Conservation
Buttress was appointed to oversee the restoration of Preston Park Museum, which is located within the grounds of a Grade II listed Georgian mansion on the banks of the River Tees.
The museum
In addition to the restoration of the building, which included re-roofing, re-pointing and stonework cleaning and repair work, the interiors have been remodelled to improve visitor access and create gallery spaces that are more suitable for modern museum use.
The visitor flow through the museum has been redesigned with a continual progression, which flows from one room to another.
New openings have been created on the ground floor, whilst on the upper floor, the removal of corridor access is a significant intervention to the building fabric, creating a series of interconnected rooms.
Access within the building has also been improved with the creation of new stairs and lifts. The improvement of M+E systems has also been key to the project, with new services designed to sit sensitively and almost invisibly within the historic rooms.
To achieve this, we worked closely with the exhibition designers whilst detailing the architectural changes and M+E to ensure a coherent and integrated approach to the new design. All exhibition spaces have been redesigned and a small number of new galleries created.
The Victorian street
In addition to the main museum works, we were also involved in the renovation of the replica Victorian Street, located outside of the Georgian mansion. A new sweet shop and café, housed in one of the historic shops, was also created to increase the commercial revenue of the redeveloped museum and enhance the vibrancy of the street scene.
The Victorian walled garden
A separate commission, running concurrent to the museum refurbishment, was the repair and redevelopment of the formed walled kitchen garden and orchard.
The garden has been redesigned to the style of a kitchen garden of 1895, which is keeping with the date of the museum, and is open to the public as part of the full museum offer.
Architectural elements such as a Bothy and new glasshouses have been reintroduced alongside new sections of wall to complete the development works.
Image credits
© Jill Tate
Neal Charlton
Neal leads Buttress' arts and culture team, with a focus on the restoration, care and adaptation of historic and listed buildings.
Stephen Anderson
Stephen leads the practice's heritage team, specialising in projects that involve listed buildings and heritage assets and responding to their impact on place and local communities.
Samantha Knights
Samantha enjoys delivering design solutions for complex projects involving new build and heritage buildings, cultivating a confident and sensitive approach to design.