Infill urban houses

Part 1 - Design and planning.

Last year DHV Architects completed a small new build, detached mews house in a backstreet in Cotham in Bristol. The plot was formed by subdividing the garden of a large victorian villa. The house is organised around an open plan ground floor area which combines living, kitchen and dining areas, with Crittall patio doors opening onto a rear courtyard. The first floor contains two bedrooms and a spacious bathroom on the first floor, providing compact yet functional urban living. The courtyard spans the full width of the plot, separating the new house from the existing villa and providing both outlook and private outdoor amenity space.

Over the past ten years we have designed several infill developments, often in sensitive settings such as conservation areas. Although each infill housing project is uniquely designed, they share recurring challenges that must be carefully addressed throughout the design and planning stages.

1. Compact, efficient design.

When space is limited, priority should be given to habitable areas rather than ancillary circulation. In this example, the staircase is integrated into the open-plan layout, eliminating the need for extra doors or corridors. A partition, rather than a simple balustrade, separates the stairs from the seating area, maintaining a sense of openness while providing privacy. While this approach is not always feasible due to fire safety regulations, it can work in a two-storey house if the first-floor windows are designed as egress points.

The open plan living areas

2. Contextual design.

Planning authorities generally expect new buildings to harmonize with their surroundings and reflect the area’s established architectural character. This does not necessarily mean replicating existing designs, although often this is what the planners expect. A more thoughtful approach is for infill developments to reference the scale, massing, proportions, and material treatments of surrounding buildings, while allowing for a contemporary interpretation.

The street facade

3. Overlooking and overshadowing.

Introducing a new building into an established urban context demands careful attention to the amenity of surrounding properties. Infill developments should be designed to prevent overshadowing or overlooking adjacent homes. In this instance, the planners required the new house to be lowered in height and partially set below street level, reducing its overall bulk to minimize its impact on the ground floor windows of the original villa.

4. Car parking

In much of central Bristol, car parking is regulated through neighbourhood parking schemes, with on-street spaces primarily reserved for residents and a limited number of pay-and-display spaces for visitors. When a new home is built in such area, planning authorities typically require the development to be car-free and prohibit issuing parking permits, to prevent additional strain on the existing parking supply.

5. Refuse and cycle store

All new homes must provide adequate storage for refuse and recycling containers, ensuring they are not left on the pavement. Similarly, all new dwellings should offer convenient and secure space for bicycles to encourage cycling as a mode of transport. Planning authorities enforce these requirements rigorously. In this instance, a refuse store was incorporated within the house footprint with direct access from the pavement, while the entrance hall is large enough to accommodate bicycle storage.

The entrance hall

6. Private amenity

Bristol's planning policies are relatively flexible in respect of the amount of private amenity space deemed adequate for new dwellings (unlike for example South Gloucestershire, where minimum standards are prescribed). It is recognised that smaller units, and those in central locations, don't need as much external space as larger suburban family homes. In this projects the rear courtyard provides both outlook from the ground floor rear windows, and private outdoor amenity space. The courtyard is paved and contains a planting bed alongside the left-hand side, which is filled with tall bamboos to provide greenery and a degree of screening once established.

The external courtyard

7. Renewables

New homes are generally required to minimise their energy demand and include a renewable energy component to lower CO₂ emissions. For properties with outdoor space, this is usually achieved through individual air source heat pumps installed externally. These systems capture heat from the surrounding air and transfer it via a heat exchanger to provide space and water heating. Depending on the size of the dwelling, solar photovoltaic panels may also be necessary to meet sustainability targets. Developments aiming for a high EPC rating will also include battery storage and/or mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR).

You can see more photos here. https://www.dhva.co.uk/new-build-house-cotham-bristol

Conclusion

Designing, planning and building a new home is a complex task which involves specialist knowledge - ranging from design flair to local planning knowledge and detailed technical capabilities. DHV Architects have the skills and experience to guide our clients through every stage of the process and create beautiful spaces tailored to their needs. Contact us for a no obligation discussion about your project on 0117 914 8317 or email info@dhva.co.uk.