Winner: York House

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

An eight-storey refurbishment and extension scheme providing flexible co-working space. The existing building was refurbished across all floors. Meeting rooms, open plan areas, reception, café, bike storage and changing facilities were all created. At the front, a new CLT extension was added. The existing structure was also extended at roof level with a cross-laminated timber (CLT) structure.

Submitted in 2020

Judge's comment:

Intelligent and sustainable structural design are at the heart of this eight-storey refurbishment and extension scheme, which breathes new life into a highly deteriorated commercial building. The existing building was utilised for support, circulation and facilities and the existing foundations were justified for the additional weight of the extension.

A five-storey feature extension was added to the front of the building, championing the use of engineered timber to provide an efficient and sustainable structural solution. Exposing the timber structure internally reduced the amount of finishes required, further reducing both cost and carbon.

A new lightwell was added to enable the transformation of the existing basement into office space, maximising the potential of the existing building.

This thoughtful project demonstrates what is possible when sustainability is put at the top of the agenda, combining significant low-carbon interventions with the intelligent reuse of an existing building.