This project involved the restoration and conversion of a derelict grade II listed stable building on the Wyck Estate Hertfordshire, Elizabethan manor in rural Hertfordshire, into a new low energy recording studio, function space and guest accommodation associated with the family's main property and vineyard. The architectural approach aimed to retain the scale of the former stable and its doorways and create flexible spaces for events but also guest visits, but with the facility for clients group rehearsals, controlled individual recording within the audio area.
A palette of materials was developed derived from the found objects, idiosyncratic materials and paint colors discovered within the existing stable.
Given the condition of the former stable, the project was delivered with an exceptionally modest budget for a building of its type and incorporating an airtight, and acoustically sealed -passive designed structure that ensured that the sensitive timber brick and terracotta structure of the building was protected. Existing stable doors were retained as shutters with deep set highly insulated sliding glazing systems set behind.
To facilitate build ability and reduce embodied carbon the building was conceived as a highly insulated, airtight timber volume within the existing building shell. In addition to enabling off-site construction, this strategy enabled the existing trusses and rafters to be propped and re-used, and the fragile existing timber and masonry walls relieved of intrusive structural works. A large continuous highly vented cavity was created between the perimeter to allow the building to dry and exist climatically how it had for over a century.
Environmental strategy
Timber was used rather than masonry, along with recycled fibre insulation, Passivhaus level U values were incorporated to the floor, walls and roof, with an air-source heat pump as at the primary energy source (with the capacity for future solar array to the roof).
