A very exiting project, with plenty of challenges, needing particularly innovative solutions; it really got us thinking outside the box, both in terms of design and construction.

The warehouse was basically a cube on two storeys and the client wanted it converted into as many flats as possible with the addition of a roof terrace.

As well as digging down to create more height within the “box”, we obtained planning permission to add an extra story and the requisite roof terrace. Flanked on one side by a school and two more by a public park, access was difficult. The local council refused us the licence to erect scaffolding making the extra storey impossible! But we designed a “flat packed” timber frame structure, each wall consisting of a single panel, constructed them on the existing roof and winched them into their respective positions. It worked beautifully. No need for scaffolding and it proved to be very cost effective in terms of labour and materials.