Project Description
FROM THE ARCHITECTS:
A dilapidated Victorian workshop building stripped back to its structure and restored to enhance design
and practicality as a 21st century dwelling.
Despite an original meeting which involved the discussion of demolishing the building and constructing
a new house, it was agreed that the existing building had a unique and unconventional character, and
that a successful design could be generated by working within the existing fabric. The building had
been converted by previous owners and the ground floor was a series of dark bedrooms with living
accommodation at first floor level. Moving between floors was awkward with a steep staircase shoehorned
into a corner. The first riser was 270mm.
A physical connection between the front section (built in 2008) and the main body of the building was
proposed, which took the shape of an angled three-storey cast in-situ concrete wall. The concrete wall
provides a physical and visual link through the building both horizontally and vertically. It provides both
a structural and visual element and is the driving force of the scheme.
An additional bedroom storey involved re-structuring the building using an exposed steel frame creating
a series of goalpost structures that repeat through the ground and first floors. Most aspects of the front
façade were retained. The new top floor is clad in dark grey zinc and the exterior of the first floor is also
painted grey – the idea being to pull an eclectic elevation together.
The result is a high quality contemporary home with a strong sense of the past. New elements preserve
and enhance the original building and enable current building standards to be achieved. The building is
very tactile and the practical arrangement of space and circulation has created a dynamic design with
visual interest at every turn.