This contemporary, new-build residential scheme sits within a quiet site to the rear of No1- 5 Boston Road, south of Wetherby town centre. The proposal creates two new houses over two full floors and a part floor to each house
The scheme takes key references from the neighbouring Grade 2 listed property, whilst providing a modern understanding of the requirements of contemporary living.
To retain a sense of place and historic identity critical to the sensitivity of the Conservation Area and the listed building, the proposed houses reflect the character of Wetherby “made up of informal groupings of positive buildings, with uniformity of materials but variety of forms and roof scape giving interest to the visual scene”
Due to the natural orientation of the site, the individual residences open up to the east, allowing in large quantities of daylight, whilst the west and south facing façades are solid – shielded from heat gain.
To houses are modern, sophisticated yet rugged, evoking an aesthetic that will sit comfortably within the edge of town and countryside setting. They reference key elements of the Listed Building, its materials, form and detail references such as the simple gable ended form, recessed entrance ways, projecting bay windows and tall stone chimneys, forming strong vertical lines in the landscape.
From a distance, the houses resemble familiar low countryside buildings, clad with magnesian limestone dry stone and coursed cream limestone, with the upper levels in grey and dark timber. The layering of the facades creates interest with light and shadow, and changes in level of blocks, used to modulate their impact.
The two houses share a common design language, yet they have their own identity. The larger house is clad in black stained timber while the smaller house is clad with a treated cladding which will rapidly weather to a light silvery grey.
At night the houses become almost invisible from the Grade 2 building. The careful location of windows ensures limited light pollution. The residences appear as rear outbuildings, subservient to the main building, set low in the landscape.
