Poplar Villas is a sheltered accommodation scheme, located in Scarborough, which houses vulnerable young adults aged between 16-25 years.
Harrow Consulting were appointed by Stonham, part of The Home Group, as Lead Consultant responsible for the architectural design, development and project management of a major scheme of refurbishment works and DDA adaptation works. The building interior was completely redesigned to improve operational needs and promote a sense of ownership amongst staff and residents alike. As part of the architectural design process, we worked closely with residents and staff to ensure that the architectural design reflected their aspirations.
The Refurbishment Project included:
- formation of new communal living area
- formation of industrial kitchen area linked to communal dining area
- alterations to bedsits to form ensuite facilities
- formation of new staff offices
- external refurbishment works
- new mechanical and electrical system
The completion of the refurbishment project was marked by an official opening ceremony carried out by the Mayor of Scarborough, Councillor Hazel Lynskey, in front of an invited audience of officials and residents.
Ken Tait, Property Services Officer (North) at Stonham, commented on the project:
“Poplar Villa had reached the point where investment in its facilities was clearly required, and it was important that we got the refurbishment work right, especially as this is one of the only facilities of its kind in the local area.
As well as producing an innovative overall design response to our brief, the Harrow team stayed very close to the project on a day-to-day basis and were instrumental in ensuring that everything was realised exactly as planned. The involvement of Poplar Villa’s residents in the design of the new interior gives them a real sense of pride in where they’re living, and we firmly believe this sense of ownership will bring real long-term maintenance and management benefits for us.
The work that Harrow has produced has far exceeded the expectations we had for what was a complex project – we’ve been blown away by the results of the refurbishment, and everyone at the official opening was extremely impressed by what they saw.”