The Corner Store
A minimal intervention of a much loved but quite derelict local milk bar, much effort was made to retain the quirkiness of the old building and its haphazard approach to additions (storage had been added room by room as needed) whilst clearly demarcating the new insertions.
Care was taken to use quite humble materials, sympathetic to the utilitarian nature of the original building, and so a limited palette of raw and white brick, teak coloured wood and natural slate was repeated throughout the building. The original doorways made of old weathered pine - all of different sizes and heights – were retained all the way down the spine of the building to honour the original builders. At all times it was a case of “doing as much as necessary but as little as possible”. This project is a good example of creating a most liveable home with all the necessary amenities, and then some, within a modest footprint, using basic materials but nevertheless creating a feeling of richness through the layering of history, texture and space.