Site Visit

Just before Covid-19 forced us all into social isolation we were able to conduct a very helpful review with The Design Review Panel on a walled garden site in Hertfordshire. The site includes the location of a former large country house, demolished shortly after WW2 and now absorbed into woodland. Whilst we did consider the location of the original house for a new Paragraph 80 (Para 80) dwelling the scale of gesture required to re-establish a house in that location just didn’t feel right but the walled garden seemed to offer massive potential as a Paragraph 80 site.

The client’s have been expanding their landholding and wished to establish a suitably contemporary and ambitious house within the grounds of the former country house.The walled garden is unusual in being divided itself into three long thin compartments. Our design narrative works rigidly with one set of rules within the confines of the walled garden but above the walls the rules change completely. That’s where the fun begins!

It looks like we might have to find some new ways to conduct; design reviews for the foreseeable future. One thing there is no substitute for though is a site visit. Not sure how we’ll be able to get round that but we shall endeavour to try. The wheels of progress may turn slower but we’ll keep them turning.

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