A listed old pub in London is now home to a family. Through a sensitive renovation and extension, Erbar Mattes Architects made contemporary living possible in a building dating back to the mid-19th century.
A listed old pub in London is now home to a family. Through a sensitive renovation and extension, Erbar Mattes Architects made contemporary living possible in a building dating back to the mid-19th century.
Where beer used to be brewed, people now live. Until the 1960s, the former Wenlock Brewery from the mid-19th century housed a pub. In the 1970s, it was transformed into a residential building comprising three residential units. As part of the conversion of the old brewery, an external staircase was built on the rear façade to provide access to the upper floors. The surrounding area is characterized by five- to six-storey buildings, all of which are of recent construction. Partly mixed-use, they are located where an old industrial mill and a former textile factory once stood. There is also an inner courtyard on the site of the old pub, which is enclosed by a high brick wall.
As their family grew, the residents of the first floor apartment acquired the second floor space and approached London-based architects Erbar Mattes. The brief: to convert and extend the two apartments into a five-room apartment. One of the biggest challenges was to extend the building in such a way that the apartment on the second floor retained its own access. The architects achieved this by moving the external staircase and adding a kind of new corridor at the rear. This measure also created a new visual and physical connection with the inner courtyard. It also created an impressive entrance situation for the upper apartment.
The architects from Erbar Mattes left most of the existing building untouched during their renovation work. Only cautious interventions were necessary. This was done where incongruous elements disturbed the appearance of the building, which is protected as a national monument. In order to minimize the extent of the intervention, the existing rear extension was retained in its original form. However, it was clad with new clinker brickwork and a green roof was added. With respect for the history of the site, the architects designed the new parts of the building using handmade, greyish-brown clinker bricks with matching aggregates to complement the weather-beaten 19th century brickwork. They placed the new, rectangular building volume right around the old building and at the same time left the ornamented front façade untouched.
The room program was adapted to the possibilities and qualities of the existing building. Nevertheless, it fully meets the client’s requirements. The former function room of the pub with its high ceilings and old wood paneling, window panelling and a fireplace was transformed into a spacious bedroom. From there, there is now direct access to the front roof terrace. The former kitchen on the second floor now serves as a large, family-friendly bathroom. Erbar Mattes have integrated a work area into the wide hallway. During the renovation, the architects removed the suspended plaster ceilings everywhere to restore the original room height. Where additional space was available, built-in furniture was created to give the house a tidy, free and clear appearance. A new internal staircase has been given large windows from which you can look out over the neighboring trees. The new extension provides space for additional bedrooms and bathrooms.
While work was underway on the ground and second floors, the owners of the separate apartment on the second floor commissioned the architects to redesign their apartment as well. The architects removed all of the retrofitted elements of the interior design there too, retaining only the original walls, ceilings, doors and fireplaces. The kitchen, on the other hand, was moved to the front part of the building. The architects also added new partition walls to create a spacious two-bedroom apartment.
In the course of converting the old brewery, the architects also increased the energy efficiency of the building, as far as this was possible in view of the listed building status. Wherever justifiable, Erbar Mattes Architects installed thick insulation. The green roof also helps to regulate the temperature inside the building. The architects optimized the size of the windows to allow maximum daylight in while preventing excessive heating. The window panes are also fitted with coated double glazing, most of which is made from recycled components.
The architects from Raamwerk in Flanders took a completely different approach to the topic of “building in existing structures” than Erbar Mattes. See for yourself!
