Jonathan Davidson Architects

This project converted a former Victorian school house into four family dwellings in the south Manchester suburb of Chorlton. retaining the essential character and responding to the volume of the existing building by providing full height spaces in which the original character can be revealed.


The layout of the development was determined primarily by the size of units to be created and the division lines formed by the existing roof trusses and offshoot wings. Completing this natural rhythm involved extending vertically above the existing ground floor offshoot to the north elevation so that staircases and corridors were provided within the extension.


The west elevation, facing the green was the primary elevation but required modification to provide access to the central two units from the street. This was achieved by extending the existing window openings either side of the central window and providing timber doors that reflected the retained original entrance doors.