CASE STUDY NO COMPROMISE
Replacing a single-storey bungalow with a highly contemporary two-storey house of bold geometric forms – built to take in views across Poole Harbour – was a quest for minimalist perfection for one self-builder
TEXT DEBBIE JEFFERY IMAGES JACK LODGE PHOTOGRAPHY STAYING POWER
It took many years of planning and several design iterations to get the very modern and minimalist new build onsite
LOW POINT “Having to re-do
subcontractors’ work due to poor quality finishes.” – Simon Stanborough
I
n a road where modest 1960s bungalows stand shoulder to shoulder with striking contemporary new builds – all angular lines and glittering glass – Simon Stanborough’s new home is totally unique.
After years spent debating how best to remodel his single-storey bungalow, during which time three separate planning applications were approved, he finally took the decision to demolish the property altogether. “My father’s a property developer, who has worked with Western Design Architects on various projects, and I also became friends with the company’s founder, Phil Easton,” says Simon, who previously lived in a traditional-style farmhouse he built, which was designed by the practice.
Established in 1986 by Phil, when it was based in his garden shed, the business has grown into a respected and award-winning Dorset design practice. Coincidentally, Western Design Architects had also designed a pair of highly contemporary properties in Simon’s road: striking timber-clad boxes, perched on a concrete plinth and constructed around a steel frame.
Simon and Phil are fellow motorbike enthusiasts, who have travelled to far flung corners of the world on their bikes, and a spacious garage was one of Simon’s top requirements to house and maintain his bikes. “I bought the bungalow, which was in a tired but decent condition, back in 2005 mainly because of the location and views across Poole Harbour,” explains Simon, a claims manager. “The first planning application in 2008 was for a new pitched roof and first floor to convert it into a two-storey house, which was approved. “Three years later I worked with Western Design Architects, once again, and applied to replace the pitched roof with a second storey and a flat roof, as well as extending to the rear to infill an existing corner. A year on, in 2012, we revised that application, but despite gaining approval I never went ahead with the work.” Situated in the charmingly-named Lilliput, less than a five-minute drive from Shore Road Beach
november/december 2019
“We experimented a lot with the design, changing some details multiple times, it had to be really crisp”
in Sandbanks, the 1960s bungalow stood in an area which is slowly being redeveloped, with contemporary new builds springing up along Simon’s road inspiring him to consider a similar project himself.
“It turned out to be more expensive to convert the roof of the bungalow when compared to demolishing it and building a new house, so in 2016 I went back to the architects to put together a new application for a contemporary new build home, exactly how I wanted it and without the restrictions of the existing building,” he explains.
The low-slung bungalow consisted of painted brickwork walls with a brick plinth, plain concrete roof tiles and white PVCu windows: a simple design of little intrinsic merit, which was no longer appropriate for its developing surroundings.
Orientated east-west, the plot enjoys enviable
www.sbhonline.co.uk 19
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