How did this ever get planning??

TheDriver

https://www.google.ie/maps/place/52%C2%B008'23.8%22N+8%C2%B039'49.2%22W/@52.13995,-8.663655,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0
A 3 storey extension in an estate full of 2 storey houses........
Mate told me about this, its the 1st house inside the estate. How the hell did any planner anywhere ever think this would be acceptable?? Or am I wrong?

RustyNut

:D

Bepolite

That's mental looking!

TheDriver

apparently its called the watchtower!!

wicklowwonder

TheDriver wrote: »

https://www.google.ie/maps/place/52%C2%B008'23.8%22N+8%C2%B039'49.2%22W/@52.13995,-8.663655,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0
A 3 storey extension in an estate full of 2 storey houses........
Mate told me about this, its the 1st house inside the estate. How the hell did any planner anywhere ever think this would be acceptable?? Or am I wrong?

Are you sure it wasn't part of some out house or shed originally on the land before the estate and they just decided to attach it to the house?

TwoShedsJackson

Hah my brother-in-law lives in that estate, it's a strange looking yoke alright.

Teyla Emmagan

Half the country is destroyed with shocking planning decisions. It is one of the things that historically we have been **** at and are still bungling. And you still get individual decisions made by planning officers who must have been on crack at the time. Look at the UK and then look at Ireland, especially in relation to small towns and villages. We are a disaster.

geraardo

I have seen a few of these around they are usually at the start of an estate like the one above.

Yes they are unusual alright i suppose a bit imposing in relation to the rest of the houses.

I dont understand the layout of these so i suppose they are bedrooms or granny flat ?,forgive my ignorance.

iceman777

Mrs OBumble

TheDriver wrote: »

Mate told me about this, its the 1st house inside the estate. How the hell did any planner anywhere ever think this would be acceptable?? Or am I wrong?

It looks mildly odd - but only mildly. One extra room, taking up vertical space not horizontal, will have only minimal impact on the traffic in the state.

And really no more ugly than the rest of the estates full of little boxes that all look just the same.

IMHO it's far madder that every house has to have the same number of stories and have the same look to it: conformist environments simply breed conformist people who are afraid to express individuality and challenge the status quo.


And as for the back: horrors .. they've got LIGHT going into the house .. sure we can't be having that here!!!!

ABajaninCork

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

It looks mildly odd - but only mildly. One extra room, taking up vertical space not horizontal, will have only minimal impact on the traffic in the state.

And really no more ugly than the rest of the estates full of little boxes that all look just the same.

IMHO it's far madder that every house has to have the same number of stories and have the same look to it: conformist environments simply breed conformist people who are afraid to express individuality and challenge the status quo.


And as for the back: horrors .. they've got LIGHT going into the house .. sure we can't be having that here!!!!

Exactly this. There's an estate in Rochestown (Mount Oval) that is just a mass of yellow identikit Celtic Tiger houses. I couldn't believe my eyes! Horrible and depressing doesn't cover it. It's my idea of hell. There's another identikit ghost estate of houses in Castlemartyr on the way to Garryvoe. Must've been built by the same builder...

I got the hell out of there before I got a headache. You couldn't get me to live there if you gave me gold. I'd sooner live in Blackpool than there. And Blackpool's as rough as sandpaper!!

Why do all the modern houses look the same I wonder? There's no individuality any more...

BeerSteakBirds

what harm does it do ? is this just begrudgery because neighbours were refused similar extensions ? or just begrudgery for the sake of it ?

TheDriver

Yes it looks cool but surely it creates a room that can effectively look down on everyone's gardens, even velux windows?

that mount oval estate is nearly identical to one in killumney and one in Bandon, must have been same architect as different builders.

Ray Palmer

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Exactly this. There's an estate in Rochestown (Mount Oval) that is just a mass of yellow identikit Celtic Tiger houses. I couldn't believe my eyes! Horrible and depressing doesn't cover it. It's my idea of hell. There's another identikit ghost estate of houses in Castlemartyr on the way to Garryvoe. Must've been built by the same builder...

I got the hell out of there before I got a headache. You couldn't get me to live there if you gave me gold. I'd sooner live in Blackpool than there. And Blackpool's as rough as sandpaper!!

Why do all the modern houses look the same I wonder? There's no individuality any more...

It is no different to the past with houses conforming. The only difference is people like the looks of older building. Georgian and Victorian houses were pretty much about conformity and images of repeating patterns.

Then you have all the corpo houses built around Ireland that are identical.

Unless a house is built as an individual house they pretty much match the houses around. I think it is much worse seeing an individual house that conforms then an estate. The amount of people building one off houses built that look the same is much more depressing with columns out the front and mock Georgian features.

Very rare to see an individual design in ireland

P. Breathnach

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

...
IMHO it's far madder that every house has to have the same number of stories and have the same look to it: conformist environments simply breed conformist people who are afraid to express individuality and challenge the status quo....

So the Hausmann planning guidelines for Paris are wrong? And it would be okay to extend a Nerrion Square house upwards by a storey or two?

Mrs OBumble

P. Breathnach wrote: »

So the Hausmann planning guidelines for Paris are wrong? And it would be okay to extend a Nerrion Square house upwards by a storey or two?

I'm not familiar with Paris, or with how the French provide variety in their neighborhoods.

Assuming that you mean Merrion Square (which I'm also not overly familiar with) - it depends on what the overall situation of the neighbourhood is. If every single building is exactly the same height, width, style, colour - and the place has heritage value - then no it probably wouldn't be a good idea.

But there's a world of difference between a site with heritage value, and a relatively new suburban estate that has no heritage value at all.


I'm far from the first person to observe that conformism is A Bad Thing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_2lGkEU4Xs

Conformist thinking has done a world of damage to Ireland (eg the approach to unmarried mothers) - having the built environment re-enforce it helps no one.

Wabbit Ears

Its like that mad looking odd one house on Auburn Ave that sticks out like a sore thumb, stupid decision IMHO.



https://www.google.ie/maps/place/Auburn+Ave/@53.376292,-6.358277,17z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x48670d6a665880e5:0x2573949ce4bc98b2

Nekarsulm

In Kilkenny a few weeks ago, and on the street leading up to the Castle gates, Telecom have an enormous redbrick Bunker type structure. It wouldn't look out of place as part of Hitlers Atlantic defences. In the middle of a row of Georgian type buildings. Amazing.
Also , I live on the Cavan/Leitrim border, and if you were building a house on the Leitrim side, you would have to put in 3 or 4 tall narrow windows in place of one decent sized living room window. A bit like a row of archery slots on a medieval castle. Just because the County Planner liked it that way. Also, no porch allowed on front door, just a door in the wall, and definitely no pebble dash of any kind. When he retired, the next Planner changed the rules again.

meeeeh

I presume the houses in estates look all the same because it is cheaper for the developer. They are not individual because they were not each built by individuals. However good planning does take into consideration individual freedom while still making sure that height and size of the buildings (among other things)is not disproportionate to it's surrounding. The house in first post is not expression of individuality, it's expression of lack of taste and moronic planning. And the same goes for fake georgian one off monstrosities someone mentioned.

Alias G

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

But there's a world of difference between a site with heritage value, and a relatively new suburban estate that has no heritage value at all.


I'm far from the first person to observe that conformism is A Bad Thing:

The reality is that people need good quality, affordable housing. A developer looking to individualise houses to each prospective buyers own personnal tastes is going to see his costs skyrocket and price his potential clients out of the market. Housing estates are less about expressions of taste and style and more about providing a critical function in an efficient manner to the general masses. If you want a house designed in your own particular fashion then by all means fund and develop it yourself.....if you can afford it.

Mrs OBumble

Wabbit Ears wrote: »

Its like that mad looking odd one house on Auburn Ave that sticks out like a sore thumb, stupid decision IMHO.

https://www.google.ie/maps/place/Auburn+Ave/@53.376292,-6.358277,17z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x48670d6a665880e5:0x2573949ce4bc98b2

And this post nicely illustrates my point.

The property you are discussing is the same style and material as all the rest. The only difference is the roof angle, and having a small round window to illuminate the attic. As differences go, it is absolutely trivial.

Yet someone's saying that it's stupid planning!

Like how dare someone have a house that looks even minorly different! :rolleyes:

carpejugulum

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

And really no more ugly than the rest of the estates full of little boxes that all look just the same.

this

awec

The worst bit about the first house posted in the OP is that they have went for a completely different finish. Surely an extension is supposed to keep in style with the original part of the building?

They have used a different colour, and a smooth finish, and then to top it off have went for wooden window frames rather than white pvc.

Even without comparing it to the rest of the houses in the estate it still looks stupid.

awec

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

I
IMHO it's far madder that every house has to have the same number of stories and have the same look to it: conformist environments simply breed conformist people who are afraid to express individuality and challenge the status quo.

At the same time wanting to be different isn't really an excuse for terrible planning decisions.

I fail to see how anyone can see that original house as anything other than an abomination that looks terribly out of place. No amount of "but it's different" excuses what is just a very ugly extension to a property.

Mrs OBumble

Sure it's ugly. But the whole estate is ugly. It's really only a little worse than the rest. Slightly odd decision - yes. Terrible - ahh, no, you need to think about what terrible really means.

mickdw

I figure it was argued that the development overall was to be similar in height to the surrounding Ridge levels. It would also be argued that it was making much better use of space and light than accommodation that might be fitted into a typical roofspace. This was probably submitted by some well known architect and given that most development plans state that architecturally interesting designs outside of design guidelines will be assessed on a case by case basis, I can see how it got approved.

TeaBagMania

Could this have been the showcase house were perspective buyers would get a feel for the home and speak to the builder about options they would like included in their custom built home, or was the addition added after the fact?

Mr.McLovin

Hideous if you ask me but everyone to their own I guess...

the Auburn one, not so bad imo

awec

TeaBagMania wrote: »

Could this have been the showcase house were perspective buyers would get a feel for the home and speak to the builder about options they would like included in their custom built home, or was the addition added after the fact?

What prospective buyer would be enticed by an extension like that?

Surely if it were added at the time of the build they would have used the same finish and the same windows?

The biggest problem is that it just looks so badly out of place.

TeaBagMania

awec wrote: »

What prospective buyer would be enticed by an extension like that?

I was thinking they could have been offices for the staff

DubDani

Can't see the problem with it. Doesn't look any worse then the rest of that run of the mill Estate. Only slightly odd thing to me is that they didn't keep the Window Frames identical.