The buildings had previously been used by as office space, and whilst the Cottages included a number of valuable historic fabric items, more recent works had been unsympathetic.

We led a design and conservation based approach to the early refurbishment works, and included a number of significant interventions, to help make the Cottages more efficient in future use.

There were a number of architectural challenges. And from the outset, we used a “less is more” approach to the design work, and worked collaboratively with the Client group, the local Conservation Officer and Historic England, to ensure acceptable design and conservation outcomes.

This involved generating close scale drawn details, undertaking enabling works, and further discovery work, post Planning Approval and Listed Building Consent. Collaboration was embedded in the day to day progress of our works, and required constant, progressive communication of detail, on each conservation design or refurbishment matter.

Refurbishing, adapting and modernising listed buildings is always a difficult task. We have to consider a number of relevant matters, and find a solution that is a fair balance of all considerations.

These include Client requirements, relevant statutory requirements around fire protection and conservation of heat, and necessary structural refurbishment requirements.

However, there is also a backdrop of considerations that include the prevailing conservation principles at the time, removing unsympathetic additions, and removing materials or treatments that may cause harm to the fabric in the future.