Located in a small hamlet along Dorset’s Jurassic Coast, architecture studio TYPE has completed the retrofit of two derelict 19th-century quarry workers’ cottages into a single, 85-square-metre low-carbon retreat.

Radical reuse as a design approach

The project was shaped by the clients’ philosophy of radical reuse. Rather than seeking a new or pristine finish, they wanted the house to retain a weathered character, with patina, texture, and the traces of previous use left visible.

TYPE’s design approach focused on introducing as little new material as possible. The cottages were treated as a source of material in their own right, with the architects first retaining and reusing what was already on site, before sourcing anything additional from reclamation yards and salvage dealers. This approach allowed the project to honour the craft and material history of the original buildings, as well as their connection to the local Purbeck limestone quarries.

Reworking the existing plan

Merging the two cottages into a single home required careful spatial reconfiguration. A double-height volume had already been introduced by a previous owner, departing from the traditionally low-ceilinged rooms of the original structures. This alteration to the historic plan gave TYPE an opportunity to make further spatial changes without disturbing the more intact parts of the building.

The studio repositioned this volume at the centre of the plan, where it anchors the home’s main living and dining space. The shift in height subtly defines the open-plan interior, while the exposed stone walls and floors establish much of the cottage’s material character.

On the ground floor, the kitchen sits off the main living area, with a restored butler’s window cut into the original partition wall to create a visual connection through the narrow plan. To keep the principal rooms open and adaptable within the restricted footprint, TYPE introduced a new service core, moving the bathrooms, boiler tank, utility, and storage to the perimeter of the house.

Rooms above the central space

On the first floor, TYPE placed a sleeping area at each end of the home, separated by the double-height living area and each reached by its own staircase.

To the west, the principal bedroom sits above the kitchen, utility, and service rooms, with an inward-facing Juliet-style balcony and ensuite. Across the central void, at the other end of the house, a mezzanine-style gallery forms a secluded writer’s room that also functions as a guest bedroom. A large internal opening with bifold doors allows this room to connect with the rest of the house or close down into a quieter space for writing and overnight guests.

Keeping the traces of use

Stripping the cottages back to their structural shell revealed dressed stone walls and floors hand-crafted by local quarrymen more than a century ago. Rather than returning the building to a pristine state, Purbeck Cottage retains the pattern of conversion and change, treating each layer of intervention as part of the building’s story.

Original stone floors were uncovered beneath carpet and concrete screed. In places, the surface had been heavily scarred by jackhammer marks from later interventions, but the clients chose to keep the battered finish as a record of the building’s past.

The strip-out brought similar discoveries in the walls, where historic brick infills were found within the dressed stonework around the chimney and hearth. These have also been left exposed, adding texture and depth to the home’s collaged material palette.

Reusing what was already there

Guided by circular principles, every material removed from the cottages was assessed for salvage, repair, or adaptation. The process was labour-intensive, requiring patience and detailed workmanship throughout the build.

Old floor joists, which were no longer structurally suitable for reinstatement, were de-nailed by hand, cut to size, regraded, and reused as studwork for the new service core. Deteriorated floorboards were also repurposed as ceiling cladding.

Both staircases are original to the cottages and were reclaimed and reconfigured, with much of the stair boarding salvaged. The balustrades and handrails are among the few new elements in the house, hand-forged from raw steel by a local blacksmith and set alongside the reclaimed fabric of the building.

Salvaged fittings and local craft

Two batches of salvaged timber cladding, carrying traces of their original red and green paint, were carefully allocated across rooms and elevations as wall panelling, doors, and shelving. TYPE adapted the design as the project progressed, including using leftover offcuts as additional cladding for the kitchen shelves.

Where materials could not be sourced from within the cottages, the studio turned to specialist reclamation yards, local suppliers, and eBay. Vintage brassware, taps, sanitaryware, cast-iron radiators, a salvaged French stove, and ironmongery were all brought back into use. All lighting is reclaimed, including a candle chandelier operated by a traditional winch and pulley system. The stone sinks were carved from leftover fragments at a nearby Purbeck quarry.

Reducing intervention

No extensions were added and the external envelope remains largely intact, avoiding the embodied carbon associated with demolition and new construction. Openings were adjusted to improve daylight and passive solar gain, while services were integrated without disrupting the cottages’ original character.

The energy strategy was guided by the same pragmatism applied throughout the project, targeting significant efficiency gains with limited new material and intervention: wood-fibre insulation was introduced to the roof; an insulating lime-based plaster was applied to the walls in place of cement render, allowing the stone structure to breathe while improving thermal performance; the former fossil-fuel heating system was replaced with an air-source heat pump and solar panels; and the deteriorated sash windows were replaced with high-performance timber casements.

A home shaped by reuse

Purbeck Cottage could not have been designed from scratch. It is a home where surfaces, fixtures, and fittings carry traces of reuse, craft, and collaboration.

TYPE’s approach was not straightforward conservation. By treating the existing cottages as a resource, the architects made a new home from old fabric, bringing together retained and reclaimed materials within a circular material approach. The result is a building whose character is tied to the patience and craftsmanship that shaped it.

Ogi Ristic, Director at TYPE, said: “There is a tendency in the industry to default to stripping and throwing out; it’s undeniably shinier, faster, and often cheaper in the short term. But Purbeck Cottage is intended to be a case study of what is possible when you resist that instinct. By beginning with what already existed — the stone, the joists, the floors, the fittings — and asking how each element could be retained, repaired, or reused, the project has arrived at a quality of character that no new specification could replicate. The labour is significant, but it is exactly that labour that gives the home its depth.”