Planning consent has been achieved to convert and upgrade a courtyard scheme, converting some tired office space to new dwellings. Set within one of Exeter’s central residential streets, the owners were keen to see the return from residential use, rather than the limited office use. While the loss of office space within the city is never ideal, the buildings and location were not well suited to many uses, being of limited size and facility. As part of the conversion work, several improvements have been made, including increasing natural daylight and ventilation, as well as adding a mezzanine for additional bedroom space. The overall envelope remains principally the same, but old, tired materials are renewed and upgraded to current thermal standards. Extensive landscaping of the shared courtyard gives a decent blend of private and shared amenity space, and is a quiet sheltered space right within the heart of the city. Extensive pre-application discussions and design development took place with the city council planning officers to ensure that the design and underlying principles were sound.
Office to dwelling conversion
Landscaped courtyard outline scheme
