Refurbishment of Grade II listed building

• Posted by Karyn Middleton on 23rd Jul ’07 at 10:34 BST
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The Cheltenham Ladies College is an independent school of world renown, accommodating more than 850 pupils. The College has a large property portfolio in the heart of Regency Cheltenham, much of which is of historic and architectural significance, both locally and nationally.

Introduction

Fauconberg House is a Grade II listed building designed by notable architect Samuel Onley and constructed in 1847. It is one of the earliest buildings occupied by the College and has performed a number of functions over its history.

The College′s long term plans for this area involved the construction of a new Art Block connected to the rear of Fauconberg House to provide state of the art facilities to the College′s pupils.

Once it was decided to proceed with this new art facility the decision was then made to refurbish and re-use the impressive Fauconberg House to both provide a valuable facility in its own right and to compliment the new Art Block.

The Brief

Evans Jones was initially instructed to prepare a Feasibility Study for the external repair and restoration of Fauconberg House and its grounds, the relocation of the College′s Medical Centre and the formation of a conferencing and meeting facility within Fauconberg House.

Following successful completion of the feasibility study Evans Jones was appointed as Lead Consultant acting as designers, surveyors and contract administrator for the repair, refurbishment and complete internal reorganization of Fauconberg House to achieve a modern facility in keeping with the brand new Art Block being constructed adjacent to it.

The Challenge

Due to its position on the periphery of the College′s Campus and the fact that it had been awaiting the construction of the new Art Block, the house and particularly the stucco render façade, were in need of repair and restoration before works commenced on the interior.

Evans Jones, in negotiation with the Local Authority Conservation Officer, specified and procured the re-rendering and restoration of the stucco façade including restoration of ornate stucco pilasters which was designed and procured by Evans Jones experienced team of Building Surveyors.

Luckily the bulk of the original features had been retained internally but this in itself presented challenges in terms of achieving a layout both suitable for the College′s intended use whilst still adopting a sensitive approach to the Listed Building.

Again this was achieved in close consultation with the Local Authority Conservation Officer resulting in a layout which met, and in some cases exceeded, the College′s expectations. This again was achieved by the Evans Jones Building Surveying team with support provided by the Evans Jones Planning team, at key stages.

In terms of procurement of the works, a traditional detailed design and procurement route was chosen reflecting the unknown quantity of much of the works and the client′s desire for certainty over design elements and costs. The main challenge in terms of contract administration was delivering the project on time in order to meet the opening date.

In the role of Lead Consultant, Evans Jones managed a number of third party specialists including interior designers, fire engineers, damp proofing specialists and kitchen equipment installers, who all worked together to produce a very pleasing end result, in particular to the ground floor where the conferencing and meeting facilities have proved a great success.

Benefits Achieved

Fauconberg House was restored to its former glory and now provides a gateway into the College for many visitors using the conferencing and meeting facilities for the first time.

A new Medical Centre with all modern facilities was created within Fauconberg House, freeing up other space in the College which has now been used to create valuable boarding accommodation for pupils.

The building was delivered on time to a high standard with the full cooperation and support of the Local Authority Conservation Officer.

Following completion the building was put forward for a Civic Award which was achieved in 1999.

Summary

This property represented a challenge from the outset with many skills required to deliver a fully refurbished and restored building to meet the client′s expectations.

Using its multi-disciplinary approach, including building consultancy and planning services, Evans Jones was able to deliver the majority of these services in house, leading to a streamlined approach and the all-important single point of contact for Cheltenham Ladies College.

The building now forms one of the College′s first points of contact with parents and visitors, offering a conferencing and meeting facility for both the College and the local community. This is combined with a top class Medical Centre serving every pupil attending the College.