client various
contract value £110,000
area 658 sq. m.
This is one of several projects that Halvorsen Architects has carried out as part of the Dunbar Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS), having previously worked on several similar CARS projects in Gorebridge, which is funded by Historic Environment Scotland.
61–65 High Street, Dunbar is grade-B-listed, mid-18th century tenement block. It is a three-storey, symmetrical, four-bay building, with shops at ground level and flats above.
The stone facade had been covered in a brown, cement-based render, lined to look like stone, in the 1930s. This render had “bossed” away from the stonework in many areas, and come away completely in a few, causing a risk of falling masonry for anyone walking on the pavement below.
Halvorsen Architects advised on the best use of the funds available given the poor condition of the roof, front and rear elevations.
The bulk of the grant went on re-roofing the building, which included installing a breathable membrane and lead “watergates” with the front elevation our second priority. The 1930s render was stripped away and replaced with a natural, breathable, lime-based, yellow, self-coloured render (avoiding the need to paint the facade). Broken and severely eroded stones around doors and windows were replaced with matching red sandstone.
Shopfront grants were also awarded to the project. The 20th century timber shop sign for Graze Coffee House has been replaced with a Georgian style sign – with lettering painted directly onto the projecting stone course above the shop in traditional Georgian style.
The work and detailing was beautifully executed by Restorex.
