Old Church Street

For Old Church Street, Weber Industries acted as a principal contractor to design and deliver works involving the prefabrication of a ‘pod’ extension for this Grade II* listed home. Weber Industries was responsible for design development, fabrication and project management.

The project demanded close collaboration between client, architect, engineer and English Heritage to ensure the delivery of high quality, bespoke works that were sensitive to their context. Apt’s architectural design of the ‘pod’ took its cue from the elegant vision of Erich Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff. Old Church Street was completed in 1936 and is considered one of the most important Modernist Movement houses in the country. Given the historic significance of the existing building, special attention was paid to matching finishes throughout for seamless integration of the ‘pod’: from the exterior metalwork that mirrors the 1992 conservatory extension designed by Norman Foster, to the bespoke stained veneer that runs throughout the interior.

The entire ‘pod’ structure was prefabricated in our warehouse, including services, glazing and joinery units, before being craned into place by our partners at Snook's Lifting. This special site also demanded a sensitive and innovative approach to logistics, including a lifting plan designed to protect a listed Indian Bean Tree in the client’s garden. Our fabrication methodology was designed to reduce the impact of on-site works, with only one day of exterior installation work being required to site the structure, before finishing works continued on the interior.