Friars St Ives, Holywell 16th-century house restoration, Historic Cambridgeshire Property Photos, Architecture
Friars St Ives, 16th-century house restoration, UK
29 May 2022
Location: Friars, Holywell, Cambridgeshire, southeast England, United Kingdom
Design: Mole Architects
Photos by David Butler
Friars St Ives, 16th-century Cambridgeshire house restoration
Jury Report
Taken on as something of a rescue project, the restoration of this derelict grade II listed building revealed a rich & varied history. In addition to sensitively revealing the delights of a decidedly characterful and intriguing 16th century house, Mole Architects have added a wholly contemporary addition as an effective foil.
The beautifully restored house is now secure in its commanding position over the River Ouse floodplain, while the new extension – similar in volume to the original, but subsidiary and slightly rotated in plan – sits back, further up the garden with fluid and well-judged separation. The new addition provides a set of spaces – kitchen, garden room and master bedroom – that are complementary but quite different in character from the spaces of the original house.
This is a great example of sympathetic, progressive conservation, with a clear editorial approach, that clearly shows areas of mending and new intervention.
Designed to Passivhaus standards, the dwelling’s enhanced building fabric ensures a measured energy performance that addresses the RIBA 2025 benchmark. It also has received significant attention in terms of the bio-based materials used, with the inclusion of wood fibre insulation commendable given the significant restrictions posed by the listing. The most significant carbon credential of the project however is the strategy to restore and reuse the Grade II listed building, which has given it an extended life and added value to the surrounding community.
Friars St Ives, 16th-century house restoration – Building Information
Title: Friars
RIBA region: East
Architect practice: Mole Architects
RIBA region: East
Architect practice: Mole Architects
Date of completion: November 2018
Date of occupation: November 2018
Client: Mr and Mrs King
Project city/town: St.Ives
Contract value: Confidential
Gross internal area: 402.00 m²
Net internal area: 324.00 m²
Cost per m²: Confidential
Contractor company name: F.A Valliant & Son
Consultants
Structural Engineers: Conisbee
Awards
• RIBA Regional Award
Photographs: David Butler
Friars St Ives, 16th-century house restoration images / information received from the Royal Institute of British Architects
Location: Friars, Holywell, St Ives, Cambridgeshire, PE27 4TG, south east England, UK
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