Regency Terrace
A carefully-crafted conservation project informed by an understanding of how older buildings work, as well as how we want them to look.
Photos by Fred Howarth
This Grade II listed house is one of a terrace of similar stucco fronted Regency style villas, each with raised ground floors, verandahs and decorative metalwork.
Our approach to this renovation was to apply a light touch, to tweak a few elements to improve the function of the house but to retain as much original fabric as possible, and only use new materials of the highest quality and authenticity.
Care was taken to make the modern interventions for insulation, heating, electrics and damp proofing unnoticeable within the simple nineteenth century aesthetic. Finding the right technical solutions requires understanding of how older buildings work, how permeable ‘breathing’ external envelopes prevent moisture being trapped within vulnerable fabric, protecting it from decay.
The new joinery emphasises traditional quality, brush painted with morticed and tenoned solid wood detailing throughout. The original floorboards were sanded down, oiled and re-applied over a plywood substrate to improve sound proofing, and to strengthen them to avoid creaking.
On conservation projects such as these, exacting space planning and rational consistency are less to the fore, as it is precisely the quirks and patina of the best old buildings that gives them their rich character. The new interventions lean into this more pragmatic approach for a relaxed and lived in feel. We hope the architect’s hand is barely perceived in the end product.
