Recency Villa Site Update

This month has seen the construction start in earnest on our Regency Villa project, located in central Southampton, Hampshire. At this early stage, the focus is on carefully stripping back the modern alterations; carefully removing incongruous additions, taking internal stud partitions out, and clearing out the poorly built extension, to reveal the bones of the original period property.

This four-storey listed townhouse, originally built circa 1835, has lost much of its former grandeur over the years, something we are aiming to restore through this deep renovation and reimagining. Most recently, the property had been converted into a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO), which obscured much of the original character and has compromised the proportions of its rooms.

We’re thoroughly enjoying site visits at this point in the project. It’s exciting to see what the talented team at Tuakana is uncovering, such as original floorboards that had been covered over, and concealed, fireplaces. With the modern partitions removed, we can now fully appreciate the true dimensions of each room. Standing in these newly opened spaces and witnessing the natural light interact with the architecture is genuinely inspiring.

Our design vision is to return the house to a single-family dwelling, one that celebrates its period features while introducing a contemporary glass extension to the rear. The result will be a comfortable, elegant home that brings together the history of the home with the comforts of modern living.

Get in touch if you have a project you would like to discuss with the design team.

Planning secured on second phase at St Margarets

Full planning has been secured for the second phase at St Margarets Church, adding a new entrance to the church in Southsea, Portsmouth.

We had previously worked on the church, helping to transform the almost derelict building into a vibrant community hub, this second phase focuses on installing a new entrance porch to help to further reinvigorate the building with the community. Our design adds a contemporary copper clad porch, creating a striking, visual statement that will activate the front of the church with the public realm.

Having worked closely with the church, planners and community over the last few years, we are so pleased to have finally got planning in place for this addition. We look forward to sharing updates of the work as it starts on site later this year.

Get in touch to discover how we can help tranform your community project.

The Granary starts onsite

We are so pleased to see construction work has started at The Granary, a unique 18th century agricultural building in the New Forest National Park, Hampshire. Our design thoughtfully converts and infills an existing open carport space, to reimagine the ground floor with extended living area.

This allow the first floor to be converted into the private part of the home; by moving all the living area to the ground floor it was then possible to create an additional third bedroom / work space on the first floor, ensuring the long-term future of the building for the young owners.

If you are thinking about reconfiguring your home, get in touch to start the conversation.

South Coast Property Awards

We are thrilled to be included in the shortlist for the South Coast Property Awards,  in the Architectural Practice of the Year category, you can find the full list of shortlists here.

The event highlights the finest professionals in the field – agents, developers, planners, consultants, property lawyers, housebuilders and of course architects! We look forward to the awards evening in June, good luck to all the entrants.

April Practice Update

With the start of the second quarter we wanted to take an opportunity to briefly share a practice update some of our project news,  thoughts and advice.

Regency Villa Starts Onsite

Work has started on the Regency Villa, a Grade II Listed townhouse in central Southampton. Our design will sympathetically refurbish,extend and reimagine this beautiful period property, to create a wonderful family home.

The four-storey listed townhouse had previously been subdivided into a House of Multiple Occupancy (HMO), our project strips back the modern and out of place additions, to restore the home back into a a stunning single dwelling.

The design will deliver a scheme that enhances the rich, historic personality of the original dwelling, upgrading the energy efficiency of the property, to create a functional and joyful home for the owners and their young family.

You can find full project details here.

How to Start a Self-Build Project.

If you are thinking of starting a self-build project, we understand that it can often feel daunting.

The team here at Studio BAD have over 50 years’ collective architectural experience, designing self-build houses and extensions. We are perfectly placed to help you understand the process and have recently answered some key FAQ’s on this topic to help you get your project started.

You can read the full article here.

Planning secured in National Park

We are thrilled to have secured planning for The Granary, a beautiful heritage building set within the New Forest National Park, and also located within listed building curtilage.

The interesting scheme converts and infills an existing open carport space. Our design has places an emphasis on celebrating the original character of the building, highlighted through contemporary interventions.

You can find full project details here.

 

To join our mailing list for monthly practice updates, please contact us directly at darren@studiobad.co.uk

Difference between a renovation and a retrofit?

Homebuilding & Renovating Magazine have once again asked Darren to share his knowledge with their readers. This month the article looks at explaining retrofits and renovations, which can be found in their April edition of the publication. Here we share his thoughts on the topic, if you have any more questions about this topic get in touch with the team today.

What is the difference between a renovation and a retrofit?

When it comes to renovating or upgrading an existing building, the terms renovation and retrofitting are often used interchangeably, but they refer to two distinct approaches. These processes may overlap, but it is important to understanding the key differences.

A renovation typically refers to making good what is already there, this type of work focuses on repairing or restoring a property back to the original condition. This is often part of the scope of work when working on period properties, to restore the property back to its original condition which might have been lost over time and neglect.

Retrofitting is about making updates that improve the performance of a structure, often in terms of energy efficiency, sustainability, and modern functionality. It’s the process of enhancing the existing structure with modern technologies and systems without altering its fundamental character or appearance. For example, this might typically include replacing single glazed windows with energy efficient double or triple glazing, adding insulation to walls or the roof to improve thermal performance or switching to renewable energy systems like solar panels or an air-source heat pump.