The Elms | Clapham, London

The Elms is a fine example of a Georgian Palladian style villa that counts Charles Barry, the architect of the Houses of Parliament, among its former tenants. However, the building was subject to a number of unsympathetic and invasive alterations, prior to its Grade II listing in 1955. Having relocated to a modern, purpose built ward, Royal Trinity Hospice decided that conversion to rental flats would give the building a new lease of life and bring a vital regular revenue stream to fund end of life care nursing. Fortunately, some of the historic features, such as the grand 18th century mahogany staircase, original windows and plasterwork, were preserved, even if partially damaged or concealed by modern additions.

With the aim of revealing and restoring the remaining historic fabric, all of the modern internal layers were stripped back and transformed from a run down and disused space into six stunning one and two bedroom flats. After successfully securing planning and listed building consents, original historic features were restored including the main staircase, sash windows, plasterwork, slate roof and leadwork. In addition, floor layouts were reconfigured, the modern staircases and lift removed, and the existing building fabric upgraded enhancing its thermal, fire and acoustic performance.