Member Article

Ludlow ‘Grand Design’ is written in the stars with new Tinie Tempah TV architecture show

A grand design project by a Shropshire architect was one of the stars of a recent TV series fronted by Tinie Tempah.

Johnson Design Partnership (JDP), which has transformed water towers, riverside properties and Bishop Percy’s House in Bridgnorth, was selected by production company Avalon to be featured in its Extraordinary Extensions series.

The programme made its debut in October, with the rapper charting the progress of Evenhay Farm near Ludlow, a stunning £250,000 ‘angular’ conversion of a three-bed Grade II listed cottage and barn, featuring a new glass fronted annexe and glazed walkway.

Alan Harris and Lynda Hall decided to move back to the area from Nottingham and had the vision to work with Alan Harris senior to turn the family home into a place which they could all live in and enjoy the stunning views.

They turned to JDP for expert advice on initial designs, feasibility studies and securing planning, with the architect working with Hayward Construction to turn the dream into a reality.

“There’s not many bigger platforms than prime time national television to show exactly what an architect’s practice in Bridgnorth is capable of,” explained Matt Spinks, Director at Johnson Design Partnership.

“And the production company chose a superb, but complex project to follow, which we really enjoyed getting to grips with and overcoming some very technical challenges that arise when you work with a Grade II listed building.”

He continued: “It was great to be interviewed about the design techniques we used and how we created the asymmetrical feature of the extension that Alan and Lynda were so keen on. It was also good to get the odd fleeting glance of Tinie Tempah and learn more about his passion for innovative design and architecture – two attributes I hope he felt came out in our work.”

Evenhay Farm, which is nestled just outside of Ludlow, was completed in two phases to ensure the family could remain on site during the complicated build.

The barn was the first task, with it transformed to create the new two-bed self-contained property with kitchen and living space that can be used by visitors or as a potential future Airbnb opportunity.

Once this was complete, Alan, Alan Snr and Lynda then moved into the conversion to allow for the modernisation and extension of the main Grade II listed cottage.

This involved a considerable kitchen expansion and the creation of a glazed walkway that leads to the new, stunning annexe that locally is being referred to as ‘the ski slope’. Here there is a shower room, dedicated living space and a master bedroom, with the focus on delivering 270 views of the Herefordshire countryside.

Vic Johnson, founder of JDP, went on to add: “We’ve loved working on this project, a project that has taken a childhood home and transformed it into a property that allows the family to live together again and maximises its beautiful surroundings.

“There’s lots of really nice architectural touches we’ve used and Tinie Tempah explored them really well during the programme. Viewers were guided through the pitched sedum roof and incorporated irrigation system, Siberian larch timber cladding as a rain screen on the extension and the way we have really accentuated the views through the angular styling.”

Alan Harris concluded: “This is our dream home and Matt and the team have done a fantastic job listening to our vision and always putting our best interests at heart. We’re so proud of it and it’s great we’ve been able to share the construction of the project with Extraordinary Extensions.

“I think Tinie Tempah summed it up best when he said it was a ‘love letter to the local landscape’.”

For further information on Johnson Design Partnership, please visit www.johnsonltd.co.uk or follow @jdpltd on twitter. You can watch Extraordinary Extensions on All 4.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Russ Cockburn .