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WIZ 24024 MV002 REAR F01

Contemporary Homes

Bespoke Replacement Dwelling in Shrewsbury Conservation Area

Rooted in Shrewsbury’s historic fabric, this new dwelling replaces a modest 1930s house with a design that responds to both its conservation area setting and steeply sloping site. Traditional forms and materials present a formal, street-facing character, while the rear elevation gradually opens up with a more contemporary language, creating a sense of evolution that mirrors the surrounding architectural narrative and landscape.

Embedded amidst the medieval settlement of Shrewsbury, this detached plot of land sits within the bounds of a conservation area and a stone's throw away from the River Severn. The site and its context consist of architectural vernacular primarily traditional in appearance and form. The prevailing street scene style is Victorian, although there are clear influences from the Arts & Crafts movement and Gothic, Romanesque, and Elizabethan architecture. Its south-facing rear aspect hosts a dramatic, 13-metre-high slope and memorable vistas of the immediate verdure and landscape beyond.

The existing building in situ is of 1930s construction with low-pitched concrete tiled roofs set above cream-rendered masonry construction with white-rendered mock-quoins to the corners. Orientated on an east-west axis with a central front gable as the primary access, has been extended and altered in an ad-hoc manner to link to the two-storey garage/annexe. Internally, the plan arrangement is laid out symmetrically on either side of the main entrance hallway. The garden is accessed to the rear via steeply stepped terracing featuring sculpted tiers within the lawned areas.

The proposal sought to construct a new dwelling to replace the low-quality and inefficient existing residence by delivering a highly sustainable building through its selected materials, fabric performance and services. Its form resonates with the traditional builds locally evident, presenting principal roof spans visually separated by the three front gable projections and the rear gable form. The design concept emanated from a sense of uniformity and formality fronting the public space towards the road, overtly presented in a traditional Victorian/Arts & Crafts style, which then softens and takes on elements of contemporary appearance as the four-storey dwelling falls away with the terrain at the rear. This approach allows the new dwelling to assimilate visually into its setting by delivering a sense of chronological evolution to the rear elevation, giving the impression that the property has developed naturally over time.

  • Tag Wine Cellar Tag Entertainment Space Tag Swimming Pool Tag Architecture Tag Interior Architecture Tag Strategic Planning Tag Visualisation
WIZ 24024 MV001 FRONT F01
WIZ 24024 MV008 EXTERNAL REAR SCHOOL F01
WIZ 24024 MV005 INTERNAL POOL F01
WIZ 24024 MV006 INTERNAL GARAGE F01
WIZ 24024 MV004 MASTERBED F01
WIZ 24024 MV007 MASTER ENSUITE F01
Project Details
Project Name Shrewsbury Edge
Project Reference 22075