RMD were given carte blanche to convert a traditional Victorian flat into a modern family apartment where several different generations would live and work together.

The brief was to provide private areas for work and more open plan areas for social interaction. The complexity of the project lay in the restricted parameters of the existing layout and the fact that as a mansion block the apartment had neighbours on both sides, plus below and above.

RMD carried out a full survey to investigate which services where allocated to the client’s property and which services were shared. A plan was drawn up to manage the decommissioning of services at appropriate times to cause the least amount of disruption to the residents. The pre-planning stage was considerable and required arranging party wall permissions, taking schedules of condition to adjoining properties, and carrying out a smoke test on decommissioned fireplaces.

In addition we faced the added complication of submitting plans for the approval not only of building control but also the residents committee, which had to sign off all proposed works prior to commencing construction. RMD successfully managed the different parties involved and due to our experience with these situations we were able to push the boundaries of design to achieve the best solution for our client within a very restrictive template.

We opened up the front of the property facing the park to allow the natural light to better filter through the apartment. A complex matrix of steel was designed and installed to support the floors of the properties above with a drop ceiling conceived to allow new services to be efficiently run through the length of the property without being boxed in or exposed.

An additional bedroom was crafted from the footprint of the main sitting room, providing three children’s bedrooms all with desks and storage pods. The main bedroom was positioned to the front of the building to enjoy the view of the park and incorporated an en-suite bathroom and shower complex. The bathroom for the master bedroom was designed to be integrated into the rest of the property for family use, or with a hidden door it could be cleverly closed off and integrated into the master suite as a private en-suite facility.

The kitchen was open plan with the dining room, physically connected via a cantilevered limestone countertop doubling as both breakfast bar and kitchen surface. Vivid red glass panelling was used as the backdrop to the kitchen walls with wide board oak flooring visually blurring the transition within the space.

A complete concept and detail design service was provided, with drawings for construction, specification of all material finishes and soft furnishings as well as a design and project management service. RMD also helped the client to liaise with surveyors and other consultants as he was abroad for much of the build process.
From inception to handover this project was completed in nine months.