House extension help required

Kayleen

I would be very greatful for any advice on the attached images of an extension to a semi-detached house.
The architect has come back to us with these initial drawings and while I am happy with some aspects there is plenty of room for improvement.

I can see that he is trying to limit doing any major work to the existing house which is good and much as I like the extension I dont feel that it flows well and maximises the light as that whole right hand side is south facing
Hope that makes sense and look forward to any ideas you may have:D

BryanF

• where's north?
• presuming south is where the living room doors are, the upstairs might be better flipped to walk between wc and wardrobe to bedroom offering southern light/aspect
• where are the views?
• & neighbours? as we cant tell whether there is an overlooking issue?
• what's the age of the house?
• budget?
• additional wall thickness maybe required on the new extension to provide modern insulation standards
• if you want a cosy house, additional insulation and air-tightness will probably be required to the existing, along a window upgrade.
• detailing/ thermal bridging reduction and air-tightness will be important.
• some form of Ventilation system is worth considering
• I'd have differentiated the new two storey more. if the budget allows perhaps the zinc could wrap down the walls of this element or a new material introduced.
• the connection to the existing could flow better but maybe that's what you asked for. spliting the garden in two is unfortunate
• again where is the north point and is the utility best placed away from the south elevation.

I feel its a little unfair on your architect to place such earlier sketch designs up on a public forum, especially as we have no background on what brief was given or what other parameters might be dictating this layout approach

Certified

I have to agree with BryanF. It is not possible to give an accurate assessment with the info given. There are so many factors to be taken into account. It appears to be in a mature residential area so a design that solves privacy issues etc needs to be provided. Without knowing the full context, people commenting would be just guessing.
I would recommend discussing the design in detail with your architect and asking why he/she has done what and why, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Kayleen

Thank you for your replies.
I am in no way disregarding or being unfair to the architect I chose. As recommended on this forum, I went to three architects for consultation and quotes, it was very difficult to chose one over another as they all had wonderful and very differing ideas. However the decision is made and I am happy with it.
By posing the query here, I was merely trying to get ideas on room flow etc, as I see people doing here with plans frequently.
I have never been through a build before and I hear so many people discussing what they would have done differently like increasing room size, making more use of light etc

Obviously I am discussing this with the architect to get further ideas from him too, I was just trying to get other opinions.
Again thanks for taking the time to reply