Ferguson Mann Architects were delighted to be invited to the Cheltenham Civic Society Awards where Overton House won highly commended in the restoration and refurbishment category. FMA renovated the Victorian villa to create new accessible workspace for Barnwood Trust and a central headquarters for the mental health and disability charity.
The awards recognise the best examples of development in the town’s built environment, aiming to encourage standards of excellence in the restoration of historic buildings and other works in the field of improvement. The judges’ summary of Overton House was:
“This is a really well-considered conversion and build that allows the original locally-listed Victorian villa to be appreciated once again with the removal of an insensitive 1960s block and various additions. The judges felt it was a wonderful restoration of this handsome and prominent villa to provide a homely and much needed facility for assisted living. The access ramp has been designed to be innocuous and yet interesting thanks to sensitive landscaping, providing an object lesson in how to accommodate essential access in a sensitive way. The new addition to the rear is contemporary but in scale and treatment, subservient to the main building. The setting within garden and extensive lawn makes this a wonderful addition to and contributor to the street scene.”
Read more about the project here.
The awards were held at Pip & Jim’s church in Leckhampton, a recently completed project also delivered by FMA. It was great to see the newly reordered church being enjoyed by all at the awards. Read more about the project here.
Photograph by Stefanie Calleja-Gera at Barnwood Trust
