Conservation & Historic Renewal
We often find ourselves working in historic environments, and enjoy the higher attention to design, detailing and delivery that this demands. We have a lot of experience working on listed buildings and within conservation areas, both in terms of sensitive repair and restoration, as well as designing contemporary interventions and extensions.
Our work in the historic environment
Around half our projects involve buildings with some sort of statutory protection due to either being listed or within conservation areas. We don’t see these protections as obstacles and actually enjoy the challenge they present. We have found that Council’s appreciate our thoughtful and creative approach and are most often prepared to listen and carefully consider our design proposals.
Recently we have been looking more carefully at how energy-reducing measures can be sensitively introduced into protected buildings as it has become increasingly apparent that the UK’s heritage stock can and should play its part in addressing the climate emergency.
Smithfield Market Public Inquiry, 2014
One of our proudest achievements was being involved in the public inquiry to help save West Smithfield General Market from a damaging alteration and demolition proposed by Henderson Global Investors. On behalf of Richard Upton’s Cathedral Group we worked with SAVE Britain’s Heritage, the Victorian Society and other passionate people who collectively could see that the consented proposal was both harmful and unnecessary.
Unusually, we found ourselves defending a building from demolition allowed by both the City of London Corporation and English Heritage. We helped show that the evidence presented by the applicant was not accurate, and that re-use and conversion of the building was possible. The Inspector for the Secretary of State thankfully agreed and resolved that the proposals were ‘wholly unacceptable’ and that alternatives were ‘possible, viable, and deliverable’.
We were delighted that having been saved the Museum of London were interested in taking the building as their new home. There could not be a more appropriate use for this building which twice came so close to being lost.
