Project Description
Conversion of Victorian Family Home to a Wellness Retreat
Residential Retreat in Hampshire (Photo shown is for illustration purposes only).
This project was a former Victorian family home overlooking the River Test in Hampshire that the owners were turning into a wellness retreat.
The building had had a number of extensions and additions in the 1960s and 1980s which were not only out of keeping with the style of the original house but had become damp and mouldy. On the grounds was an old swimming pool that was now in disrepair. The owner wanted to reinvigorate the site and ‘modernise the dwelling while enhancing the character of the property’ which also has a gate house and boat house.
The new owners knocked down the extensions, keeping most of the original building, and filled in the swimming pool. Although the site is listed as a heritage asset it is not a listed building. We converted the loft space into rooms to add an additional story to the building. We also increased the depth of the existing basement which was a challenge as the property is adjacent to a river and in a chalk region.
Project Team
Client: Private Client
Architect: Yiangou Architects
Contractor: R W Armstrong
The original cellar was quite a nice feature, and we were able to lower the basement around it to create a place where guests could sample wine straight from the cellar. Once the floor was lowered there was enough room for 2-3 people down there with a little table and chairs and illuminated wine racks. Lowering a basement next to the river was a challenge. There was a lot of underpinning and temporary works, and temporary propping because of the partial demolition that was going on above. We worked with a specialist demolition contractor and their designers on this part of the project.
We were also asked to look at the design of a new single-storey wellness centre which included a hydrotherapy pool and yoga room. Because the new wellness building was planned near their private leat (an open watercourse conducting water to a mill) we used piled raft foundations to reduce the depth of excavation. Rafts provide a nice flat base on which to build upon.
If you have a project that you need structural advice and help on please give us a call on 02381 920656 or email mail@swjconsulting.co.uk.
