Refurbishment

forresterarchitects have brought a distinctly retro flair to a terraced house in Newham, East London, with the completion of a stylish garden pergola extension. This bold addition is not only a nod to mid-century modernism but also a thoughtful response to the home’s south-facing orientation, taking full advantage of natural light and city views. Anna Stathaki Anna Stathaki With no houses to the rear, the pergola offers uninterrupted sunshine from morning to evening, framing the sky and offering glimpses of London’s skyline. The design features an inclined exposed roof structure that seamlessly extends from the interior outwards, forming the pergola over the south-facing terrace. This thoughtful detail serves as both... More

The dramatic landscape of Coverdale, North Yorkshire, a 17th-century Grange has been lovingly restored, recapturing the rustic charm of its storied past. This historic farmhouse had fallen into disrepair, but its new owners saw the potential to bring it back to life. With great care and respect for its heritage, forresterarchitects embarked on an extensive refurbishment to preserve the building’s original character while updating it for modern living. forresterarchitects forresterarchitects The restoration highlights the Grange’s most striking features, from its thick, half-meter stone walls to the exposed timber beams that showcase the craftsmanship of centuries gone by. The stone-tiled roof has been carefully preser... More

In the heart of South East London’s West Square Conservation Area, a Grade II listed townhouse has been restored by forresterarchitects. An open flame rotisserie that now takes pride of place in the dining room, replacing the traditional hearth with a bold, contemporary statement. Anna Stathaki The extensive renovation has breathed new life into this charming South London residence while preserving its historic character. On the lower ground floor, where natural light is scarce, the kitchen and dining space have been thoughtfully designed to maximize brightness. In many of these period homes, the kitchens are often too small or poorly laid out for modern living, but this transformation embraces clever design choices and material... More

The two-storey building was constructed  in 1887 as a villa for the merchant Alfred Knapp. The architect Markus Zimmermann created a brick building with a sandstone structure and kneeling storey with a hipped roof in the style of the Italian Renaissance. Set back from the Planie street, it is surrounded by a park-like garden. The building, together with the garden and enclosure, is a listed building due to its high bourgeois architecture. Dietmar Strauß, Besigheim Dietmar Strauß, Besigheim Today, the building is used as a municipal day care centre for four groups. There is now an exercise room in the basement and the staircase has been brought up to the latest fire safety standards. The sanitary facilities were c... More

The Dune du Pilat is both powerful and fragile, a source of fascination, hence the high standards imposed for its conservation and for receiving the public. The surrounding infrastructure carries the Grand Site de France label, so the restoration project had to embrace a sustainable development dynamic and welcome visitors in a quality environment. It was important that its rehabilitation lived up to its exceptional nature. Agnès Clotis The project would bring the site up to standard and included a diagnosis, with a view to proposing various design and planning scenarios. Rehabilitation objectives included: upgrade of existing huts; development of administrative, reception, educational and commercial functions; and improved flo... More

The restoration and refurbishment of a late 19th century church hall in Dalston to provide a design education centre for the most accessible architecture school in the UK, the London School of Architecture.  Jim Stephenson Jim Stephenson Jim Stephenson Working within a tight budget, IDK designed an affordable scheme to convert a church hall in disrepair into a design education centre for the London School of Architecture.  Jim Stephenson Jim Stephenson Resources were channelled to where absolutely necessary, with the layers of previous piecemeal additions stripped out to return the building to a sense of its former self. This created the necessary spaces for a super flexible community institution. The Lo... More

The main idea was to change the notion of the supermarket as it exists today in Greece -indifferent big boxes with long alleys of products. For us, the supermarket had to be resolved as an interpretation of an urban market place where you go to different shops to find different goods and interfere with other people. Mariana Bisti Mariana Bisti Mariana Bisti Mariana Bisti Following the refurbishment, the super market extends to 1500m2 and was limited to two floors occupying a larger area than it did before on three floors. The storage areas, which in the past occupied the majority of the space of the basement, were moved to the 1st and 2nd floors, setting the basement space free for use for the supermarket. Communication... More

The church stands within a large green space, somewhat removed from a small but historically traditional village. The modest hamlet, in turn, is surrounded by wide, open cultivated spaces, in a harmonious composition. The observer of the hamlet's road can see it standing out against the not too distant theory of the Euganean Hills, identifiable one by one in their succession. Marcello Mariana A building that from 1524, the year of its construction, played an important role for a few centuries, only to suffer a gradual decline, until it was abandoned in recent decades. In the space in front of the church, only a few surviving cobblestones can be found scattered around, but not in such a way as to suggest at least a hypothesis on the or... More

Starting from an existing abandoned space, the aim of the project was to install three psychology offices, supported by a reception, a waiting area, two storage/technical areas and two sanitary facilities (men, women + reduced mobility). Miguel Marques The existing structure, from the outset, paved the way for a simple and functional layout to be established, with a unique “L” shaped path, around which the necessary compartments are located. Miguel Marques The three offices were installed to take advantage of the existing windows, the reception and waiting area immediately next to the only entrance, and the sanitary facilities in the place where there is already a water and sanitation network. Miguel Marques Kn... More

In 2015, ARM was given the enormous responsibility and privilege of upgrading the iconic building’s Concert Hall. The project called for modifications that were sensitive and respectful of the heritage building, whilst elevating the acoustics to a world-class standard. Our overarching aim was to upgrade the Concert Hall interior and acoustics to match the brilliance of Jorn Utzon’s exterior and Peter Hall’s interior. Daniel Boud ARM Principal Andrew Hayne describes the three principal goals for the project. “First and foremost, the goal was to improve the acoustics of the Concert Hall. Second, was to improve the functionality of the room itself, to be able to cater for different types of performances and make... More

The quality of an office space, beyond the comfort and flexibility of its work surfaces, is measured by the quality of its reception, presentation, meeting, informal production, reflection, catering and relaxation areas. In short, places where people can stay, circulate and exchange ideas. Pleasant and efficient, they are also productive and representative. Sergio Grazia Sergio Grazia Once you've passed through the beautiful madder-red lacquered doorway and the light-staged carriage entrance, a garden unfolds, the ultimate luxury in Paris. Here, we stroll along a fine mesh of stainless steel, beneath a carpet of greenery and crossed by beautiful subjects. Sergio Grazia Sergio Grazia A glass gallery, paved with black gr... More

In a working class neigbourhood of Ghent, against the backdrop of nearby blocks of high-rise flats, Robbrecht en Daem converted an existing timber yard into new architectural studios. Filip Dujardin The roof of the shed, built by the wood construction company De Coene in the early seventies, was partially dismantled. What used to be the work floor has become an outdoor space that accommodates an arboretum fringed with wild grasses, a swimming pool, bicycle parking and a large open area for performances and exhibitions. It is a ‘playground’ for artist friends, for partying or resting. Described as a ‘modern “ruin”’ (by Dieter De Clercq, 2010), this open area is ‘a coarse filter between the offi... More

In the best museums and galleries one finds one's way through a series of rooms, where the artefacts are carefully lit and set off by calm backgrounds. A degree of repetition helps navigation, some variation helps orientation. Filip Dujardin The proposals for the Whitechapel Art Gallery are bold in their restraint (someone commented: 'where’s the architecture?') and seize a simple but powerful opportunity: lower and upper floors are configured as circuits of rooms, with the stylistically different but volumetrically similar existing galleries linked up by smaller, more domestically scaled gallery spaces. The subtle rhythms and contrasts of the rooms form the backdrop to the wide variety of work on display (historic and contempor... More

The conservation project for the Book Tower aims at restoring the historical site of the University Library, situated in the lively quartier Latin of Ghent, meanwhile at transforming it into a library for the 21st Century. The design unites the ambitions of the University to respectfully repair the monumental site to its original condition, but also to render it a contemporary house for a great diversity of users and for the valuable own collection of the institute. Kristien Daem The Ghent University Library is internationally renowned for its ‘heritage collection’ of manuscripts, books, coins, curiosa, newspapers and magazines. The study into the conservation project revealed that the conservation of these precious object... More