C O N T E X T 1 1 0 : J U LY 2 0 0 9 19 All the Peak District guides have stressed the need for good contemporary design to complement the tradition in an exciting and stimulating way. Unfortunately, this is the hardest design option. It requires good designers knowledgeable on the local tradition, and equally good clients. Too often, agents with insufficient design training are working for clients who, if they can not afford a 17th century cottage want what is, in their terms, the next best thing: a new-build replica. Instead, the approach to be encouraged is a re-interpretation of the local tradition. One example in Winster (ignore the horrible windows) has a formality to the window openings and a solid-to-void ratio that you would expect in a traditional building but in a contemporary arrangement. A more Far left: A vernacular reinterpretation: a new house inWinster Top and bottom right: Another vernacular reinterpretation: a new house in Calver Left: A barn conversion in Earl Sterndale, showing cart openings unconverted Right: Stone slate courses at the base of a heatherthatch roof.This may be a possible location for solar or photovoltaic panels. recent house in Calver takes even more liberties with the front elevation (an attempt to re-interpret the house and attached barn tradition), but the rear, facing north, is largely blank. As in the Winster example, correct massing and use of materials ensures that the house fits well in the village context. Conversions, particularly of farm buildings, have long been a problem area. Too often the authority conceded the principle of complete conversion to residential without ensuring adequate unconverted space existed elsewhere on site for garage, workshop, stabling or the host of other storage functions needed now or in the future. Without this, an application for a new outbuilding was sure to follow once the conversion was occupied or changed hands.
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