Lower Lodge Cottage

Epping, Essex

A small crafted Annex ‘over the bridge’, offering ancillary accommodation in our client’s pretty Green Belt garden

Overview

Wanting to provide accommodation for their children who live partly overseas, our clients asked ‘what do you think about converting our garage’?

Whilst the loft space over the garage was fine for storage, to convert the garage space below it did not meet National Described Space Standards for a 2-storey property. Located within the beautifully landscaped grounds of Grade II Listed Copped Hall, it equally didn’t take advantage of the stunning setting and adjacent stream.

The garage was also inconveniently set within a Level 3a and 3b Flood Zone, so we proposed a new build annex, working with the Root Protection Areas and Flood Zone parameters. The design is built-off a raised platform to allow flood waters to flow underneath in excessive rainfall. Its simple form accommodates a bedroom/kitchen/dining and living area. Windows are placed with reference to the sun’s path and those wonderful views.

The choice of material reminiscent of its natural backdrop; local knapped flint. A beautiful place to stay in an historic setting.

• Solar PV array not suitable for this project due to the tree canopy coverage

• Working with the Environment Agency on modelling data of the brook and how the design could enhance the flood zone

• Rain chain as part of the Sustainable Drainage System for the Annex

• Heritage landscape

• Collaboration with Match Landscape Architects with proposal to re-use materials from the demolished building as part of the landscape - roof tiles for drainage channels, concrete slabs for stepping stones, a headwall for shoring up the banks of the Copped Hall brook.