Private Residence, Hale, South Manchester

The property is not listed, but it sits within the South Hale Conservation Area and is recognised as an undesignated heritage asset. This status carried real weight on the project. Although it did not bring the statutory constraints of listing, it meant the design had to satisfy the council and conservation team’s aspirations for the area, and protect the character of the 18th-century arts and crafts home at the heart of the site.

It is the reason the proposal was developed with such care. The contemporary extension was deliberately set against the existing building rather than mimicking it, the 45 panes of stained glass were retained and encapsulated within double glazed units rather than replaced, and the original timber windows and external detailing were repaired and restored. Nearly a year was spent in planning, working through the conservation team’s requirements while protecting the integrity of the design.

The result is an addition that respects the heritage of the property without being held back by it.

From our instruction to issue of the final completion certificate, the project ran for 30 months. The programme reflected the depth of work required at every stage, not just on site.

The early phase began with pen and paper. We ran design workshops with the client, overlaying simple plans and sketch concepts to move through ideas quickly and resolve obvious sticking points before progressing. These concepts were refined into more developed designs, with 3D modelling and visualisation brought in to convey the proposals clearly.

Planning took close to a year on its own. As an undesignated heritage asset within the South Hale Conservation Area, the property demanded careful negotiation with the council and conservation team to protect the integrity of the design while meeting their aspirations for the area.

A comprehensive technical design and construction information package followed, made substantial by the number of bespoke elements in the scheme. Sixteen months on site then delivered the demolition, the new extension, full internal redecoration, repair of external timber detailing, replacement of all timber windows, and the encapsulation and reinstallation of 45 stained glass panes. We acted as Contract Administrator throughout, pairing this with continued design support to guarantee the final product matched the intent.

Thirty months from instruction to final completion certificate, delivered as designed.

f we were to design it again, we would push harder to incorporate more green energies into the property. The scheme delivered a contemporary, timeless extension on a home of real heritage value, but the opportunity to embed renewables more fully into the design is one we would now treat as central rather than additional.

A property of this scale, with six bedrooms, four bathrooms, four reception rooms and a basement gym, carries a meaningful energy demand. Ground source heat, solar generation, improved fabric performance and smarter integration with the landscape could all have been explored further. The raised plateau, the extent of the groundworks already required for the sewer connection, and the scale of the landscaping coordination with the Landscape Architect would have lent themselves to a more ambitious approach.

The design holds up. The detailing, the large format glazing, the offset flat roofs and the integration with the garden all delivered exactly as intended. Greater renewable integration is the one area we would revisit, and it is a principle we now carry into every project that follows.