sustainable build Archives | KODA Architects

New Housing in Abergavenny

KODA architects have worked closely with a large design team to include landscape designers, planning consultants, drainage and transport planners to prepare a master plan for the development of 60 low impact housing to Monmouthshire Council including landscaping and amenity spaces.

Abergavenny is a town in Monmouthshire, known for its beautiful scenery, rich history, and lively culture. Situated near the Welsh-English border and is surrounded by the Brecon Beacons National Park. The town has a rich history dating back to Roman times and is home to several historic buildings and landmarks, including Abergavenny Castle, St Mary's Priory Church, and the Market Hall.

KODA architects have been busy planning the latest housing developments in Abergavenny is the Brecon Road development, which is located on the outskirts of the town. The development offers a rang of house types including a mix of two, three, four and five bedroom homes that are suitable for both first-time buyers and families.

60 new houses on the Brecon Road development is designed to provide modern living spaces that are energy-efficient and built to a high standard. The homes come with a range of features such as open-plan living areas, en-suite bathrooms, and private gardens. The development also offers ample green spaces, parks, and playgrounds for residents to enjoy.

The new housing has been design with landscape designers and environmental consultants to achieve a low impact, and highly sustainable development promoting the health and well-being of the new residents. The layout has been designed to maximise views out towards Abergavenny’s beautiful scenery whilst the generous plots and the sites excellent connectivity encourages cycle and other sustainable travel methods.

To minimise the new buildings impact on the environment, each house has been oriented to achieve passive solar gain through the winter months, whilst a high performing fabric minimises energy consumption. Each house will benefit from solar panels and other active technologies, further reducing the impact of this new development.

The development focuses on each unit of a southern orientation to maximise solar gain in the winter month whilst carefully managing the gains in the height of the summer. Through active and passive sustainable technologies, together with a rich planting scheme, each house maximises fabric performances and reduceds heat losses. The net result is a new new housing development with generous accommodation and low environmental impact, adding a unique place to live within a stones throw away from the centre of Abergavenny.

Being sensitive to the proximity of the Brecon Beacons National Park and the setting of Abergavenny, the new housing development follows a landscape approach to the setting out of the site. Landscaping opportunities have been enhances the existing biodiversity and green infrastructure to provide a sensitive housing estate with generous plots and amenity space.

Enhanced planting, Sustainable Urban Drainage (SUDs) and wild flower meadows provides a verdant urban extension to the existing settlement.

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Replacement Dwelling

KODA architects successfully secured planning approval for a replacement dwelling in the Herefordshire countryside. The new 4 bedroom home replaces a former 1970’s bungalow that did not meet the space and layout requirements of our clients family. Furthermore the building is expensive to heat and maintain and moreover costly to upgrade thermally and adapt to meet the families specific space requirements.

The proposal replaces the dated bungalow with a larger 4 bedroom, thermally efficient home meeting our clients living requirements. Local Planning Policy stipulates that a reinstated dwelling should be of a comparable scale of the replaced building. Creating a much larger home presented us with an interesting design challenge. The new home takes the form of a 'H' shaped plan with a partly hidden basement forming a south facing undercroft and courtyard hidden to the wider landscape. Whilst the new home is considerably larger than that it replaces, we worked a with the Local Planning Department in justification for the scheme and finally secured planning approval for the home our clients desired.

The main building takes a traditional form and constructed from local stone and a natural slate pitched roof. In contrast the building utilises large aluminum framed sliding doors and full height windows and furthermore the elevations are punctuated with elements vertical Cedar cladding and frameless balconies.

The layout utilises a double height height entrance hall and gallery staircase. The main ground floor living spaces are interconnected but divided by large sliding walls to create a versatile space. The basement level utilises the sloping site and extends into an undercroft and open courtyard discreetly hidden from view. Correspondingly the attached double garage and carport site below a grass roof that merges discreetly into the topography of the site.

Our client was elated with the result and equally our service, the house is currently under construction and due for completion 2023.

Sustainable self-build homes in Ludlow

KODA architects have successfully secured planning approval for 3 new sustainable self-build homes in Ludlow. The site combines an underused hidden parcel of land with part of a large formal garden within the Town. Sustainable design was at the forefront of the brief and the homes are positioned to take full advantage of the southern aspect whilst also affording views of St. Lawrence's Church.

The scheme develops an underutilised urban site to provide high quality housing utilising energy efficiency measures. They are built from highly insulated and sustainable materials. The dwellings are designed with large, glazed wall areas to the south and west elevations benefiting from passive solar gain. The first floor areas include recessed balconies featuring long roof overhangs protecting the bedrooms from excessive solar gain in the summer months. This still allows sunlight to reach the depths of rooms promoting thermal gain in the winter when the sun is lower in the sky. Internal air quality and comfort is supplemented by automated mechanical ventilation and heat recovery, MVHR.

The buildings include standing seam metal mono pitch roofs that reduce impact on the neighbouring amenity but also being orientated to the south and west present an ideal location for the arrays of photovoltaic and solar thermal panels producing heat and power for the homes. Rainwater is collected and harvested on site for re-use in the buildings and gardens.

The development resists temptation to optimise built density in preference the new high quality homes are sited within generous individual plots and will be sold to independent self-builders.

New Housing in Abergavenny

New Development in Abergavenny

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Sustainable Design

New Housing in Abergavenny

Replacement Dwelling

Planning approved for replacement dwelling in Herefordshire countryside

Project Information

Planning approved for new self-build home

Sustainable self-build homes in Ludlow

Planning approved for sustainable self-build homes in Ludlow

Project Information

Planning approved for sustainable self-build homes in Ludlow