A new competition has recognised the work of innovative homebuilders who have created extra value by effective use of roofspace. Josephine Smit steps up to take a look.
There was a time when housebuilders viewed creating habitable roofspace as purely a luxury, a value adder for the benefit of mainly upper market buyers. Now PPG3 with its pressures for more sustainable, higher-density development is transforming lofts into a political issue.

“Housebuilders who pioneer room in the roof homes deserve some credit from the planning system,” says David Birkbeck, chief executive of Architects in Housing. “It’s time the DETR made a point of publicly acknowledging these designs for their positive response to their planning agenda,” he adds.

“All our in-house designers have been taught by Oxford Brookes University, they know about the new urbanism and see PPG3 as part of what we are trying to achieve,” says John Weir, design director with Wilcon Homes. It shows in their house designs. And that could be why Wilcon has just won the Living Roof Award 2000, a new award for homebuilders sponsored by the Living Roof Association and Building Homes that recognises quality in room-in-the roof homebuilding. Wilcon was a clear winner of the first award, taking not only the first prize, but plaudits from the judges for the other three entries it submitted. “Wilcon’s commitment to quality was evident in their presentation, attention to detail and consistency throughout the range submitted,” says Ben Derbyshire, director of HTA Architects, one of the six judges. Also judging were Martin Coult, chief executive of the Living Roof Association; Andrew Halstead-Smith, chairman of the LRA; Barry Munday, managing director of PRP Architects; David Birkbeck; and Josephine Smit, editor of Building Homes.

Second place in the competition went to Bovis Homes for the Wordsworth housetype, introduced last autumn as a five-bedder with a home office. With around 50% of Bovis homes now having rooms in the roof, the homebuilder estimates it is adding 60 rooms per site.

Because of the quality of entries, the judges awarded a third prize, and the bronze award goes to Crest Homes (South) for the three-bed Richmond housetype at Weybourne Street in Earlsfield, south west London. “We are building more and more three and even four-storey homes, because it is the only way to provide the space that people want,” says Anne Huddleston, sales manager with Crest Homes (South).

“The winning scheme demonstrated a serious attempt to make a place”

Ben Derbyshire

“The design was well proportioned and thoughtful in the way it took advantage of the room in the roof”

Ben Derbyshire

“The house had a nice ‘feel’ to it and one could see how the use of the roofspace would evolve as the needs of a family might change”

Andrew Halstead-Smith

Gold award

Wilcon Homes’ Rockmill range of houses, Rockmill Lane, Leamington Spa The site: A picturesque setting overlooking a watermeadow of the River Avon in Leamington Spa, adjoining two acres of conservation woodland. Wilcon bought the site with consent for three-storey development but extended it to four by use of the roofspace. Site layout: 13 houses are arranged as an L-shaped terrace of townhouses, with the rear of the terrace facing a cliff face. House design: Rear cliff-side elevations have two floors within the roof slope. Design detailing draws on an adjacent mill, with lead-clad bays extending from third to fourth floors. Roofspace results:
  • using the roofspace provided an extra 313 m2 of floor area;
  • 10 homes gained an additional bedroom with three gaining two extra rooms - Without the roofspace, the houses would have been limited to two bedrooms; and
  • many of the rooms also maximised views across the water meadow.

    • Silver award

    Bovis Homes’ Wordsworth housetype House design: The Wordsworth is one of a number of room-in-the-roof housetypes added to the company’s range. The five-bed, two-and-a-half storey home has a substantial amount of space on the top floor: a 14 ft by 11 ft fifth bedroom, a shower room and a 14 ft by 11 ft office/studio. Roofspace results:
  • the two-storey version of this house has 1294 ft2. With two rooms in the roof space is increased to 1818 ft2, a rise of just over 40%;
  • the house with its integral garage is suitable for building to the higher densities of PPG3; and
  • the home office concept, often suitably wired, is proving a hit not only with homebuyers, but also with planners seeking more sustainable development.

    • Bronze award

    Crest Homes (South) Richmond housetype at Weybourne Street, Earlsfield, London SW18 The site: South London residential area, overlooking a park. Site layout: Two terraces on the site contain a mix of three-bed housetypes, all with rooms in the roof: Coombes, Richmonds and Southfields. House design: The Richmond is a traditional Victorian-style design that blends into the south London streetscene. The house is topped with two bedrooms (14 ft by 12 ft and 12 ft by 9 ft) and a bathroom, but from the outside the third storey is barely noticeable so that the new homes match surrounding two-storey houses. Roofspace results:
  • eight homes gained two habitable rooms plus bathroom, increasing usable floor space by 378 ft2;
  • the design allowed Crest to reach a new target market of young professionals, wanting flexible space - and the message was reinforced by fitting out one bedroom as a work environment; and
  • in the booming London market Crest valued the extra space at £65 000.

    • Source

    Building Homes