Scotland

Subterms

    Latest story

    88 Shares96 Views

    Tigh Na Coille cottage receives “Scandi-Scot” makeover

    by

    Hospitality company Wildland and Swiss designer Ruth Kramer have converted a former manse in the Scottish Highlands into a holiday cottage featuring a mix of classic Scandinavian furniture and traditional Caledonian details.

    Tigh Na Coille, which is Gaelic for “house in the forest”, is a four-bedroom property on a wooded hill overlooking Loch Ness in the Cairngorms National Park.
    Tigh Na Coille is a holiday home in a former manseThe 19th-century stone building was carefully restored and refurbished with help from Kramer, who has worked with Wildland on several of its historic properties.
    Kramer coined the term “Scandi-Scot” to describe the way these buildings seek to combine Scandinavian simplicity with a playful take on Scottish heritage.
    A Papa Bear armchair by Hans J. Wegner stands in the lounge”Scandi-Scot is about creating a clean and modern aesthetic that weaves in elements of Scottish craftsmanship,” she told Dezeen. “Everything is calm and natural, the colours don’t scream at you and the furniture is comfortable like you’re at home.”

    Tigh Na Coille was once a manse – a dwelling created for the Christian minister of a now-ruined church that stands on the grounds. The heritage-listed building was modernised by a previous owner and had lost much of its original character.
    Several fireplaces were uncovered during the renovationKramer preserved the layout of the rooms but the interiors were stripped back and redecorated, with original features reintroduced to bring an authentic feeling to the spaces.
    The house is located on the Aldourie Castle estate, which Wildland renovated at the same time.
    The interior scheme combines Scandinavian and Caledonian referencesThe refurbishment merges the Scandi-Scot aesthetic with nods to the castle’s more traditional decor. Modern carpets and softwood flooring were replaced with oak floorboards salvaged from the castle, which add warmth and tactility to the spaces.
    Several of the beds were also sourced from the castle and were refurbished by local joiners, who created new parts for the four-poster frames.

    Kyle House is a remote Scottish holiday home with a “monastically simple” interior

    All of the bathrooms were completely remodelled and the kitchen was brought up to modern standards, with a new island unit providing an additional worktop in the centre of the room.
    Fireplaces uncovered during the renovation were carefully restored along with the property’s existing doors and windows, which were redressed to preserve their original appearance.
    The bedrooms feature dramatic four-poster bedsOver the years, various sections of the cornicing and architraves around the rooms had been replaced, so new parts were produced using mouldings taken from the original plasterwork.
    According to Kramer, roughly half of the furniture was sourced second-hand and given a new life through bespoke joinery or reupholstery. The majority of the remaining pieces are vintage designs that add to the timeless feel.
    “The ambition is that people walking into the house shouldn’t be able to tell what is new versus what is original,” she added. “We’re going for an ageless look that will also become better over time rather than being fashion-led.”
    Many of the furnishings were salvaged from the nearby castleThe centrepiece of the dining room is a vintage wooden table surrounded by midcentury chairs that were sourced at an auction and reupholstered using linen fabric and leather for the armrests.
    Every Wildland property features one of Kramer’s favourite furniture designs, the Papa Bear armchair created in 1951 by Hans J. Wegner and produced by PP Møbler.
    At Tigh Na Coille, the chair sits in a corner of the living room where it has a view of the fireplace. A wall-mounted lamp provides gentle illumination for reading.
    The cottage is set on a wooded hill overlooking Loch NessKramer collaborated closely on the project with Wildland co-owner Anne Holch Povlsen, the wife of Danish businessman Anders Holch Povlsen who made his fortune in the fashion industry with brands such as Bestseller.
    Wildland owns three large estates in Scotland on which it operates hotels and self-catering accommodation as part of its 200-year vision to preserve the landscape and contribute to local communities.
    The group’s other properties include a formerly derelict cottage that was transformed into a pared-back holiday home by Edinburgh-based GRAS architects, and another converted manse that was converted into an art-filled guesthouse.
    The photography is by Fran Mart.

    Read more: More

    More stories

    • 175 Shares169 Views

      in Rooms

      Kin designs Dentons law firm office interior for more than “just a business meeting”

      by

      Design studio Kin has created the Edinburgh office interior for global law firm Dentons, featuring a communal rotunda with no doors and an open-plan bar.

      Manchester-based Kin designed the office at 9 Haymarket Square – a mixed-use development in Edinburgh.
      Oranges and greens feature throughout the interiorThe studio sought to “challenge the conventional approach to design for legal practices” when creating the interior, which includes a central rotunda designed as a casual place to gather.
      Built from Scottish oak, the round structure features a circular footprint to counterbalance the existing building’s angles and straight lines.
      Kin positioned a rotunda in the centre of the office”We wanted it to have a homely familiar feeling with no physical doors, just a series of connected spaces,” Kin director Matt Holmes told Dezeen.

      The rotunda was also partially clad with acoustic panels made from recycled plastic bottles, which were fitted to absorb sound and reduce ambient reverberation from around the rest of the office.
      Statement timber arches frame the welcome deskIlluminated, amphitheatre-style seating was positioned in the middle of the rotunda, while individual meeting booths were placed on its perimeter.
      The welcome desk was framed by oversized statement arches set within a boxy timber shelving unit.

      WOA designs own studio space using materials that had been “relegated to landfill”

      Elsewhere, Kin added an open-plan bar to the office, made from bespoke wooden rods and solid terrazzo.
      “The bar was designed to act as a focal point for the client space – somewhere for people to gravitate around as they leave the concierge desk,” said Holmes.
      “A visit [to Dentons] is not just a business meeting, but an experience,” he added.
      Potted plants add a lush touchThroughout the office, the studio opted for orange and green hues for working areas and used both smooth geometric tiles and more tactile surfaces.
      “The materiality draws inspiration from Scotland’s abundant natural landscape through warm timbers and rich and textured fabrics,” said Holmes.
      “Whilst balancing them against the warm tonal colour palette and strong geometry of Edinburgh’s built environment, the rooftops and tenement tile patterns provided so much inspiration.”
      Materials were informed by “Scotland’s abundant natural landscape”Kin worked with local craftspeople when building the project.
      Other offices designed to make their occupants feel at home include a real estate office in Tokyo created by Flooat to be “as stress-free as possible” and Mason Studio’s self-designed office in Toronto that also doubles as a space for community programming such as exhibitions and other events.
      The photography is by Amy Heycock.

      Read more: More

    • 88 Shares99 Views

      in Rooms

      Tiny Glasgow apartment transformed into playful pied-à-terre

      by

      Architect Lee Ivett, designer Simon Harlow and developer Duncan Blackmore have turned a 25-square-metre apartment in Glasgow into a brightly coloured space that doesn’t contain any freestanding furniture.

      Blackmore worked closely with Ivett and Harlow to plan the interior of the ground-floor tenement flat, which he uses as a base while visiting his other projects in the city’s Govanhill area.
      The micro-apartment was designed in GlasgowWhen Blackmore purchased the property it comprised a cramped hallway, a compact shower room, a kitchen and a sleeping area, which were separated by partition walls.
      The main idea for the redesigned space was to enable circulation throughout and to utilise its verticality in addition to the square-shaped floor area.
      It includes a tiny kitchen space”I wanted to be able to walk around in the flat, even though it’s tiny,” said Blackmore. “I also wanted the majority of the space to be flexible in terms of use, rather than defining areas for certain activities.”

      Work began with the removal of internal walls and the raising of existing structural openings closer to the 3.4-metre ceilings. A series of volumes designed in three dimensions were then inserted to fulfil various functional needs.
      An open space contains a fixed, multi-purpose benchThe apartment’s entrance area leads into an open space containing a fixed bench for sitting, lounging or sleeping. A shelf that functions as a desk is inserted next to one of two large, south-facing windows that flood the interior with natural light.
      Key functions, including washing, sleeping, cooking and the entrance, are pushed to the edges of the plan, freeing up the rest of the space so it can be used in a variety of different ways.
      The main space was left intentionally uncluttered”I was keen to avoid having a typical living space with a sofa, a coffee table and a television,” Blackmore told Dezeen.
      “The main space is entirely unprogrammed and uncluttered and has almost nothing in it. You can use it for a meeting or a party or just as somewhere to sit and think. I like how versatile and unfussy it is.”
      A compact shower room was createdA mezzanine sleeping platform is slotted in above a compact shower room, taking advantage of the vertical space and preventing the room from feeling disproportionately high.
      The bed is reached via a set of wooden steps, with a small circular hole seen from the living area providing somewhere to place a hand while manoeuvring into position.
      The mezzanine is reached via small wooden stepsThe new interventions are built around the retained structure and feature forms that playfully disguise which walls, columns or beams retain their original functionality.
      “Lee came up with the shapes based on the connection between existing openings and the geometry we imposed on the space,” Blackmore pointed out.
      A small circular hole provides a view to the living area”Where we needed to bridge differences in height or gaps between certain elements, the surfaces meet each other with a curve or a step,” he added, “so the decoration is derived from the resolution of these structural glitches.”
      The project takes its name, Ferguson, from the found nameplate of a previous occupier and the design borrows from the architectural heritage of its surroundings.
      The kitchen features an oversized red cast-concrete sinkThe remnants of a nearby building that burned down informed the arched shape above the stairs up to the sleeping area, as well as an opening that allows daylight to filter through to the shower room.
      Coloured cushions on the bench reference the doorway of a nearby building, while the bright-yellow datum that extends around the space is a reversal of the painted walls in the tenement’s shared stairwell.
      The remnants of a nearby building that burned down informed the arched shape above the stairsThe kitchen contains the minimum amenities needed to obtain a building warrant. Its oversized red cast-concrete sink is accessible for hand washing on arrival from the entrance hall – a legacy of the Covid-19 pandemic during which the project was built.
      Behind the apartment’s only internal door, the shower room is fully lined in two colourways of a decorative solid surface material made by Simon Harlow’s company Mirrl. A custom-made sink extends the use of bright yellow seen elsewhere in the interior.

      Proctor and Shaw designs London micro-apartment with translucent “sleeping cocoon”

      The entire project was fabricated by Harlow and artist’s technician Simon Richardson, resulting in a level of craftsmanship and intuitive creative detailing that lends it a strong sense of personality.
      Blackmore is keen to emphasise that the apartment should not be viewed as an example of tiny living, as he only ever spends brief spells of time there.
      A custom-made sink extends the use of bright yellow seen elsewhere”I’m absolutely not suggesting that people should live like this,” he said. “The space is really personal and tailored to my needs, which are a nice bed, a hot shower with good water pressure and decent WiFi.”
      “If you were living there permanently you would design it very differently, but as a place for me to stay and work or relax it’s perfect.”
      Blackmore is the co-founder of developer Arrant Land, which creates projects led by an interest in architecture, built heritage and the social dynamics of the UK’s towns and cities.
      Previous projects backed by Arrant Land include a red-brick house with playful tiled detailing in south London and an apartment building in the seaside town of Whitstable featuring black brick walls that evoke the nearby wooden fishing huts.
      The photography is by Pierce Scourfield.

      Read more: More

    • 175 Shares189 Views

      in Rooms

      Konishi Gaffney converts 1950s garage into artist's studio with a sense of “civic grandeur”

      by

      Architecture studio Konishi Gaffney has overhauled a 1950s garage in an affluent Edinburgh suburb, adding a rhythmic facade made up of wooden battens.

      The Scottish studio was challenged with turning the existing concrete garage into a functional artist’s studio, while being sensitive to the existing Georgian property in The Grange.
      The converted garage sits beside the original stone Georgian houseKonishi Gaffney devised a scheme that involved filling in the existing garage door, raising the structure’s roof to match the height of the house’s ground floor and incorporating the property’s side gate into the facade.
      These changes unified the structure’s appearance from the road creating a sense of contemporary “civic grandeur”, as well as facilitating secure side access to the back garden.
      The grid of battens frame a window and conceal a side gate”As a practice we’ve been exploring ways of expressing the structure of cladding in projects,” said Konishi Gaffney.

      “We started by setting up the vertical timber battens and horizontal cladding in a rhythm of fins across the facade.”
      Windows and skylights allow plenty of natural light to enter the studioTimber was selected for its affordability, sustainability and its capacity to weather appealingly.
      The battens were carefully orientated to allow water to drain off them and prevent water from pooling, as well as to catch light and form interesting shadows across the facade.

      Konishi Gaffney repurposes church into versatile community hub

      The existing structure was insulated and the walls and ceiling punctuated by two aluminium clad windows and a skylight, providing the studio space with ample natural light for the artist to work in during all seasons.
      The creative function of the structure’s interior is referenced in the facade, which was intended to read “like a musical score,” and “continue beyond, separated from the house, like a stage-front.” according to the architects.
      Wooden elements feature in the studio’s interior as well as on its exteriorThe wooden composition of the frontage continues on into the garage’s interior, which has a ceiling clad in dark stained wood with protruding beams.
      Other garage-related projects featured on Dezeen include an orange-painted timber-framed garage extension by McCloy + Muchemwa and a garage in Amsterdam that was transformed into a family home by Barde + VanVoltt.
      The photography is by ZAC and ZAC.
      Project credits:
      Architect: Konishi Gaffney ArchitectsStructural engineer: EntuitiveJoiner: Andrew MacdonaldCladding supplier: RusswoodWindows: VelfacPhotographer: ZAC and ZAC

      Read more: More

    • 150 Shares199 Views

      in Rooms

      Cooking Sections and Sakiya explore importance of non-human species in joint exhibition

      by

      Turner Prize-nominated art duo Cooking Sections and Palestinian research collective Sakiya have created an exhibition in Edinburgh called In the Eddy of the Stream, which reevaluates the significance of plants and other organisms in our ecosystems.

      The multimedia show is on display at the Inverleith House of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh as part of the science centre’s three-year Climate House exhibition programme.
      In the Eddy of the Stream includes installations, performances and sculpturesSpread across six galleries, the exhibition presents a range of work from research-heavy installations to live performances, developed by Sakiya and UK-based Cooking Sections.
      The show aims to “draw attention to the breakdown of ecosystems through the removal of plants and the ensuing long-term harm to people, communities and other species,” according to Cooking Sections.
      In particular, In the Eddy of the Stream intends to highlight how certain plants and non-sentient animals like oysters have been threatened by the complex histories of land ownership in Scotland and Palestine.

      Recalling Recollection investigates the history of Palestinian plant species”The installations, performances and materials in this exhibition challenge how botany has been used as a mechanism of control and how it might identify new horizons,” Cooking Sections said.
      “We want visitors to look again at the impact of our relationship with nature and non-human species and imagine new ways, in which to develop that vital relationship to the benefit of all parties.”
      From the Shores that Found their Sea is a group of mosaics made from waste shellsOne installation, named Recalling Recollection, showcases 33 botanical specimens of edible and medicinal plants, which the British Empire classified as a threat to its wheat monocultures during the country’s occuption of Palestine in the wake of the first world war.
      Sakiya has presented the specimens alongside postcards from Palestine in both Arabic and English that share stories, anecdotes and relevant folklore attempting to reclassify the plants as vital organisms.
      “In the same gallery, an oak baseboard depicting the 33 plants lines the space in reflection and opposition to the room’s ornate cornicing,” Cooking Sections founders Daniel Fernández Pascual and Alon Schwabe told Dezeen.
      Intertidal Polyculture includes ropes and nets made from biomaterialsAnother piece, From the Shores that Found their Sea, features a collection of wall mosaics formed from terrazzo-style tiles that are made out of waste mussel and oyster shells rather than traditional carbon-intensive cement.
      The shells were sourced from restaurants on the Scottish islands of Skye and Raasay that have adopted Cooking Sections’ Climavore menu – a regenerative approach to food sourcing developed by the art duo, which is also used by eateries at the Tate and V&A museums in London.

      “Food is one of the main drivers that is shaping the ecology of the planet” says art duo Cooking Sections

      A room with electric blue walls houses Cooking Sections’ Intertidal Polyculture project, a group of nets and ropes crafted from heather, kelp and purple moor grass instead of sterile plastics.
      When placed underwater, these natural nets and ropes encourage intertidal species to attach to them and grow.
      “All of this builds up towards a new framework for collective usership of the coast, a working process to advocate for the establishment of the tidal commons in Scotland,” explained Fernández Pascual and Schwabe.
      Oyster Readings is an installation and performance pieceOyster Readings is both an experimental installation and a playful performance piece that must be booked in advance.
      Here, visitors are invited to sit on organically shaped stools arranged around a matching table, both formed from a material made from crushed oyster shells in place of concrete.
      The piece is a play on traditional palm readingsEnveloped by a green fringe curtain, this space hosts palmistry-style readings where experts reveal information about the state of Scotland’s seas by analysing the patterns of local oyster shells, in a practice similar to studying tree rings.
      “Oyster Readings foresee the future of the coast through the ridged surface of an oyster shell, allowing you to read into our common oyster futures,” said Fernández Pascual and Schwabe.
      In the Eddy of the Stream presents various multimedia installationsIn the Eddy of the Stream gets its name from the concept of an eddy, which describes “a sheltered area where water flows back upstream against the current” and, according to Fernández Pascual and Schwabe, embodies the work they created with Sakiya.
      Similar projects by Cooking Sections, which is known for its focus on climate change, include an installation in Sharjah highlighting desert plants as an alternative to water-hungry greenery in arid cities.
      In the Eddy of the Stream is on show at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh as part of the Edinburgh Art Festival from 2 July to 18 September 2022. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
      The photography is by Shannon Tofts. 

      Read more: More

    • 100 Shares189 Views

      in Rooms

      Konishi Gaffney repurposes church into versatile community hub

      by

      Timber cladding features in this church in Edinburgh, which has been converted into a community centre by Scottish architecture firm Konishi Gaffney.

      The Greyfriars Charteris Centre now contains a flexible workspace, community hub, events spaces and a non-denominational sanctuary.
      The new link building unifies the complex of early 20th century buildingsThe church was used a place of worship from its opening in 1912 until 2013, reopening in 2016 as the Greyfriars Charteris Centre. With its change of use came the need for an overhaul of its circulation and accessibility, as well as a clear point of entry.
      Konishi Gaffney was challenged with transforming the perception of the church from a closed-off, imposing historic building to an inclusive space to be used by all members of the surrounding area’s diverse community.
      The new entryway provides a definite point of access for usersThe studio’s design aims to physically and aesthetically unify the collection of buildings that had been gradually acquired over time while being sensitive to the historic fabric of the buildings.

      The structure was opened up at street level by extending the length of the existing lancet windows, allowing passers-by to see the activities going on inside and encourage participation.
      The use of terrazzo and timber fins provides contrast to existing stone buildingsA rational entryway was created by slotting a timber link building between the church and the neighbouring office building.
      This is distinguished from the original stone buildings by its facade, which features terrazzo slabs on the ground floor level as a contemporary reference to the rusticated bases of the city’s Georgian buildings.
      The geometric motif is visible throughout the interiorRelief patterns provide further texture to the white terrazzo and were designed in collaboration with artist Steven Blench of local plastering company Chalk Plaster.
      Higher up the frontage, overlaid grids of timber fins add a linear dimension to the terrazzo and, on the second floor, contain a floor-to-ceiling window.
      The atrium creates circulation between all areasThe triple-height, top-lit atrium contains reception and lobby areas and houses a lift for easy access to all areas of the complex.
      An open-plan co-working area, punctuated by structural columns, and two screened-off meeting rooms occupy the lower floor.

      Max Lamb crafts minimalist altar for St John Chrysostom Church

      A wide staggered staircase with integrated seating allows users to sit and collaborate and connects the lower floor co-working areas with the lobby, as well as providing access to the main church hall above.
      The former nave acts as a function room, facilitated by its open floor and unobstructed high ceiling. Original features including ceiling details, crucifix and masonry work remain.
      A wide staircase facilitates easy movement between floorsA six-metre-tall screen inserted into an existing pointed arch sections off the main hall from the ‘all faiths and none’ contemplation area above the stairway, which is lit by a large pointed arch window at the end of the space.
      The Greyfriars Charteris Centre’s interior is unified by the use of American maple and birch plywood joinery combined with white plaster.
      The original church hall is lit by natural and energy saving lightingThis neutral palette ties in with features of the existing structure, such as the main hall’s vaulted ceiling, which was stripped back to its original pine colour from a dark mahogany stain using a soda blasting technique.
      The materials were chosen to keep the interior light and easy to navigate while tying in the new subdivided areas with the original building. Double glazing and new interior lighting was added throughout.
      Bespoke joinery is harmonious with historic featuresImprovements were also made to the building’s environmental performance, with insulation fitted throughout as well as the installation of a more efficient heating system, double glazing, low-energy LED lights and solar panels.
      Other church conversions featured on Dezeen include a church in Los Angeles that was transformed into an events and co-working space by by Francesca de la Fuente and Working Holiday Studio, and a restaurant in London that sits inside a former church by Michaelis Boyd.
      The photography is by Nanne Springer.
      Project credits:
      Client: Greyfriars Charteris CentreArchitect: Konishi Gaffney Architects: Kieran Gaffney, Adam Williams, Ivan Fraile-Gisbert, Dana Cherepkova and Dee FarrellStructural engineer: Entuitive / Forshaw GauldM&E: Irons Foulner Consulting EngineersQS: Thomson GrayOther design consultants: Francis Milloy (lighting design), Chalk Plaster (sculptural collaboration) and Old School Fabrications (joinery)Main contractor: SJS Property ServicesSpecialist subcontractors: Gray & Dick (glazing), Cambridge Architectural Precast (cladding) and Hall & Tawse (windows and doors)

      Read more: More

    • 150 Shares189 Views

      in Rooms

      New Practice brings warmth and colour to Glasgow's century-old Kinning Park Complex

      by

      A historic community centre that was saved from demolition by activists – including Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon – has been given a new lease of life by architecture studio New Practice.

      New Practice founders Becca Thomas and Marc Cairns opted for a light-touch approach in the renovation of Kinning Park Complex, a century-old former school building in the southwest of Glasgow.
      A new roof dotted with skylights makes the building weather-proof againAlthough the building was in a poor state, with an extremely leaking roof, faulty electrics and a broken heating system, the Glasgow-based architects’ approach was to save as much of the existing structure and interior as possible.
      They adopted a reuse and recycle strategy, while also making subtle changes that improve the building’s functionality and accessibility.
      Pink denotes the community space on the first floorThe revamped interiors are animated by a system of colour-blocking, which helps to ensure the building can be easily navigated by people of all literacy levels.

      “One of our key aims was to keep the building feeling familiar,” explains Thomas in a video about the project.
      First-floor workspaces are picked out in yellow”Lots of people have hugely strong memories and love for the building and we didn’t want to change that too much. By taking this adaptive reuse approach, we just kept the building feeling like itself and tried to elevate that,” she said.
      “Every choice to remove something original has been taken only where we absolutely needed to remove that, for the safety and for the future of the building.”
      Kinning Park Complex was originally a school buildingKinning Park Complex first became a community centre after the school closed down in 1976, but looked set for demolition when the council announced plans to close it in 1996.
      Local residents and campaigners, including a then-25-year old Nicola Sturgeon, staged a sit-in to protest the closure. After 55 days, the council agreed to let the community take over the building’s running.
      The building stayed in use for another two decades, but over time its problems became hard to ignore.
      A reconfigured ground floor features a large community kitchenThe trustees, led by local resident Helen Kyle, approached New Practice after seeing Many Studios, a creative hub that the architects created in a converted Glasgow market hall.
      The challenge was not only to refurbish the building but also to help support the community’s ambition to buy the property, by improving opportunities for income generation.

      RCKa designs Nourish Hub to tackle food poverty in London

      Thanks to government and lottery funding, the architects were able to plan a full overhaul of the interior in collaboration with engineering firm Max Fordham.
      The roof was replaced as sensitively as possible, while the interior layout was gently adjusted to make room for a lift.
      A double-helix staircase, originally sub-divided, has been opened upThe atrium, which was once subdivided to separate boys and girls, is now opened up. The result is a space that feels generous and bright, thanks to the skylight overhead.
      Three floors of classroom and office spaces have been adapted for a range of uses. A community kitchen can be found on the ground floor, while the second level has become a co-working space.
      The building was taken over by the community following a sit-in in 1996″A key decision that we had to make was to ensure that the work that we were doing in the building didn’t sanitise this rich, abrasive history of activism and community-led dialogues and debates,” said Cairns.
      “We really tried to keep that at the forefront of our thinking.”
      Original wood floors have been rejuvenatedFlexible partitions allows the ground- and first-floor halls to be easily subdivided if required.
      Other spaces include a quiet room that could be used for anything from prayer to breast-feeding, and a series of small studios and workshops.
      The restored handrails are painted in the same burgundy they were in the pastRealising the project in the context of the pandemic proved a challenge. With the architects unable to be on site all the time, they found it difficult to fully realise their ambition to reuse as much as possible.
      Thomas and Cairns recall coming to site to find elements such as doors and balustrade railings had been thrown away by builders, despite their instructions.
      Nonetheless there are still plenty of recycled details to be found, including a framed patch of original wallpaper and a series of storage cabinets built into the walls.
      Original details, like a patch of ageing wallpaper, are celebratedThey hope the building can help to become a positive example of adaptive reuse, particularly in light of the COP26 environmental conference that recently took place in Glasgow.
      This sentiment is echoed by Sturgeon: “The challenge of refurbishing and imagining a building like this, for decades to come, is fantastically dynamic for the architecture and design industries,” she said.
      “We just took it for granted that buildings would reach the end of their natural life and then they would sort of fall into dereliction, and thankfully communities decided that that wasn’t going to happen. So we’ve learned how to reimagine things for the future and preserve for the future.”
      Photography is by Will Scott. Video is by Pretend Lovers.

      Read more: More