Ransomes Dock

A deep retrofit of the existing rear building will see a new core and floorplates providing accessible and desirable commercial space within the historic and characterful shell of the industrial building. The key challenge has been to carefully select the lowest quality existing spaces and fabric to be replaced by new interventions which knit the site wider together both visually and strategically.

The courtyard proposals aim to return the car park to a dynamic centrepiece of the site, as it would have been in its industrial heyday. Then, full of commerce and dockers, the heart of the industrial complex. Now, lined with trees and pedestrian routes, the ‘lungs’ of the buildings, provide an engaging arrival experience and a pocket of green along Parkgate Road.

The five new homes provide three-storey accommodation within a distinctive saw-tooth profile echoes the rhythm of the historic industrial vernacular. The articulation of the form is a nod to the architectural language of the industrial history of the area and the more recent campus developments to the west. The internal spaces are arranged between and around generous external amenity spaces, bringing an extra sense of light and air to dual-aspect rooms, adding to the lofty feel of these rooftop homes.