‘My home was an old workshop'

Richard Ball converted and extended a small, cold Victorian industrial building into a modern, eco-friendly place to live

- VICTORIA JENKINS

Richard Ball spotted this workshop online; dating from the 1890s, it still had tools inside. With a single skin of red brick for its walls and no heating or insulation, not to mention its size, it was uninhabitable. ‘It had a roof, water and electricity, but that was it,’ says Richard. It did, however, come with planning permission for conversion and an extension. ‘I’d always wanted a building project,’ he says.

CHANGING PLANS Richard wanted to make changes to the plans and brought Martin Smart of Hayward Smart Architects on board. Martin designed a contemporary, single-storey extension linked to the workshop by a frameless-look glass lobby, which underlines the difference between the two buildings. ‘The planners were keen to ensure that the extension wouldn't dominate the old building,’ says Martin.