marshallandkendon.co.ukThe project was the conversion of premises from furniture showrooms etc. to bars and restaurant. The accommodation was spread over five floors of two listed buildings on a steep street; whilst this could be refurbished into a charming rabbit warren, there was no connected space for kitchens.
The solution involved excavating a basement under a rear building while extending it at the same time to give dining rooms and roof terrace.
Frost & Reed have been in business since 1808. In 2006 they rearranged their current premises in Duke Street, St James’s with a completely new interior.
In 2003 The Blue Gallery expanded by moving a short distance to new premises in Great Sutton Street Converting and fitting out the new premises was undertaken in a short time scale and on a tight budget.
Founded in 1977, Kinneir Dufort have constantly expanded their business of product design involving user research, innovation, design development and prototyping. In 1996 they outgrew their premises and acquired a Listed Victorian sugar refinery and warehouse, converting it to design studios, prototyping workshops and meeting rooms.
In 1998, continued growth demanded yet more space. While remaining in use the building had its roof removed and a new structure installed adding two stories to the working accommodation. This was all formed within the original roof profile.
Since then alterations and improvements to the building have continued, although on a less dramatic scale.
Egypt Mill was built over earlier mills in the 18th century and the Miller’s House was built in 1698. Our client acquired both in 1985 in very sad condition when Nailsworth was also a run-down town.
With help from English Heritage the buildings were courageously restored and converted to a complex of Restaurant, Function Rooms, Bar and Hotel accommodation; all while retaining the two water wheels and the surviving machinery.
Nailsworth now flourishes, with Egypt Mill offering high quality facilities in the centre of town.
Marshall & Kendon have helped with various developments both in and around the buildings.
Built in 1902, the Reading Lido had stood derelict for 40 years on its side beside the Thames in Reading Kings Meadow, a large open park in central Reading.
Like the Clifton Lido before it, the building required substantial refurbishment, much of the existing roof timberwork and a fair bit of the brickwork being seriously damaged by years of water ingress.
Planning and Listed building applications were dealt with quickly and supportively by Reading Borough Council and work on repairs began in winter 2014. The repairs are now complete and work is proceeding on the construction of new fabric to accommodate a restaurant, pool facilities and a spa. These are housed partly within the existing building and partly in a new building to the west, an extension afforded by the removal from the flood plain of the existing land extremely unlovely playing fields changing rooms. A replacement building, outside the flood plain is nearing completion next to Napier Road, a rather more suitable and convenient location next to the car park.
Thames Lido itself has a new dedicated car park from which a newly planted avenue of trees leads to the restored octagon entrance. Like the Clifton Lido, the spa thus has its own entrance and reception, the restaurant and function room being separately accessed from Kings Meadow Road to the West.
Also like the Clifton Lido, the existing building is entirely screened from the outside by a surrounding wall; it was originally the Ladies Swimming Bath. Inside the wall, the pool was surrounded by open roof spaces which are being adapted to the new Lido uses, some of it enclosed, while traditional poolside changing rooms remain open although covered by the monopitch roof which surrounds the pool. Although preserving the sense of enclosure, the new arrangement will afford glimpses of the interior to boaters passing through the lock, and through the new glazed entrance on the west side.
During the repair, the newly enclosed areas have been insulated and the north and west side enveloped in new construction. All rainwater is collected in large below ground tanks thus greatly reducing water usage and costs. The building has been completely re-roofed as has the tiled south range; behind its parapet wall a south facing slope has a large evacuated tube solar thermal array to help reduce energy use and costs.
Works to the basement are nearly (July 2016) complete and the new west wing should be complete early in 2017. Many of the lessons learned from Clifton have informed discussions made in Reading although the building and the setting are very different. Clifton Lido is set in the heart of an affluent densely populated urban area, while Kings Meadow Baths stands by the Thames in an open park in a less affluent town, albeit one surrounded by towns and villages of spectacular affluence and handy for Heathrow Airport and courtesy of Crossrail and a half hour journey to Paddington.
Everyone hopes that the restoration of this delightful and ideosyncratic building can secure its future for many years to come.
Clifton Hotels, part of Quarter Ltd is a successful local company owning several hotels of which the Berkeley Square is its flagship. The company has several other properties in the Square including No 19 on the eastern corner and its adjoining neighbour No 6 Berkeley Crescent, both of which are Grade II* listed and for both of which we have applied for and gained Planning and Listed Building Consent to convert (from offices) to luxury serviced suites.
No 6 has been completed and now as Berkeley Suites offers a place to stay complete with living room and kitchenette, bathroom and bedroom. Overlooking newly restored communal gardens in the arc of the crescent the suites are right on the doorstep of all that’s happening in Clifton.
Clifton Lido, designed by Richard Shackleton-Pope, was built in 1854 and modified several times, most substantially in the 1930’s. But in 1989 the City Council closed it as uneconomic and the open air pool, with its timber galleries and changing cubicles and the Egyptian styled entrance building then stood neglected and decaying. Meanwhile redevelopment threatened, and despite a vociferous campaign, demolition had already begun when listing at Grade II* was achieved and the buildings were reprieved.
However, the problem of the viability of the open air pool remained until Arne Ringner, owner of the Glass Boat restaurant, proposed to use a restaurant to support restoration and re-use of the buildings and the pool. In spite of widespread support, it then took nearly a year to obtain Planning Permission before work could begin in late 2006.
Almost all the historic fabric has been retained and restored, while the new work is distinctly and deliberately modern in material and detail. Inside is a bar made of hardwood salvaged from the old Bristol & West HQ and on the roof are 720 solar collectors to keep the pool’s gas bill down. The restaurant is naturally cross-ventilated using the thermal mass of the masonry wall and cool air off the pool stirred by punkah fans and large retractable sun shades to keep cool in summer.
The main façade in Oakfield Place has been laboriously picked clean and restored and the road closed to form a new paved public space.
To quote Mike Jenner in his book ‘100 best buildings in Bristol’ 2011: “The Lido is included here for three reasons: first for its quality as an 1850 building, for which it would perhaps merit 2 stars; secondly as an outstanding example of how the enthusiasm of a few active and intelligent people can overcome bureaucratic obstruction and lack of imagination, and thirdly for the sheer quality of the conversion, for which it merits four stars.”
Arne Ringner, The Glass Boat Company
