• The new office block would need to integrate with a pair of former station master’s cottages, a semi-detached, pitched-roof structure without any foundations.

• As much as possible of the existing site’s valuable car parking and yard space was to be retained.

• The client wanted to be able to showcase the warmth and finishing options of concrete within the new building.

• Energy efficiency was a pre-requisite.

A modern, flat-roofed, two-storey concrete structure, the office extension wraps around one end and a complete side of the existing station master’s cottages. Using a grey fibre cement cladding and an aluminium curtain wall glazing system, the building’s façade complements the white rendered walls and red tiled roof of the old building.

Since the two cottages had no foundations, the new building was designed to have no load-bearing contact with the old structure. To create the space for the new building, Blue Dot reduce-dug below the adjacent roadside and alongside the existing cottages and installed sheet piled retaining walls.

The new building’s concrete box structure was achieved using an innovative self-leveling product, developed by Blue Dot in conjunction with a concrete manufacturer. It meant wall and window voids could be poured in one smooth process.

State-of-the-art green technology was employed throughout the building, including a wood chip biomass boiler, solar panels and energy saving devices.

Blue Dot’s two-storey, energy-efficient office space has been well-received, for both its highly contemporary look, as well as its sympathetic integration with the station master’s cottages. It has succeeded in retaining the majority of the existing parking and yard space, and will also accommodate future expansion, with the addition of a further two storeys of modular build.