• Refurbishment and extension of a school boarding house
• Grade II listed within a conservation area
• Designed for flexible uses
• New extension sympathetic to conservation area
• Energy performance enhanced
• Landscape works to enhance setting and safety

The refurbishment and extension of Grade II listed Kilbracken Boarding House, set within a conservation area at Rugby School, is part of an ongoing programme by the school to meet current standards and requirements of a modern boarding house.

The project makes a series of internal amendments and adds two external extensions to accommodate the need for increased space. Minor landscape works at the main entrance to relocate parking will improve safety and the setting of the building.

Our design brief was to resolve a series of challenges, including replacing dormitories with rooms and upgrading all rooms to ensuites, to meet current standards

The interior design of the house is being upgraded, with welcoming flexible spaces created for students to socialise and study in various settings.

The scheme includes the demolition of an existing flat roof extension and replaced with a 2.5 storey extension. This has been designed to be sympathetic to the conservation area and the existing listed building, whilst offering a contemporary addition that will enhance the setting of the boarding house.

The new windows and dormers reflect the proportions and levels of the existing building and are arranged in a symmetrical format to reflect the internal bedroom arrangement. The materials used are brick to match existing for the base, with clay hanging tiles, in a geometric pattern formed from fishtail and bullnose formats, on the first-floor. Standing-seam zinc roofing has been used successfully elsewhere in the Rugby School Estate, as a modern material that works within a heritage setting.

The school places great emphasis on sustainability, and as part of the refurbishment lighting and heating are being upgraded to meet current standards, along with insulating the external walls with internal insulation to improve energy performance.