Stables Building, Hackney

This project involved the conversion and renovation of existing listed buildings and the construction of a new building. The works involved creating a B1 unit that has been taken by a disabled theatre group and the creating of 9 apartments within the listed section of te building. A new five story building contains additional living space.

Adjacent to the grade 1 listed Geffrye Museum on Kingsland Road, Hackney lie a series of 1900’s buildings. One of the buildings is one of the last surviving multi-storey stables in London and the original horse ramp has been retained and renovated as an integral part of the new scheme.

The new architectural elements designed on the site are clearly defined and are inserted into the existing fabric, rather than grafted onto it or hiding behind it. Thus the boundaries between new and old are made clear and the relationship between the two is enjoyed rather than tolerated.

This ethos of definition is achieved at city scale as well as small scale – the proposals introduce a clearly defined new infill building that slots into a vacant section of the site. This building is the final piece of the puzzle of buildings on the site.

Construction was completed in 2009 to a budget of £1,500,000.