Project Name : Westminster Row
Project Type : Private sale housing
Location : Manchester
Our Role : Architect stage 1-3
Approached by a private developer we were asked to look at a feasibility study and planning application for the conversion of a grade 2 listed manor house, coach house and 5 new build town houses. The existing 4 storey villa had fallen into disrepair and the proposal looked to renovate and convert the single family home into 8 one and two bedroom apartments with ground floor apartments accessible from the private gardens.
As with all of our listed building conversions our aim was to retain and expose as much of the existing features as possible such as brickwork and timber beams whilst ensuring we comply to regulations and provide a sustainable approach to heating and ventilation. As part of the development and to make the renovation financially viable, our proposal looked to build 5 new 3 storey townhouse’s all with private rooftop gardens and directly overlooking the shared private gardens
With ground floor given over to internal garage, storage and guest bedrooms the 1st floor level has been kept as open plan living area opening out onto a covered morning terrace. The top floor contains further bedrooms and access out to the rooftop garden.
With the existing villa retaining so much historic character the aim was to provide a positive contrast with the new dwellings so we designed these as a series of crisp white boxes floating over a grounded timber clad band. The contrast creates a strong hierarchy where the new dwellings are subservient to the existing villa and the placement of these on the site help create a private courtyard setting for both the apartments and townhouses to share.