Keeping what was already right

The old school had good bones: tall windows, a generous stair and granite walls a metre thick. Our first decision was to remove as little as possible.

New floors are cast in light concrete and set slightly apart from the old walls, so the line between then and now stays legible. The stair was cleaned, repaired and lit from a recessed channel.

Reuse is not nostalgia. It is the most direct way to save carbon we know.

A school for the neighbourhood again

The ground floor now opens to the street as a reading room and hall. Upstairs, twelve studios are rented at below-market rates to local makers.