Rotork A new factory
This project is for a new 12,000 sq.m. factory building for Bath based engineering manufacturers Rotork. With business expanding beyond the capacity of their existing site, the company needed to consider alternative locations nearby. The building includes office, manufacturing, storage and distribution spaces employing 400 people. Our proposal sought to use the natural slope of the site to accommodate the different volumes required for each activity in an attractive setting and create a high-quality working environment for staff and visitors.
Mount Pleasant A steel framed garden room extension
Occupying a hillside site with good views south over Bradford on Avon, this intricate project proved challenging due to the extent of structural works required to support the existing house above. Fortunate timing meant that our client was able to make use of the contractor who had recently completed a similarly challenging project at Cornbury Mill as well as sharing his desire to achieve high standards of finish.
The uncompromising design removes a lower section of bay window and replaces it with a larger, heavily glazed extension and wrap around slot window which allows natural light to penetrate deep into the house. Internal reorganisation provides much improved open plan living, dining and kitchen areas, facilitated by the installation of a fire resistant glazed screen and new timber staircase to the upper levels. The result is a light and bright multi-purpose room where the family spend much of their time together, providing a new direct and open relationship between house and garden.
London Road Regeneration A community led public realm improvement
Before we started this project, London Road, a main thoroughfare in and out of Bath was blighted by heavy traffic and vacant commercial premises. We were appointed by Bath and North East Somerset to undertake a community led project to improve the external environment for local residents and business. By means of stakeholder workshops and use of models which encouraged participants to contribute their ideas in a variety of ways, a proposal to reclaim the street was developed and we produced a concept design which formed the basis for extensive traffic calming measures and public realm improvements. The final, constructed design was completed by others. The project has resulted in a more accessible environment, complete with trees, planters and improved pavement finishes that together create a higher quality gateway to the city.
Seco Tools New Headquarters
Seco Tools are a tool manufacturer based in Sweden with more than 40 subsidiaries around the world. Designscape Architects were appointed as part of the Seco Tools Global real estate team, in conjunction with workplace specialists Wylde IA to design a replacement to the existing office administration block at the headquarters of Seco France. The existing building, built in the 1960’s was suffering numerous building failures to structure envelope and services. We designed the building to allow for phased demolition and development of the site whilst the existing offices were in occupation. Re-positioning the office accommodation next to the production space also provides an opportunity to better integrate departments, staff and company culture. Seco see the benefits of creating a positive flexible working environment for their staff and customers and have sought to reflect the company’s core values of open and friendly working, client commitment, dedication and expertise in their building facilities. Designscape’s design was developed by the in-country team and is currently under construction.
Designscape have also provided architectural advice; master planning, concept, through to construction design information for several other European sites including; Budapest Hungary and the HQ facility in Fagersta Sweden.
Squash HouseContemporary remodelling of a family home
The existing house was developed within the walls of a former squash club in 2002. This initial conversion failed to make the most of the original building and the client’s brief was to remedy this to provide an environment to suit modern family living. The design inverts the internal accommodation to provide connected living spaces with direct access onto the private external courtyards. New glazed doors slide back into the walls making full-width openings that link the internal and external areas. Bedrooms are relocated to the upper floor behind new clerestory windows with views over Bath. A new open-tread oak staircase connects the three floors and forms the back-bone to the reinvented house.
Sun House An experimental rural home
The house sits at the top of the Claverton Valley on the outskirts of Bath, and replaces a low-grade mobile home. The design is a response to the woodland setting and arranges accommodation into two distinct elements. The main volume is clad with rough-cut oak boarding and contains the entrance and kitchen on the ground floor and living room above. A second, single storey wing is faced with oxidised steel panels and contains sleeping areas that open directly into the garden. The grass roof of the bedroom wing provides a terrace to the adjacent first floor space. The house employs experimental construction and technology, incorporating rainwater harvesting, passive and active solar energy, and is virtually free from pvc materials.
Kelston Road An annexe home converted from a garage
This project is a single storey annexe on the Kelston Road, designed as a home for our client’s elderly parents, within the curtilage of their existing home.
The site is located on the outskirts of Bath within the Greenbelt, we created a design which both preserves and enhances the surrounding environment, converting and extending a former garage. The use of a green roof and materials sympathetic to the original dwelling allowed the annexe to become a complementary addition to the site.
Clarks Head Quarters Working within a historic factory complex
We have been appointed to undertake a number of projects for Clarks Shoes at their Head Quarters in Street, Somerset. These are located within historic former factory buildings, from which Clarks once manufactured their famous shoes. Optimising this space for current and changing workplace activities has been an ongoing project for Clarks. We have produced a masterplan considering the phased redevelopment of underused sections of the estate for new uses and buildings, including conference suite, meeting rooms and office space.
Hardy House Home for an artist
Hardy House is a former club building in the heart of a Wiltshire village. Converted in the 1980’s the building needed updating and alteration to meet the client’s needs whose brief called for the refurbishment of the existing house with the provision of new home working facilities for their artistic activities. Comprehensive refurbishment of the existing house created a clean, modern interior with studio and gallery as well as more conventional spaces and includes improvements to reduce running costs and increase thermal performance. A new glazed canopy to the rear provides a useful veranda space to enjoy views across the garden and a sheltered space to park the car and enter the house.
Planning consent was also obtained for an independent studio building in the garden, as yet unbuilt.
Hardy House was short listed for the AJ Retrofit Awards 2014
WindrushContemporary Extension in the Cotswolds
This contemporary extension is located to the rear of a quintessential ‘Cotswold’ cottage in a small hamlet on the outskirts of Kemble. The brief called for additional space for the client and their four children. Incorporating the footings of a smaller extension on the same site, the new accommodation comprises a family room, wc and new entrance on the ground floor and two bedrooms and family bathroom on the first floor. A feature glass and timber staircase sits in a glazed transition space between the new extension and original cottage. Designed in accordance with the principles of the Cotswold Design Guide, the horizontal timber boarding render and metal framed windows echo the surrounding agricultural structures.