The Old Foundry House Conversion, Long Melford, Suffolk
Project Year: 2018
Location: Long Melford, Suffolk
Country: United Kingdom
The Victorian Foundry was constructed in 1876, it has many traditional features such as; flint walls, slate roof and internal king truss beams. The conversion of this property into 6 mews houses and a large family home, provided Model Projects with an opportunity to explore some quite unique design challenges. The new design contained many of the original features whilst integrating a modern, light twist.
This case study focuses on the Old Foundry House. The development was carried out under Permitted Development Change of Use (Offices to Residential). This offered both creativity and problem solving for the Model Projects Design Team. The proposed house alongside the six other mews houses had to be designed into the existing volume and form of the original Victorian building.
The house at the Old Foundry is designed over two floors. The ground floor includes; a large entrance hallway with feature staircase, a large open-plan kitchen, dining and family snug area, separate TV living room, study and utility room .
The open plan space flows out onto a rear garden and patio area. The kitchen is modern, with large central island. Slate porcelain flooring runs through to the outside through a set of full height double sliding doors.
As you move upstairs you are greeted with an open upper hallway. A gallery area, provides access to four stunning bedrooms. The upper level includes a large master suite, guest bedroom with ensuite and two further bedrooms that share a family bathroom.
One of the lovely features of the house is that all the living rooms to the ground floor and bedrooms to the first floor benefit from south facing windows, flooding these spaces with natural daylight.
The external appearance of the building maintains many of its original features and rustic charm, such as; the flint wall, had-oc glazing and overall industrial feel.
Click Through Gallery
Design and Features
As you enter the house one of the main features of the Old Foundry is the staircase and hallway. The staircase is unique in design and provides a homage back to the original working foundry. The bespoke black metal basltrude, stepped metal runners contrast with the thick timber treads and handrail. This feature flows up and around to form the upper landing. The hallway has dark slate coloured walls, with light boxed shaped bookcases.
The large open-plan kitchen, dining and family snug area’s, open up vertically at the end towards the vaulted ceiling. This space is enhanced by the full height glazing, exposed king truss beams and large pendant light.
The master suite has a unique feature of an internal Juliet balcony. This looks down on the open plan space below, with metal balustrade matching the style of the staircase. The master bedroom has been designed with glazing to three sides. Access is gained to this beautiful space through a walk-in wardrobe , with the ensuite located off the main bedroom.
All the bedrooms have partially vaulted ceilings and are intersected by original king truss beams. The design team did not design the shape of the rooms around the location of the beams but allowed them to intersect the rooms in random locations.
Route to Planning
Planning was gained for the whole Old Foundry conversion including all 7 dwellings under Permitted Development Rights of Offices (Class B1(a)) to Residential (Class C3). Gaining permission was relatively straightforward due to the suitable location of the building within the historical Suffolk village of Long Melford. The building is located in the heart of the village, within walking distance of all local amenities including shops, restaurants, pubs and local transport. The building was also structurally sound and required minimal structural work.