block, where the master bedroom includes a fully glazed shower. Materials used for the interior, such as the timber flooring, are replicated outside to enhance the indoor/outdoor feel.

In contrast to the extensively glazed rear of the house, with glass sliding doors and flush thresholds that connect the house to the garden seamlessly and make the most of the uninterrupted views over farmland, the front of the property has been designed to appear more cottage-like, with smaller windows facing on to a busy road. “It was never about building the biggest house we could on the plot, but about fitting in with the surroundings,” explains Matt. “It felt brave including so much glass in the design of the house, but it’s definitely paid off because we get an amazing amount of light and can fully enjoy living in such a great setting surrounded by wildlife.”

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An Accessible Home

With a view to creating an energy-efficient, accessible home for his client, Martin Bell of Transform Architects was enlisted to come up with a fully wheelchair accessible new home to replace an existing brick-clad bungalow in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

While the site benefited from a southwest-facing rear garden with fantastic views, the existing bungalow suffered from narrow corridors, unsuitable for a wheelchair to turn 360°.

In order to meet the client’s brief, accessibility has been considered throughout. As a result, the new bungalow features a covered entrance, all rooms are accessed via electric power arms, the main bedroom and bathroom are fitted with hoists, and even the kitchen features a discreet, removable panel under the sink for wheelchair accessibility.

Internally, thought was given to the clients’ views, with the master bedroom looking out onto the front elevation so they can monitor visitors arriving and departing. The kitchen, which is open plan to the main living space, also provides views to the front, as well as offering views out onto the garden through large glazed doors, which open out onto a level threshold patio. There are three further en suite bedrooms, plus a formal liv- ing room, utility and cloakroom. Externally, the bungalow – which was constructed using timber frame – has been clad in render with larch cladding, complemented by grey aluminium glazing and grey concrete roof tiles. “Most of the properties in this area are bespoke and so we felt so long as we kept in context with local character, we were able to add a distinct building to the mixed streetscape. By adding larch to the lower parts of the elevations, this gives a sense of scale and a tactile feel to the building,” says Martin Bell.

In order to provide low running costs and create an energy-efficient home, the new bungalow also benefits from underfloor heating, a three-borehole heat pump, two waste water recycling systems and a mechanical ventilation heat recovery unit.

“Your home is your castle, yet for many disabled people it could also be their prison; we strive to achieve the opposite,” says architect Martin. “We make sure we deliver homes that integrate all the family, are uplifting to all who live there and make the trials they encounter in everyday life a little easier. This new house provides the client with flexible living space, makes the best use of all aspects of the site, and provides a spacious, light and sustainable environment for the homeowner.” H