Issue 45 Feb 25 web - Flipbook - Page 106
Plas Hendy Stable Block
This formerly crumbling, Arts and Crafts grade II listed stable block in South Wales has been rescued
and restored by Studio Brassica Architects to create a sensitively detailed, thermally efficient home.
A few playful innovations and insertions make the building accessible for its elderly users whilst
celebrating its unique fabric.
The stable block incorporates a tack room, hay loft and
coach house, as it was built at a transitional time in 1906
when cars were starting to become popular, an unusual
mixed typology. This side was the focus of the renovation
having fallen out of use since being used as a youth club
in the 1960s.
Careful programming and sequencing were essential to
prevent disturbing resident bats and allow extensive thermal upgrades whilst retaining key features and minimising
waste. Built during the pandemic, with erratic supply and
fluctuating costs the team had to be resourceful to keep
the project moving and within budget.
The extension was designed to plug into the back of
the building linking key spaces and providing services
including air source heat pump and underfloor heating
whilst minimising disruption to the existing fabric. This
created a new level access to the rear and also allowed
for a stylish accessible bathroom which challenges the
utilitarian stereotype. Windows carefully frame views
across the fields towards the Black Mountains.
An innovative solution was needed to create a private,
light, south facing living room in the former garage space,
previously characterised by large solid sliding doors with
fanlights which were no longer fit for purpose. Working
with local metalworkers the architects developed a series
of pivoting louvres, constructed off-site following a series
of mock-ups. These can be opened and closed with a
simple geared mechanism inspired by the adjacent period
vinehouse. Hand operated by a salvaged cart wheel, it
provides a delightful, mindful daily ritual of opening and
closing. The original sliding doors have been repurposed
and maintain the building’s kinetic and agricultural
language, as external shutters and internal doors with
exposed runners. The cockerel weathervane to the
restored cupola now spins once again with the changing
winds; a beacon within the local lanes.
In the spirit of the Arts and Crafts movement simple
materials were used in creative ways. Sawtooth bricks
create a weave effect that reflect and vary dramatically
along with the changeable Welsh weather. A dark green
Picture, Plas Hendy Stable Block
picture by Francesco Montaguti
