the old silk works

INDUSTRIAL OFFICE RETROFIT - WARMINSTER, WILTSHIRE

A feasibility study exploring options for the creative reuse and interior re-configuration of a former silk works in Warminster. Formally known as the Brocklehurst-Whiston Amalgamated Silk Works, the factory closed down in the 1950s.

Beneath its modern linings and dropped ceilings, this disused building retained much of its original fabric and architectural features including its slender steel roof ties, deep cast iron floor beams and structural oak floorboards - originally designed to support the large machinery loads or the fabric looms and winding frames.

The proposal defined options for creating a new office environment for a local engineering firm, with requirements for a flexible working space that met the needs of its growing business. A series of steel screens were developed to help define private offices from the communal working areas, interspersed with informal meeting areas and hot desking zones.

Subtle interventions were required to help improve the thermal performance of the fabric and manage the acoustics, in a layout that otherwise sought to preserve a reading of the open factory floor with its prominent structural rhythm. The industrial heritage was enjoyed through the use of raw hot-rolled mild steel finishes and cast iron fittings, and then balanced against the use of coloured graphic glass and upholstered dividers for greater intimacy and warmth.