Awarded a National Council of Social Housing Development Award in 2013, the Bath Street development represents a successful provision of a unique Homeless Men’s Hostel Building, in a city context and extension to a Protected Structure which is beneficial to both the social and historical fabric of its environs. The design consists of an appropriately scaled and integrated contemporary extension with adaptation and restoration of a derelict Protected Building – continuing the buildings life, and offering a vivid, yet sympathetic, contrast between old and new.
The project included restoration of the existing derelict St. Margaret’s House (Victorian Era, est. 1850 – 1870) sited on an existing restricted / limited city-centre site. The design sought to provide a generous variety of structured accommodation, with a thoroughly articulated distribution of internal and external spaces, to allow full use of the development while permitting the positive social rehabilitation of the resident within a well-managed secure environment.
Application of high quality design and finishes throughout the building is distinctive and in excess of the standard fit-out normally encountered / expected in a building of such nature, on a limited budget. The development takes advantage of the entirety of the available space on the site, however, it is developed in such a manner so as not to impede or impose itself over any adjoining boundaries or buildings – while also providing a secure environment for control of the premises. The use of both traditional and contemporary sustainable fabric, materials, techniques and technologies, are unique to a building of this nature and were deployed to meet the relevant energy saving requirements of the client. These elements combined with the overall design ethos achieved an A3 Building Energy Rating, a unique attribute to a building of this nature. The building itself has been designed to the highest standards in energy efficacy including solar panels, and a revolutionary photovoltaic membrane, which absorbs energy and reduces the overall energy costs.
