Sutherland House was an office building that was becoming increasingly hard to attract tenants. So, the owner decided to change the use to residential flats. The roof leaked and the internal layout was a rabbit warren. The property sorely in need some love and attention.
The idea was to keep the main structure of the building which was on an awkward triangular site but to convert the building into flats with the addition of another floor. This was set back form the existing elevation to provide a terrace around the perimeter of the building.
We created six flats in the original building and two additional, larger units on the new floor, each with access to the terrace.
To contain costs, we kept the window locations but modernised them. Their positions and size were perfectly satisfactory giving plenty of light, especially the flats on the corner.
We rebuilt the staircase in the centre of the building to enhanced its appeal to future residents as well as saving space by limiting the corridors.
We like to think that, from a sow’s ear, we were able to make a silk purse for our client!
