The Stables, Shrewsbury

Adjoining PKA's Lion and Pheasant Hotel remodelling in Shrewsbury, the Stables is built on the footprint of the sixteenth-century coaching inn's former stables.

The brief was to reconstruct the derelict original as a contemporary holiday house, catering for the needs of tourists to the Shropshire capital's historic town centre.

PKA's design reverses the layout of the typical two-storey house; the bedrooms are at the lower level, with an open-plan living, dining and kitchen area above, thereby maximising the efficiency of the limited site area. At the lower level there are two bedrooms, each with its own en-suite bathroom.

The first floor living spaces have a dramatic vaulted ceiling with a continuous skylight along one side, bringing as much sun-shine as possible into the interior. An extensive window area, with French doors and a balcony, capture views of the half-timbered hotel elevation opposite.

PKA's interior and palette of materials and finishes - wood floors, white walls, hardwood windows, vaulted ceiling, painted joinery and simple furniture have been designed to create the atmosphere of calm wellbeing that one expects from a holiday house.

Externally, the house is sympathetic to its context; its flemish-bond, hand-made, brick façade and custom-made hardwood windows are composed into an elevation that is of its time, but a reflection of the Georgian heritage of Shrewsbury.

The Stables compliments PKA's remodelling of the Lion and Pheasant Hotel, recently featured as one of the Sunday Times's "Cool Hotels", and widely recognised as the go-to destination for visitors to Shrewsbury and the favourite restaurant / bar for tourists and locals alike.

Client: E Chidlow & Co.
Value: €250,000

Size: 135 sq.m.

Reference: On application
Design: 1996
Completion: 1998