Kings High Warwick, UK
The site is situated in the centre of Warwick and was home of King’s High School for girls. Across the site there are several listed buildings, including Grade II* listed Landor House. It is also attached to a Scheduled Ancient Monument and is within walking distance to Warwick Castle.
At its heart the proposals respond and respect their surroundings. The design process has been centred around creating a modern development that sits within the historic townscape both in terms of scale, massing and architectural detail. The site is fortunate in that it benefits from the heritage on site which gives it a unique sense of place and an opportunity to create an interesting development in the centre of the town. The scheme has endeavoured to improve the setting of the listed buildings and the Conservation Area in which it sits whilst responding to the urban grain.
The project comprises of five distinct sites, all with their own unique character, constraints and opportunities.
The first step of the process was to assess the existing buildings working closely with a heritage consultant to form the base of the masterplan. The team’s focus was to retain much of the historic fabric as possible, breathing new life into the existing buildings, this included the renovation of several buildings including Landor House to return them to single dwellings with modern amenities. This process revealed history, elements and proportions that had been lost over time.
In order for the proposals to sit within the narrow streets it was important for the dwellings to address the street. Level changes across the sites provided opportunity to create discreet car parking for the development, without reducing the amount of amenity space for residents. Building into the roof allowed us to keep the height of the buildings down whilst creating interesting spaces and increasing the density of the development.
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