Formed from the merging of two practices, architecture:nw and fleming james architects, CoARC provides a flexible and adaptable service to our clients through a collaborative approach.
CoARC is an RIBA Chartered Practice, and you can find out more here.
A Victorian outbuilding at the back of one of the High Street houses in the middle of the Conservation Area in Belbroughton had been used as a garage/store for many years. In the 1980s the roof space had two dormers added, and using a ladder for access, the upstairs was used as an office space/gym. )
Images of the building pre-build and during build can be found here.)
Upon purchasing the house, the owners approached a:nw to provide a scheme that maximised the small volume of the building to make useful additional accommodation. The building was sat on the boundary and the single skin brickwork wall had damp issue due to the elevated ground level on the other side of the boundary. The scheme developed was to create a more readily accessible bedroom and bathroom upstairs with a small utility and sitting room downstairs . The owners were keen to keep as many period feastures as possible including the brick arched workbench inside, whilst raising the quality of the envelope to modern building standards. Amongst the upgrades the roof was lifted and then the tiles reused over the new construction, the ground floor replaced and the structural first floor also replaced, a new water connection was brought through, as well as new electrics, new drainage connections, a whole new thermal envelope as well as the new fenestration, all in all despite its size the building required the same design and construction approach as a completely renovated house. A significant feature was the new oak and steel staircase that was fitted into the smallest footprint possible and required bespoke steels to enable a raised shower in the bathroom over and maintain the required headroom.
Go back to the portfolio here
All images produced by Nick.