Two high-end apartments formed below the restored townhouses at 19-20 Coates Crescent.

The former servant accommodation at lower ground level had most recently been used as office space and had few surviving historic features. Instead it presented a blank canvas in which modern living spaces could be created.

Each apartment has a high-specification modern kitchen at its heart, with a flexible study/library/gym space opening off. To the front, behind the restored Georgian frontage with its reconditioned 12-pane sash windows, a pair of spacious bedrooms overlook the sunken entrance court, the master with a secret ensuite entered between new built-in wardrobes.

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To the rear, we added new contemporary glass-roofed extensions between and around existing outshoots, reclaiming a neglected and awkwardly-shaped yard space to create bright and airy living spaces with direct access to a private garden terrace from each. Modern services are carefully integrated including decentralised mechanical ventilation, energy-efficient heating and CAT6 cabling throughout.

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The project involved various challenges, including careful detailing to achieve the required acoustic and fire separation between the townhouses and flats with minimal disruption to the historic fabric, as well as negotiation with the local planning authority to secure listed building consent for the contemporary interventions to the rear.

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Completed while at McLaren Murdoch & Hamilton

Photos © Rettie & Co and 83S Ltd

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