Haworth Tompkins

Snape Maltings was built on the Suffolk coast in the mid-nineteenth century. The buildings were falling into disuse by the time the Gooderham family bought them in the 1960s. Since then, while the Aldeburgh Festival has gone from strength to strength, the Gooderhams have established a thriving retail centre at the historic site.

Heritage Centre, Residential and Retail

Suffolk

Johnny Gooderham has commissioned Haworth Tompkins to complete the rebirth of Snape with additional retail space, a Heritage Centre, and 65 new residential units, as his part of a joint project with Aldeburgh Music to rescue the remaining derelict buildings.

Our challenge for the residential units has been to create exciting living spaces while preserving the special character of the existing structures. While the external appearance of Snape will be as little changed as possible, pitched roofs, double-height spaces and open terraces will carve out unique homes behind the industrial facades.

The scheme has been designed for low energy use with a biomass central plant installation. A palette of natural finishes has been chosen to accord with the character of the Maltings buildings and landscape.

The need to lift housing above the 200-year flood-risk level has created opportunities for additional uses at ground level. One malting floor will be converted so as to double the existing retail area. The best-preserved kilns will become a Heritage Centre for visitors to the Maltings with ancillary exhibition and seminar rooms.

The end result will be to bring new life to Snape Maltings without harming the balance between its superb industrial architecture and the surrounding landscape of the coast.

SNAPE MALTINGS
Client: George Gooderham Investments Ltd
Value: £18m
Completion: 2008 - 2010