Conservation

A new development for New College and New College School at Savile Road Oxford was granted planning permission in June 2018.

Proposals include a new tower, south facing garden quads, new buildings interweaving with existing, some listed, in a conservation area containing a stretch of the civil war ramparts.

MBA are conservation architects advising David Kohn Architects and the construction team.

Our role to:

• assess the heritage significances of the site
• advise the design team
• engage with Historic England and Oxford City Council.

We are also involved in the construction stages of the project.

More here – David Kohn Architects

and here [Architects Journal]

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MBA acted in a similar role as conservation architects for Gort Scott at St Hilda’s College, granted planning permission in May 2018.

See  here [Architects Journal]

Planning permission was granted on  13 March 2018 for a major redevelopment at St Hilda’s College, Oxford, including a new tower. MBA are conservation architects for the scheme, working with Gort Scott Architects as lead designers. Our role was to research and analyse the heritage significance of the college, to advise Gort Scott during the design development, and to assess the heritage impact of the scheme. This is one of a number of projects where MBA support leading design practices in major conservation projects, using our experience in high value heritage assets and our design skills to offer conservation expertise to the design team.

MBA Conservation Brochure with the latest case studies of our work in historic and highly protected environments, including in inner city areas, Grade I and II* Listed buildings and landscapes, Conservation Areas, Scheduled Monuments and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Link to the Conservation page here or directly to the Conservation Brochure.

Wimbledon windmill, a high value heritage asset and grade 2* listed building, now has its sails back thanks to renovation carried out by Reading millwrights and building conservationists, Owlsworth IJP under the direction of Marcus Beale Architects.  The project, funded by local donations and the National Heritage Lottery Fund completed on 9 November 2016. It involved re-cladding the tower, over a designed substrate which takes account of the high wind loads, and reinstalling the sails, one of which broke off due to a shear force in the block, the pin which holds the sails together. MBA have advised on the windmill since 2014, preparing a conservation statement which pointed out that the mill was clad in metal for most of its history, and suggesting this as an alternative, a radical step too far for the conservatives of Wimbledon. This is MBA’s fourth completed project for the Wimbledon and Putney Commons Conservators. Others have been the Information Centre, Mill Cottage, and the new flat at the Richardson Evans Memorial Pavilion.  The Wimbledon Common Act of 1871 forbids new building or new enclosure on the common land, which belongs to everybody. No land which was unenclosed in 1871 can become enclosed, and no land which was un-built can be built upon, unless the new structure can be taken down within 48 hours.

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The programme of conservation at Westminster Abbey Chapter House in London is now complete.   The project, which was on site for 18 months, completed on time and under budget for our client, English Heritage; with work completed by Nimbus Conservation Ltd.  The works were directed by Stow & Beale Conservation Architects, the specialist conservation arm of MBA.