Mount Anvil's sensitive re-purposing of historic buildings
Developer Mount Anvil has been talking about the level of care that it takes in the re-building of historic homes.
Planning Director, Andrew Reid, presented one of the developer's latest projects - Hampstead Manor - in the debate around preserving and re-purposing heritage at our Future Cities Forum in June.
Kidderpore Hall featured above is one of the 13 distinct buildings in the development in Kidderpore Avenue, Hampstead. The white stuccoed mansion with Greek-revival features was built in 1843 by the ambitious East India leather trader John Teil. In 1890, the site was transformed into Westfield College for women to study botany.
Located near Hampstead Village, 156 homes have now been created in one of the UK's most desirable postcodes, 98 as new builds and 54 conversions, ranging from studio apartments to five-bedroom houses. The development features a 24-hour concierge service, spa, private gym and swimming pool.
Mount Anvil takes the inspired step of using dogs to help sniff out damp in historic buildings before it moves into re-develop, so that re-construction can be carried out sensitively.
The same careful approach is taken in the training of those who work on the firm's developments and other construction projects. The British Safety Council has awarded Mount Anvil with the highest ever audit score of 99.97% for its accredited industry training courses. The company's leading health and safety expereince is applied to every course run for professionals and individuals at its Centre of Excellence where investment has been made in the latest innovation in training aids.
Among the other speakers at our event on heritage, was Chief Executive of Historic England, Duncan Wilson, who spoke about the re-development of both the Royal Naval College in Greenwich into a university and music school campus, and also the opening up of Somerset House as a major cultural venue,in The Strand, London. Cushman and Wakefield Partner, Stephen Miles along with Atkins Global Director, Andrew Croft both talked about the value of re-purposing Victorian mills, in and around Leeds and West Yorkshire.