Conister House Design Statement
Conister House
16-18 Finch Road, Douglas Isle of Man
Design Statement
The brief for this project was to refurbish Conister House throughout bringing the office accommodation up to modern day standards. We were required to look at extending the existing office areas where possible and provide more car parking to the rear (east side) of the building.
Conister House comprises two separate Registered Buildings; numbers 16 and 18 Finch Road, Douglas. They were originally built as a pair of semi-detached town houses but were altered and opened up to form a single office building now known as Conister House. Some of the original internal features remain, including the staircases, some cornicing, picture rails, front entrance doors, fan lights and some skirtings.
The prominent front elevation along Finch Road remains largely unaltered. However, the basement windows and light wells have been blocked up and original pavement railings removed. The ground floor windows have also been altered.
The South and East elevations have been unsympathetically altered with a flat roof extension on the South and a two storey bay window and metal access stair on the East. The side and rear windows have been replaced with poor quality PVC windows. The front chimney stack to number 16 has also been removed.
The design intention is to open up the office areas internally as far a practical giving a more open plan arrangement. The new openings shown on the proposals retain much of the original structure and ceiling downstairs have been formed to retain original cornices and picture rails.
In order to enhance the prominent Finch Road elevation and provide more daylight into the Basement, it is proposed to restore the original window openings, light wells and railings. The chimney stack to number 16 Finch Road will be rebuilt to enhance the symmetry of the building. The flat roof toilet block will be demolished and rebuilt providing toilets and additional office accommodation. The external treatment of the extension will be more sympathetic to the original architecture with a natural slate pitched roof, period style timber windows and a painted render finish.
It is also proposed to demolish the bay window and metal access stair on the east elevation and replace these with an extension in keeping with the symmetry and original architecture of the building. The new extension would provide an entrance hall, passenger lift, access stair, disabled toilet and additional office accommodation.
The existing car parking provision is to be increased by providing an underground car park at the rear. This will provide an additional 14 spaces without impacting on the views from the East facing windows or from adjacent properties.
In summary, it is proposed to extend and refurbish Conister House, whilst retaining, enhancing and restoring many of the original features. The alterations and reconstruction will bring the building back into full, meaningful use in line with modern office standards.
December 2007
Hugh Logan Architects Bridge Court 10 Bridge Street Castletown Isle of Man
