The Mowhay house
Designed to take maximum advantage of the changes to UK Permitted Development rules brought in during 2013, The Mowhay house more than doubled the area of the original building and now provides enough space for two families to holiday together without stepping on each other’s toes.
The new annexe extends beyond the back of the former cart shed and the new roof slopes down from to create a single folded surface of slates fanning out from the original building.
While the overall floor-space has more than doubled, the intelligent use of insulation, orientation, and electrical upgrades means that the overall power requirement is now less than for the original, smaller, building.
The existing building was a tiny 65 sqm, which is about 20-30sqm below what you’d expect to accommodate 5-6 people. It was generally well configured however – as a double, twin and bunk room – a mix of room types that we decided to replicate in the new extension.
They say, never work with friends and family? This is one of the smallest but also one of the hardest projects MATT Architecture has ever done, but now the dust has settled it’s ended up working very well. One of the major sticking points between the architect and end-user is the mother-in-law is the client.
The reality being that different generations simply use space differently – the younger wanting more openness and free-flow, the older wanting more enclosure. The project ended up with circulation that can be re-configured on arrival with bookcases switching to doors – and vice versa, to suit whomever is using the place.
