Issue 40 winter 23 web - Flipbook - Page 24
Above, looking through the dome, which has been carefully propped to prevent damage during the works.
tion is unavoidable, for example where rooms are
completely surrounded by other historical rooms. The
integration of mechanical services in particular, has been
challenging as the fan coil units are large. So again, the
team needed to understand how the building was built to
know where these elements could be discreetly located.
For example, in the sitting room, there are some existing
niches which are inherently weak structural points.
Proposals are therefore to raise the existing lintel to create
a taller niche where services can be installed, discreetly
hidden behind new finishes across the upper sections of
the niches. Elsewhere, grilles will be fitted either within
the mouldings (with new decorative elements on top) or
integrated with the interior design approach with just a
discreet mesh the same colour as the finished walls.
To enhance the thermal and acoustic performance of the
windows without compromising the significance of the
listed buildings, there is a studied balance between installation of secondary glazing to the most significant areas
and double glazing to new or low significance areas.
What were the main challenges you encountered?
The influence of age coupled with an extended period of
vacation, meant the condition of the existing fabric was
poor and quite heavily decayed in places. There was dry
rot everywhere which has meant the necessary removal
of more fabric than we would have initially hoped for.
In one of the principal rooms the original plaster had
survived the bombing and was therefore from the original
decorative scheme, however, the battens supporting the
lath and plaster were completely rotten and so it all had
to be removed. There’s really nothing that can be done
in those circumstances and that is the most challenging
thing in Jokin’s eyes. In this case, whatever can be
removed and stored, is, in the hope that it can be reused,
and as a backup, the team have ‘squeezed’ (the creation
of a mould by first paint stripping the decorative feature
to reveal the correct original detail, then applying layers
of liquid rubber) all the decorative plasterwork so that an
exact replica can be created if needed.
Which areas required the most innovative approach?
The biggest innovation in this project has been how
to design out noise and vibration from the nearby
underground lines which run in close proximity to the
buildings. Here, a number of options were explored before
a way forward was agreed. One idea was to essentially
build a box in a box; an acoustically designed container
within each room. This would have resolved the issues of
sound and vibration transfer but would impinge on all the
things the team didn’t want to compromise on - namely
the proportions of the room and the layout. It would
also mean hiding the original decorative fabric. Not
acceptable.
Another major challenge is always how to incorporate
services within the historic fabric. Following the same
principles of identifying the areas of the most historical
significance, the team have been able to locate the plant
room and the majority of the services within new build
areas of the redevelopment. In some instances, interven-
Another option looked at removing all of the existing
finishes so that they could be locally isolated – in essence
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Conservation & Heritage Journal
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