This project was both extremely challenging and extremely rewarding. Challenges included a limited budget, a constrained site, complex planning issues, the need to work to very tight and inflexible deadlines, the need to be sensitive to the particular security and safety issues related to the occupancy of the property by young women seeking refuge, the complex operator brief, and the high level of technical difficulty involved in delivering this building typology. Notwithstanding all of these challenges we were able to deliver an innovative solution that involved the refurbishment and extension of the existing building on the site, not least to manage construction costs. The development comprises three independent bedsit units for older young women and six one or two bed units for younger clients as well as a range of administrative, shared and storage spaces, all within a dynamic architectural envelope that speaks of a new development while simultaneously being responsive to its context of generally 1930s to 1950s housing.
