The existing timber joists and strutting
was sanded to remove over a 100 years of
dirt that had built up in the floor void, then
sprayed with a fire retardant product so they
too could be left visible when viewing the
ceiling from below.
The rebuilt floor for the upper apartment
needed to have a greater floor depth in order
to provide the required acoustic and fire
separation between the two spaces. As the
entrance into the upper flat was from an
external walkway, the floor level needed to be
the same as existing. In order to achieve this,
the solution involved splicing the existing
joists onto plates that were then welded onto
the web of the beams so that the depth of
the acoustic floor could be accommodated.
Another challenge of the brief was achieving
2.5-metre ceiling heights in the bedroom
areas in the upper apartment at both 2nd
floor level and in the mezzanine above. This
took considerable structural rearrangement,
including the repositioning of existing
structural steelwork. This allowed for a split-
level to be created at 2nd floor level, with the
beam forming the trimmer of the new stairs
between the living and bedroom spaces.
We took great care to ensure that the
elements that we were reintroducing into
the spaces did not overpower the existing
features. We chose an earthy palette of
materials and tones as that felt appropriate
for the project. The valchomat kitchen
fronts reference the exposed concrete of the
padstones set into the walls. The porcelain
tiling of the shower rooms have a natural
patina and look like stone that complement
the exposed fair faced brick walls. Wide
European oak floorboards were chosen to
pick up the earthy tones of the brick.
In the upper apartment we’ve designed in
large skylights so that natural flight floods
the spaces and washes over exposed brick
walls as the sun tracks around the building
through the day. The reeded glass screens
dividing the sleeping and living areas pick up
natural light coming through the windows
onto the courtyard and give a lightness to
them.
T +44(0)20 8743 440
[email protected]
www.neildaviesarchitects.com
www.refurbandrestore.co.uk - 81