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Extension and adaptation of an existing farmhouse to provide accommodation for the family and their severely disabled son

The family has a son who has dystonic quadriplegic cerebral palsy and Cowan Architects accommodation experts identified this property as being suitable to house the growing family. We proposed a scheme of internal alteration and adaptation to provide accommodation for their son’s current and future needs, while also accommodating the separate needs of their other son and two young daughters.

The existing farmhouse was already spacious but its large rooms gave little scope for cost effective adaptation, so an extension was designed to provide the son’s bedroom, an en-suite wet room, a sound-proofed sensory room, a carer’s suite to provide his 24 hour care, separate living facilities, and wheelchair access throughout the property and out to the surrounding grounds.

A large new kitchen now acts as the family hub with a garden room connecting the old and the new with easy wheelchair access and space where the son can easily mix with the rest of the family without restriction. This opens out onto decking, built using inorganic, timber-effect boarding, to provide a slip resistant and long-lasting surface for disabled and abled-bodied persons alike.

The extension had to be designed in such a way that it appeared to be subservient to the main house, whilst still providing the required disabled facilities. This meant that the new first floor accommodation was designed to be partially within the new roof space.

In order to keep the future running costs low there are extensive sustainable, off-grid services and renewable technology.