Lyttelton Road - refurbished and new build residential development, Birmingham
Khoury Architects consulted with Birmingham City Council during a formal pre-planning application process and heeded the advice of the Conservation Heritage Panel to craft its sensitive proposal for a residential development in the St Augustine Edgbaston Conservation Area:
- Any development proposal affecting the significance of a heritage asset must consider the conservation of the asset as well as its enhancement
- Requirement to retain the site’s existing house, even though it’s presentation and poorly constructed extension are detrimental to the character of the conservation area and setting of St Augustine’s Church
- A contemporary approach is welcome for the new build, providing it integrates with the historic environment and references the character, form and massing of the surrounding houses while clearly distinguishing between old and new
The overtly contemporary design has been formulated according to a process of stripping back the assessed architecture of the locality to a pure form and manipulating mass and void in an imaginative albeit respectful approach to the relevant heritage assets.
- The rear extension of the existing house is of poor architectural quality hence its demolition has no negative impact on the identified heritage assets
- The existing building, containing 5 apartments, is being fully refurbished and given a façade overhaul meaning the original features are being conserved and enhanced while the apartments within are being brought up to modern day living standards
- The new building, containing 12 apartments, is a positive addition to the area as it references the surrounding building grain and respects neighbouring Victorian building dimensions
- The gabled and bay bricked frontage is a response to an adjacent Victorian grand terrace. The full height glazing of the bays maximise the views of the stunning Grade II* listed St Augustine Church
- The footprint and massing of the proposed new build are consistent with the retained element of the existing house
