The Old Pottery sits within the Abbeville Road Conservation Area in Clapham, adjacent to the Grade II listed Mission Room Building and Stable Block. Formerly a Victorian pottery works, the building was full of character but required a series of upgrades and considered internal moves to improve its performance.

Despite two large patent rooflights and generous internal floor voids, the ground-floor living spaces were dark and poorly connected. Our response was to take the building back to brick and invert the plan, relocating bedrooms to the ground floor and living spaces to the first, where the light and outlook are better.

The work was as much about performance as it was the layout. Walls and floors were fully insulated where none had previously existed, new double-glazed sash windows were fitted throughout, and underfloor heating was installed. The ground floor now provides four double bedrooms, an ensuite, family bathroom and guest shower room, alongside a dedicated plant and storage space. On the first floor, the void was infilled to enable a larger open-plan living space, the original roof trusses retained and raised to improve head height, and the patent glazing replaced with triple-glazed, solar-coated glass.

Two redundant chimney stacks were removed to make room for a recessed plant deck and an air source heat pump, providing clean, efficient energy with no visual or acoustic impact on the listed building next door.

The project was completed without extending the footprint. Every move came from understanding what the existing building could offer, and what it needed to perform.