New Detached Houses, Worcester Park, Surrey

The initial design work and planning application was carried out for a private client looking to develop a piece of vacant land they owned.

Once planning permission was obtained the land was sold to Charlotte Homes (Southern) Ltd to progress the scheme to construction and we were not retained as the project architects.

The introduction of the small front ‘garden’ and railings and the general lack of detail given to the stonework is an excellent example of how the architect’s design can be watered down if they are not involved post-planning. While the overall appearance and massing of the houses may relate to the planning permission we feel that the final result has lost much of the finesse we had hoped for.

A comparison between the photograph of the front against the design drawings clearly shows this. The large stone joints, the incorrect mortar colour, the use of smaller pieces of stone, the missing mouldings etc from the stonework and the placing of the windows to the front face of the brickwork, the lacking of detailing to the eaves and soffits all contribute to the significant reduction in the final quality of the build.

Completed September 2007