Office To High-End Houses

Axis House is an office building in a village setting, and the client wanted to understand its highest-value residential future. Flats, a small number of large houses, and a terrace of family homes were all plausible, with very different values and build scopes.

We tested three sketch proposals over the existing plans, working with the building's structural grid. The preferred scheme divides the building into four three-bed houses of around 83 sqm each plus one larger two-bed unit, using ground floor timber-frame extensions, new rear openings, dormers, and rooflights to make each house work over three floors.

The client received drawn options with elevations for the preferred scheme, a clear unit mix, and the alterations list that planning and costing conversations need. Three rounds of sketch testing settled the direction before any detailed design fees were spent.