Imagine if the adaptive reuse of buildings became a growing movement

An approach to retrofitting existing buildings that balances conserving resources, retaining character and supporting future life.

Project Insight

The global climate crisis requires the construction industry to dramatically reduce the greenhouse gas emissions it produces over the next decade. The intelligent retrofit of our existing building stock is a clear and essential pathway to facilitate this reduction. Despite the environmental costs of wasting materials, currently it is cheaper to demolish and rebuild. This needs to change.

Project Idea

We need a flexible notion of heritage, whereby buildings and cities are not frozen in time. Retrofit suggests the addition or the (necessary) changing of elements.

Supported by progressive legislation, Architects can provide the technical skill, sensitivity to historical context and understanding of culture to give new, sustainable and viable leases of life to existing buildings.

Project Design

Our work carefully converting an old Victorian fruit warehouse in a conservation area in Borough Market demonstrates this approach. Previous additions to the warehouse meant it had small windows and low floor-to-ceiling heights, making it ill-equipped to support modern commercial or residential uses.

We took the technically challenging approach to retain the defining features of the building; external brickwork, internal 19th century timber frame and the remains of the Medieval Winchester Palace, a Scheduled Ancient Monument, below the basement floor.

New openings in the brick walls provide generous natural light to new offices, apartments and a ground floor restaurant via high performance windows. The old timber frame is refurbished and celebrated to give character to new homes. Working with archaeologists and engineers, the structure was cleverly designed to avoid the medieval remains, which are protected in a layer of sand below the basement floor.

The result was a project that reduced construction waste and a building that quietly and respectfully references its former life whilst embracing its new one.

Project Awards

• Sunday Times British Homes Awards - Small Development of the Year Finalist (Blows Yard)

• Schueco Excellence Awards for Design and Innovation: Residential Development Award (Blows Yard)

• AJ Retrofit Awards Finalist (16 Winchester Walk)