RIBA South West 2022 Award Winners

Awards won: RIBA South West Regional Award and RIBA South West Building of the Year Award 2022

The extension and renovation of this 1960’s property has completely transformed the performance, usability and identity of this house. Great Brockeridge was previously an unattractive and poorly performing home. All this has changed through a number of simple and economic design moves including; remodelling the street elevation, extending the upper ground floor, adding a steeper roof pitch, forming a new ground floor entrance and over-cladding in blue-black Staffordshire tiles and bricks. A tight budget led to restrained and intelligent design moves, retaining most of the original building fabric and working with constraints of the house. Economic material choices and additional insulation have enhanced the appearance and environmental performance.

Efficient use of space accommodates dogs, children, bikes and storage, all through bespoke inbuilt joinery which was prefabricated using CNC technologies.

Daylight is brought in through the section, using light wells and the stair to reach the deepest spaces in plan, while many corner rooms are dual aspect and have fine views. A warm and tactile interior material palette lends contrast to the utilitarian exterior appearance.

A dramatic new timber stair forms a beautiful and sinuous piece of carpentry at the heart of the house, stretching three storeys and balancing sweeping curves with precision connection details. The whole piece is constructed from planed Ash and ash-veneered birch, complimented by a brass handrail with connecting brass dowels supporting the balustrades. It was designed with the help of parametric design and delivered with the precision of CNC technology. The weight and balance of the stair feels carefully judged and responds to light touch intervention across the rest of the project.

The hands-on client worked closely with a small local contractor to deliver excellent value.

Great Brockeridge is an intelligent, exemplar refurbishment demonstrating that our existing building stock may be retained, renewed, and upgraded through intelligent design, and an active and engaged client and design team.