In May, Bristol City Council received a planning application for a a new private dwelling on a parcel of land at the rear of 412 Hotwells Road. Within a Conservation Area, in close proximity of a listed building, and spitting distance from one of the South West's most iconic monuments, the response has been a clever design to camouflage the building into the existing landscape and promote the use of latest materials to minimise the visual impact of the development. Since submission, the application has been the subject of a variety of debate; as well as having been discussed by the Bristol Urban Design Forum, details of the application have been forwarded to my class by our university professor, and the development received attention in the blog of my current employer (http://www.moondesignandbuild.co.uk/news)!
Clearly there are many factors to consider in weighing up the application including: the (ever-present) question of the appropriateness of innovative architecture in protected areas; the impact of the design on the character of the surrounding area and listed buildings; and issues of architectural quality. However both myself and my employers have submitted supporting comments for the application. Architectural innovation of this quality of design and material is exactly the sort of ideas Bristol should be promoting as a city, especially on a site within the shadow of Brunel's most celebrated project, itself a ground-breaking design.
Among the documents submitted with the application are precedent studies including work from Mastenbroek and Mulle, as well as a series of photo mock-ups illustrating the potential impact of the design. I encourage you to take a few minutes to look over this particularly interesting application for yourself.
The application reference is 11/01883/F, and details can be found here:
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