Canning Circus: Background and Brief
Canning Circus stands on what was a long-derelict site, adjacent to the
Alton’s grade 2 listed Cigar Factory, in an area that cried out for
regeneration. The design brief called for a range of apartments and parking
facilities for both the new build site and the existing factory.
Construction was to take 20 months and cost £7.5m for both sites. Boden Associates were commissioned to design the new build scheme, the refurbishment of the Cigar Factory and adjacent buildings, and oversee the works to completion.
Approach
Two key elements defined our response: we worked with the client to maximise
use of space and we demonstrated how a forward-thinking approach to architecture
would differentiate the development from others in a highly competitive
market.
The grade 2-listed properties, including the Alton’s Cigar Factory and the bathroom shop, demanded sensitivity and we were mindful of the long-term regeneration interests of the area.
The Cigar Factory redevelopment
The Cigar Factory was in an appalling state of disrepair by the time the
developers bought the site. Whole sections of floor were missing, the roof
leaked badly and foxes and pigeons had moved in. It was going to be a very
challenging project not least because the building was unsafe to survey.
This meant we couldn’t accurately ascertain where existing walls were
and what their relationship was to adjacent walls and floors. Planning spaces
was difficult in itself, never mind setting them out and building them on
site.
In refurbishing the building the key criterion for us was to maintain as much of the structure and walls as possible and make them visible. As a result, all the apartments have new modern internal walls contrasting with the exposed original structure and brick walls. The corridor walls to the common areas of the ground floor were re-lined with the original timber screens salvaged from the former offices. It created a look that integrates the past and present.
The Bathroom Shop
The corner Victorian Bathroom Shop was in an even worse condition than the
factory. The roof had completely collapsed and the external walls were shored
up. This building had to be taken down brick by brick and rebuilt using
the existing materials. New floors were constructed and every window across
all three buildings was replaced on a like for like basis, matching the
timber-profiled mullions and transoms exactly.
The Town Houses
The town houses adjacent to the factory had fared slightly better than the
other buildings but, being very tall and narrow, they presented their own
difficulties when it came to planning apartments.
The solution was to connect them at each floor, forming an apartment across the combined width of the town houses at each level. Again, all the original doors were salvaged or remade and the existing staircases retained along with covings and mouldings around every door and window.
Results
The scheme combines both compact and large apartments with original interior
features in every apartment, resulting in valuable, desirable and comfortable
living spaces. The new building, by contrast, has simple, clean detailing
and a deliberately limited palette of materials. It wraps around the site
to create an enclosed communal courtyard overlooked by the Cigar Factory
to create a unique space in an historical setting.
The apartments were a profitable success in a saturated market, and Canning Circus has attracted a new community to a once undesirable area.
In projects such as this, Boden Associates is proud to have played a significant role in the regeneration process.
David Boden
December 2004
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