Industrial Revolution

Faced with the challenge of renovating an old water tower attached to their Hampshire home, Sheryl and Andrew Wilson enlisted PAD Studio to transform this once redundant building

A damp, redundant water tower attached to one couple’s Hampshire home is given a new lease of life

Renovating old industrial buildings is no easy task, and for Sheryl and Andrew Wilson, the decision to renovate the former water tower attached to their home in Hampshire’s New Forest was not one they took lightly. The structure, which had been converted by a previous owner, had suffered from damp over the years and was in a bad state of repair. The Wilsons had experience of listed properties, having lived in a converted chapel in London before moving to the New Forest, which helped prepare them for the work involved. “The location of the site with the surrounding land attracted us and we had an interest in industrial-style properties,” begins Sheryl. “After buying the house, we lived there for around six years before deciding to start work on the tower itself.” Looking to find an architect who had a strong understanding of the locality and experience working with the New Forest planning department, the Wilsons came across PAD Studio, and invited them initially to discuss ideas for creating a new porch space. This soon led to conversations about how to transform the tower into a habitable space. “When we were brought on board, the adjoining tower was redundant and in a bad condition. It was uninviting, cold and there was a dated 1970s bathroom on the top level,” explains architect Darren Bray of PAD Studio, who worked on the project with fellow director Wendy Perring. “The Wilsons wanted to breathe new life into the tower, and they wanted a clear strategy in terms of making the building watertight and introducing light.” With each floor of the tower measuring just 4m x 4m, and with small rotten timber windows, the spaces felt very claustrophobic. “After doing a feasibility study, we came up with a solution to create a link through the different elements of the tower. At ground floor we proposed installing a new steel front door with sidelights either side to allow natural light to enter the previously dark hallway. At first floor level, we chose to introduce a large projecting steel-framed Crittal picture window which acts like a lens looking out over the landscape. “On the second floor, we then proposed removing part of the ceiling in order to make way for a dramatic steel feature staircase which looks like a ribbon leading up to the newly appointed bathroom on the third floor. By ripping down the flat ceiling on the top level and opening up the room to the pitch, we could then install a Velux rooflight to allow light from above to pour down and help brighten the spaces.” Although the tower is not listed, the sensitive nature of the New Forest site required the Wilsons to apply for planning permission to replace the windows. They also had to get approval and a licence from the Forestry Commission to erect the

“The Victorian architecture that’s been revealed, as a result of stripping away old plasterboard, is beautiful”

scaffolding on their land, which in itself took a month to achieve. “As we weren’t changing the architectural face of the building, gaining approval for the work itself was straightforward; however it is the little things that can hold things up,” says Darren. Due to the exposed nature of the site, the tower’s brickwork had been soaking up rainwater for years and as a result the entire structure needed to be dried out. “It was a taxing process,” admits Darren. “It involved bringing in a lot of dehumidifiers. We then coated the whole structure in a hydrophobic, microporous material called Lotexan from Keim, which works to stop any rainwater being absorbed — it’s great for masonry materials, and needs to be reapplied every five years. We then replaced all of the existing, leaky windows with the steelframed Crittal windows. “We were reluctant to hire a main contractor due to costs, so we brought in a project manager instead who could deal with the subcontractors and trades; we wanted someone who could take on the responsibility of being strategic with the times workers were on site,” says Darren, who knew that the limited floor space would have made it difficult to have multiple trades working at one time. Keen to be involved in every aspect of the project, Sheryl worked closely with the project manager and architects, engaging in daily discussions, and was also heavily involved in the sourcing of materials. “I couldn’t imagine not being involved,” she says. “Living in the house while work was going on also meant that I could be on site to discuss progress and on hand to make decisions and tweaks, too.” Inside, the once cold and damp tower is now an inviting part of the home. In order to stay true to the building’s industrial heritage, the brickwork has been exposed — the use of steel throughout gives a further nod to the tower’s former life. “We’d planned to use the tower for guests, but we’ve come to use it for ourselves and treat it as a sanctuary where we can go and relax,” of that the it rooms admits has been it’s Sheryl. stripped quite “Because intimate, back to of and reveal the I scale love its heritage. The original Victorian architecture that’s been revealed, as a result of stripping away old plasterboard, is beautiful, and the building has become very personal to us — it’s a great place to escape to.”