Our conversion of a late Victorian school building and gatehouse creates a new community ‘hub’ and intermediate affordable rent apartments. The hub provides a state-of-the-art office and training facility for charities delivering support to the local community. The public enter through the arched gatehouse entrance into a new top-lit building which links to the schoolhouse.
The apartments occupy the upper floors of the two existing buildings. New levels were inserted within the Victorian shell to maximise floor space and a lightweight rooftop extension was added. The cladding is milky white and blue fritted glass, which blends with the sky, minimising visual impact while clearly contrasting with the rich masonry of the schoolhouse below. The former playground forms a new courtyard garden for residents and hub users.
The buildings are classified locally as buildings of merit and we took great care to preserve existing architectural features while extending and improving the buildings to meet high environmental standards.