Weiss Architecture Studio

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News

News (Page 2)

Boast Architects is pleased to announce that planning approval has recently been obtained for the restoration and conversion of a Grade II listed building at 1-3 St Peter’s Street in St. Albans. Following close collaboration with St. Albans District Council’s planning and conservation officers, the approved design will optimise the number and size of new apartments while limiting the impact of the alterations on the original historic fabric of the building. The first and second floors which were formally offices will be converted into four new apartments and there will be two further duplex apartments in a new extension at the rear of the property on Spencer Street. The existing shops at ground level on the St Peter’s Street frontage will be retained and remodelled to facilitate the conversion of the upper floors to residential use. Externally, the listed building will be carefully restored with the primary elevations of the listed building being largely unchanged. The extension is designed to complement the listed building and blend into the historic character of Spencer Street. We hope to remain involved in this prestigious project in 2020 by discharging pre-commencement planning conditions and going on to prepare information for tender and construction.

Boast Architects are pleased to announce that construction has commenced on the construction of three new dwellings in Bovingdon. Following a successful tender process, the client has appointed Aspects Special Projects Ltd to construct the new houses and Boast Architects has been retained as Contract Administrator. Builder– Aspects Special Projects Ltd http://aspectsspecialprojects.co.uk/

Following planning difficulties over a number of years with schemes by previous architects, Boast Architects and JB Planning Associates have combined with the client to finally gain planning approval in June 2019. Being in Green Belt and close to a local wildlife site, the appearance, larger size and increased height of the replacement dwelling were among the concerns which had to be resolved in the design. The existing house is a converted bungalow and the challenge in the design was to significantly improve the standard of the new first floor accommodation with only the marginal increase in ridge height and building volume. Despite these constraints, a much better layout of bigger bedrooms and bathrooms has now been achieved. We have now been appointed to submit a Building Regulations application as the next step in the exciting process of helping the client to realise their long-held ambitions on this secluded site outside Hertford.

Planning permission has been granted for 15 new dwellings, including 5 affordable units, and a replacement for the existing village shop and post office on the site of a former garden centre in Chipperfield conservation area. Marchfield Homes and their design team worked closely with local residents and the parish council to ensure a sympathetic relationship between the new development and surrounding homes. The layout and design evolved from our own character study of the conservation area, Dacorum Borough Council’s Character Assessment and Chipperfield’s Village Design Statement. This informed building scale and use of traditional architectural features and materials. Dwellings range from 2 bedroom cottages to 4 and 5 bedroom detached houses and there are 2 apartments above the village store. As residents were sensitive about the new building on the Chapel Croft frontage, in order to allay their concerns, we produced before and after photo-montage images to demonstrate the appropriateness of its scale relative to existing properties.

An application for 26 affordable houses at Northaw Park was submitted to Welwyn Hatfield Council in June 2019. There are 50 homes in the area already and the proposed development will add 15 three-bedroom and 11 two-bedroom houses in response to the need for affordable housing in surrounding rural areas. The dwellings are two-storey in scale and relatively low in density to reflect the site’s semi-rural location. They will be traditional in design and use of materials to sympathise with the local architectural character of Hook Lane and elsewhere in Northaw. The applicant is Watford Community Housing, a Hertfordshire-based housing association whose priority is to provide better homes and friendlier communities.  

We are pleased to welcome Adam Parsons who recently joined Boast Architects as a Senior Architectural Technologist.   Adam brings considerable experience in producing construction information for large residential developments by national house builders.   We hope he enjoys his new role at Boast Architects.

Boast Architects have obtained planning permission from Welwyn Hatfield Council for a contemporary extension a private house in Essendon. This comes after seeking Pre-application advice about the proposal from the planning authority because of the sensitive location in the Metropolitan Green Belt. The close proximity of a significant Cedar of Lebanon in the grounds of the original house was a concern but an arboriculturalist proved that the new building would not adversely affect its long term future, to the satisfaction of the local authority. The largely glazed new structure is simple and minimalist in appearance to ensure that the architectural integrity of the original house will continue to prevail whilst taking full advantage of magnificent views over rolling Hertfordshire countryside.  It will provide additional living space for hospitality and a sunken Swim Spa for the clients who are both very keen on water sports. We are currently coordinating the design team to produce working drawings and construction information for tender. Completion is expected this Summer.

Boast Architects are pleased to announce that planning approval has been obtained for converting an agricultural barn in Bovingdon into three 3 bedroom dwellings. The change from agricultural to residential use had been established by the client under Class Q of Permitted Development Rights before we were appointed. This exciting project incorporates structural insulated panel (SIP) construction with zinc wrapping around the entire structure to reflect the agricultural context of the existing farm buildings. The design uses vertical standing seam zinc cladding throughout with contrasting horizontal detailing in the same material on the gable ends. Feature strip windows and eaves windows punctuate the zinc cladding to reinforce the contemporary design theme. We are currently producing construction drawings for tender and construction is due to commence in July 2019.

Following the completion of the working drawing programme for 188 units at Buckton Fields East for a large housing developer client, Boast Architects have now been commissioned to produce the working drawings on the next phase of the development called Buckton Fields West consisting of 190 units. Our technical team are delighted to continue working with this valued client on a large development such as this.

We are very pleased to welcome a new member to our technical team this week – Darren Lansdall. Darren studied at the University of Northampton where he qualified with a First Class (Hons) Degree in Architectural Technology. We hope he enjoys his new home at Boast Architects as we work together to develop his career.