Whitworth is an award-winning practice of Chartered Architects and Chartered Building Surveyors. We provide a bespoke and comprehensive service from inception through to completion, offering flexibility over our involvement to align with our clients’ needs.
Previous clients of ours run the successful Burnt House Vineyard near Stowmarket and wanted to expand the business by creating a visitors building to be used for wine tasting events and offices. We secured planning permission for a two storey building in November 2020 and construction was completed in September 2022.
The building is designed with a simple form to tie in with the rural location and is orientated to capitalise on the views of the vineyard. On the ground floor of the building provides a large open plan area for visitors to taste the wine produced by the vineyard together with kitchen facilities, a bar area and toilets. The first floor has an office for use by the vineyard staff. The visitors area has a large vaulted ceiling which extends to the south of the building to provide a covered outdoor area providing views across the vineyard whilst preventing overheating from the Sun during the summer months.
The building is constructed from a timber frame with cedar cladding to the external walls and a slate roof which incorporates solar panels on both sides to contribute towards the building’s energy requirements. A combination of high levels of insulation to the floor, walls and ceiling together with capitalising on the natural solar gains has given the building an energy rating of A.
The building is fully accessible throughout with disabled parking bays, level thresholds and disabled facilities within the building. We also created a car park in front of the building to cater for 50 visitor vehicles and provided electric charging points for cars on site.
In 2023, Whitworth were approach by our client to sympathetically carry out the conversion of an existing 1980s garage, originally built to accommodate the previous owner’s Ferrari, to a new one-bedroom annexe accommodation.
Whitworth oversaw the restoration of the historic Martello Tower in Aldeburgh, the largest of its kind from the Napoleonic Wars.
Discover how this Grade II Listed brick barn was transformed into a stunning contemporary home while preserving its history. Featuring an open-plan living-kitchen space, a sleek glazed link to a new living room extension, and a carefully engineered cantilever staircase, the design blends modern style with original features.