The Coach House

Acquired by Hayward Smart in December 2010, The Coach House in Shipston-on-Stour underwent extensive refurbishment and extension in order to provide an office for the practice at first floor with the ground floor let out for retail use.

A 2-storey extension was constructed to maximise the useable floor area on the site, with the staircase repositioned to provide separate access to the Ground and First Floor units.

The form of the 2-storey extension follows the traditional pitch of the existing building, although this is broken down into an asymmetrical composition. The dominant first floor element clad in vertical timber weatherboarding floats over the transparent ground floor shop front. The solid rendered block forming the entrance lobby to the office buttresses both the ground and first floor elements.

Using a palette of traditional materials, the architectural language is simple and restrained with rigorous detailing which results in a sympathetic yet dynamic solution to extending the property. Inserting a series of rooflights into both the new and existing structure ensures high levels of natural light in their own office.