REBUILT WITHOUT ERASING WHAT CAME BEFORE.
Guest Accommodation · Restoration · Conversion · Automation
Hideout began as a neglected rural building with little more than its structure, material and character suggesting what it could become.
Rather than attempting to make the building feel new, the project focused on retaining the qualities that made it interesting in the first place — using the existing fabric as the starting point for a completely new use.
- ORIGINAL BUILD: 1808
- COMPLETION: 2017
- CLIENT: Ramoan Properties
- TYPOLOGY: Hospitality / Guest Accommodation
BUILT FROM WHAT REMAINED.
The building was stripped back to its underlying structure, allowing its condition to be properly understood before being reconstructed as contemporary guest accommodation.
Existing masonry and original fabric were retained wherever possible, with new construction introduced only where required. Insulation, heating, plumbing, electrical infrastructure and modern building services were then integrated into the existing structure.
Internally, the building was reorganised to create three bedrooms alongside living, kitchen, bathroom and utility spaces, with the accommodation extending into the surrounding garden and courtyard.
The distinction between old and new was deliberately allowed to remain visible. New materials were not used to imitate what was already there, but to sit confidently alongside it.
DESIGNED AROUND HOW IT FEELS.
The character of Hideout comes from more than its materials. Proportion, light, warmth, movement and the relationship between spaces were considered together to create somewhere that feels comfortable without feeling overly designed.
The imperfections of the original building were retained where they added character. New interventions were kept simple, allowing the weight and texture of the existing fabric to remain the dominant part of the experience.
The result is deliberately informal — a building designed to be lived in rather than looked at.
INTELLIGENCE IN THE BACKGROUND.
Technology was integrated around the way the accommodation is actually occupied.
Lighting, heating and environmental controls respond to use, allowing the building to provide comfort when required while reducing unnecessary energy consumption when spaces are empty.
Automation removes many of the repetitive interactions normally required to operate a guest property. The intelligence remains largely invisible, leaving guests with simple controls and an environment that responds naturally around them.
The objective was not to automate the experience, but to make the experience effortless.
OLD AND NEW, LEFT TOGETHER.
Hideout was never intended to become a polished version of an old building. Its age, irregularities and existing materials remain part of what gives the property its identity.
Contemporary construction, modern services and intelligent technology were introduced around that existing character rather than over it.
A NEW USE, BUILT AROUND WHAT WAS ALREADY WORTH KEEPING.
