REFURBISHMENT AND CONVERSION
At the time of this application it was the most significant conservation development in the Vale of Glamorgan local authority area. This meant that the level of attention from the Planning Department was significantly higher than most of the other schemes we had previously worked on. Therefore, the level of scrutiny imposed on every decision being taken sometimes felt counter-productive. Over time, however, the level of involvement from the planners allowed us to cultivate a strong working relationship which benefited everybody. We were able to get guidance and input on matters quickly, and the planners understood what we were trying to achieve.
Concerns over cameras’ visual impact
One instance which highlighted the strength of this working relationship came when we informed the planning officers that we wanted to include CCTV around the site. The planners were concerned about the visual impact that the cameras would have against the historic buildings. As part of the original development application, an ecology plan had been put together and implemented to make sure the local wildlife would not be negatively impacted by the proposals. The plan included provisions for several types of birds’ nests to be dotted around the site, so we developed a bespoke camera casing which imitated the design of the proposed swallow nests. Although these camera cases would look out of place on most other buildings, they fitted in with the historical and agricultural setting of the barns, and were approved and installed throughout. We installed key fob entry systems and staff attack systems across the site in a similar design.
After much more back and forth, negotiation, diplomacy, and compromise, the planning application was conditionally approved, and we were able to proceed with the new scheme. One area where the new scheme differed significantly from the original was in the mechanical and electrical servicing requirements. The new use of the site required a much more comprehensive level of servicing, which is reflected in the 12 miles of cabling that now runs underneath Ty Carreg. As the buildings are set on top of a natural solid stone shelf, the work involved in digging out the required service trenches was mammoth. Furthermore, due to the impermeable ground surrounding the barns, huge drainage runs were required to discharge the surface water being generated as a result of the scheme’s hard landscaping.
Change from soft to hard landscaping
The change from a predominantly soft landscaping to an almost entirely hard landscaping scheme was made at quite a late stage. Originally our proposal was to include a lot of green areas, flower beds,
THE NETWORK | JANUARY 2020
All the stone walls have been painted white internally, in response to a planning condition which mandated that ‘exceptionally breathable paint’ be used.
Bedroom floors were given coved edges.
and allotment patches for the residents to look after following handover, but after lengthy consideration the planning department deemed the scheme to be too domestic for the setting, and advised us to implement ‘a more agricultural’ solution instead – which entailed the use of large areas of impermeable hard standing. Due to the levels surrounding site the only direction we were able to send the drainage runs was to the south. In line with the complex theme of the project, what lay in the field directly south of the site was a registered ancient monument, and what were assumed to be the burial grounds of the original inhabitants of the barns from circa 1200-1500 AD. Given the nature of the ground we were digging into, an
archaeological watching brief was required, and a very gradual and tense dig began. Any delay caused by uncovering something interesting at this stage in the project had the potential to impact on the final handover date. To this day I still can’t quite believe that we managed to dig over 100 metres through the field without running into a single noteworthy item.
Surface-mounted wiring The electrics provided another challenge, since with stone walls, such as the external walls of the barns, it is common practice to run electric cabling in face-mounted conduits. However, in response to end- users’ needs at Ty Carreg, it was decided that surface-mounted wiring would not be appropriate. Also, because of the listed status of the buildings, there was no option to route any cables inside the stone walls. Some slight re-thinking led to some major ‘re-jigging’, and a new electrical plan was produced completely independent of any original stonework.
One of the customised CCTV birdboxes.
One of the challenges when designing a facility like this is that you can never predict the individual needs of the person who will be occupying a specific bedroom. The goal, therefore, is to create environments which feel individual, while still appealing to everybody, and which are also neutral, while remaining playful – all while providing everything required to run an institutional
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