Sandburne, Hale, Altrincham

Private Client

The proposals involved the demolition of an existing single-storey car garage and the construction of a new single-storey side extension providing an open-plan kitchen dining space, utility space and a new double garage.

The application site is situated in the South Hale Conversation Area which is primarily residential and is predominantly Edwardian in date, with lesser examples of Victorian, inter-war and modern properties. The buildings are generally set back from the tree-lined streets with low-lying perimeter garden stone walls addressing the carriageway. Perimeter walls generally have high shrubs and planting acting as a green wall and privacy screen to the street. The houses are generally red-facing brick with render and timber framed effect cladding to the upper levels, crowned with various pitched roofs finished in either slate or clay tiles.

Sandburne is a large, six-bedroom, semi-detached house situated on a large plot. The building dates from between 1899 and 1911; its architectural style is typical of the majority of the houses on the street. The property comprises of a basement, ground and two upper floors. The building is not Listed. There were no works proposed to the front of the house and the primary frontage of the existing house is unaltered.

Largely obscured by this boundary and nestled into its context sits the extension, a single-storey side and rear extension. The new addition sits subservient to the existing house and is set back from the principal elevation, pushing the existing house to the forefront. When approaching the building, the principal entrance via the porch remains the same. Adjacent to the entrance sits the new multi-pitched extension and entrance to the new garage. The proposed massing pulls away from the existing house and seeks not to collide with it. The garage bay sits slightly proud and aligns with the entrance porch fragmenting the form and reducing the overall mass.

The extension is formed under the multi-pitched roof which creates a visual relationship to the existing buildings. As the extension approaches the boundary the roof forms diminish, breaking up as they move towards the northern boundary, reducing the impact on the neighbour. To the rear of the extension, the massing helps visually contain the garden. The form is fragmented which separates the front and the rear of the extension and articulates the division of functions. This again helps reduce the scale and makes the expression clear and legible.

The main body of the extension is formed predominantly in masonry brickwork with elements of natural metal. The use of masonry and brickwork seeks to compliment, not match, the existing brickwork. Elements are articulated through extrusions and recesses into the brick base using natural metal elements to help diminish the scale. The brick masonry base of the extension is topped by glazed clerestory lights separating the roof from the body of the building. This mimics the effect of the lighter elements of render and timber present in the upper levels of the existing buildings.

The extension is crowned with the shallow multi-pitched roofs in natural metal. The use of natural metal will age and patinate, creating a complimentary dialogue to the existing terracotta roof in both a varied patina and material tone.