Living and working in Pembrokeshire, Welsh born Steve Hole has been in architectural practice in Narberth since 1981.

As well as prestigious and ground breaking work involving restorations, grand designs and contemporary homes, he was also commissioned to bring life back to the Old Bonded Stores in his hometown, that heralded a new Museum in Narberth.

The restoration project to support the foundation of the museum, voted in 2013 as ‘one of the 10 best Museums in the country’, was widely praised by judges.

The Bond’ as it is affectionately known locally, is a rare example of nineteenth century industrial architecture in the town. The test was to find a way of inviting people in, without losing the solid character of the original building. The skeleton of the robust industrial structure remained the prominent feature in the finished building. All the new work was unashamedly modern.

The result has been described as ‘breathtaking’.

Local editor of the town’s web platform described his experience on being shown round prior to the official launch;

‘The light from the staircase which filters people to the exhibition area on the first floor appears divinely simple in design and purpose. The way in which the construction takes people upwards to experience the town’s history is elevating in very sense. Being walked through the building for the first time and pausing at these stairs, honestly felt like a moment of epiphany..’.

You can utilise our platform to investigate some recent projects. Our ‘Wonderwall’ is documentation of some of the plans and finished project designs that have become a part of the Pembrokeshire landscape over the last 33 years.

^{Steve Hole architects LLP
summer 2013}

Parke is a C17th Pembrokeshire cottage situated on a smallholding in the very south of the County. It is a rare survivor of the usual later modifications and retained a good part of the original base course straw thatch tied to waney oak laths with twisted straw rope. All of this had been protected from the elements under a tin roof for the last sixty years.

Parke from the East

A huge protective scaffold was erected over the whole property before we could begin to carefully remove the layers of tin and timber covering the original roof.

We had understood from the records that the original cottage under thatch had later been supplement with a C19 extension, perhaps a parlour? as well as having had a new lateral chimney on the front elevation. As the thicknesses of limewash applied over a couple hundred years were removed, the building started to tell a different and far more complex story.

The rear and gable wall of the C19 extension exhibit mortar that is perhaps older than the cottage under thatch while the front wall of the extension has clearly been rebuilt in the nineteenth century. The older walls revealed hidden ventilation slot openings hinting that this may have been an attached animal byre long ago. Further mysteries surround the east wall of the old cottage itself where floor to ceiling joints are found that no longer relate to the existing openings. We have speculated that the cottage originally had a central doorway with symetrical windows located either side, an arrangement that was later moved north as the lateral chimney with a C19 cast iron range was added. Perhaps we will not know for sure unless the ground reveals further clues when the existing tiles are lifted. At first inspection our Master Thatcher, Pembrokeshire’s Alan Jones, had thought that we may be able to save some of the original base course, but as the building was gradually revealed it became clear that it has deteriorated too much. However, we were able to save samples of the  straw thatch, the straw rope and oak pegs now retained at St Fagans Folk Museum.

Work continues at a good pace replacing rotting timbers while retaining most of the original A frames, consolidating walls and lintols ready for thatching to begin.

It has been a much loved and well used holiday home for a good number of years comprising a three bedroom cottage and a converted outbuilding (probably a cow byre originally) that housed a teenagers room, games room and store. The two buildings were at near right angles to one another and at a level difference of about 700mm.

We wanted to link the two buildings together to form a larger permanent dwelling with twenty first century accommodation and services. The planning authority were correctly opposed to the creation of anything that lost the individual identity of the buildings or coalesced them into one mass.

Our solution was a glass box that linked the reordered plans together and allowed a change of level, but was transparent when viewed at a distance. The glazed link is carefully designed to have flush surfaces externally reducing its visual impact.

To accommodate the link we had to raise the roof level of part of the outbuilding, but this allowed a loft room to be created as part of an individual bed/living annex.

The new emphasis of the plan is on extensive living space, kitchen, dining, glass link and living room having the capability to form one fluid space centred on the glass link which has become a hub in the dwelling.

Bedrooms are now all to the south east area of the house clustered around a new contemporary bathroom and side lobby area with French door access to the rear court. The property has a state of the art ground source heat pump.

Architect: Steve Hole Architects
LLP

It has a fairly simple plan, narrow frontage with sufficient depth to have comfortable rooms both front and back about a typical Tenby central staircase with sweeping curved hardwood handrails. This arrangement allows light to flood into the core of the property at every floor level.

Externally the building fronts onto the pavement along the narrow cobbled street. It has a rear courtyard lit and paved to enjoy summer evenings.

The renovation scheme involved the creation of a utility/wet room in the basement complete with a walk in shower to facilitate the buildings primary function as a beach holiday home in the resort. Further changes involved alterations on the ground floor linking the kitchen and dining room in to one continuous space with the external courtyard. Otherwise the plan layout remained the same, but bathrooms and showers were completely modernised.
The building is furnished and equipped to an extremely high standard, an ideal seaside holiday townhouse. Booking is available on-line through http://www.ruralretreats.co.uk/

Architect: Steve Hole Architects
LLP
Quantity Surveyor: Adrian Vasey of Downies
Main Contractor: FDS Construction
Mechanical Engineer: Narberth Heating and Plumbing
Electrical Engineer: Glen Bowen
Bespoke Furniture: Pembridge Furniture and Bugols

Narberth Museum is proud to be a finalist in the Artfund Museum of the Year Award 2013. “A little gem of a museum, a small, delicate, terraced temple to the past in an old market town” – Tristram Hunt MP., a judge for the Museum of the Year Award.

Museum staff and volunteers had spent eight long years campaigning and fundraising to be able to go ahead with the conversion of the former James Williams Limited bonded warehouse that had been gifted to the Museum by the late Miss Lee Davies of the former company.

Successful bids to Heritage Lottery Fund, Aggregates Levy and Welsh Assembly Government had finally enabled the scheme to proceed.

Although not a listed building, “The Bond” as it is affectionately known locally is a rare example of 19th century industrial architecture in the town and we treated it with all the care and respect that a listed building would deserve. The Bond with its robust stone walls and barred windows had been created to keep people out for it would have been stacked high with barrels of duty free whisky and rum. Entry was through the large double doors with a double padlock latch, one key for the owner and one for the revenue. We now had to invite people in without loss to the solid character of the original building.

The design scheme aimed to preserve and repair where possible and to ensure that the skeleton of the robust industrial structure remained the prominent feature in the finished building. To this aim, all new work is unashamedly modern, from the playful waveform new entrance wing to the crisp lines of the glazed partitions and staircase all designed to complement and contrast with solidity of the Bond itself. The new walls of the ground floor interior reflect the display boards in the museum itself above by virtue of their bright white straight lines disconnected from the limed walls of the old building. Glass screens and panels allow views of the iron structures that held the weight of the barrels above.

By carefully inserting a new fire escape staircase into the building we were able to achieve an open plan central core from which it is possible to see the full extent of the building interior and move with ease between the various activities accommodated in the building. Access for all is available throughout the scheme, a platform lift allows access to the museum display level on the first floor.<e/m>

Entry to the museum is through the new shop and café for commercial function and importantly through the old Bond padlock doors. The central circulation spine of the building gives access to the research room, artefact store, community room and associated central services. The design allows the community room to be operated as a separate entity for evening use.

The first floor is given over in its entirety to the museum display including areas for education and children’s activities which play an important role in the philosophy of this local museum.

The building has sophisticated electrical and heating systems supplemented with a photovoltaic array concealed in the roof valley capable of providing 4kw of electrical power.

Project manager: Geraldine Delaney – Heritage Regeneration.
Architect: Steve Hole
Quantity Surveyor: Adrian Vasey of Downies
Structural Engineer: John Brailsford
M+E Design Engineer: Mike Sauro
Interpretive Design: Headland Design

Escape to the Coast. A recently finished design by the practice featured for sale by Fine and Country Estate Agents

Built in 2007, extending to approx. 5000 sq ft this architect designed house really is a “Grand Design”. Constructed with an emphasis on modern day living, Eden House is both energy efficient and luxurious, the sheer quality of craftsmanship here is rarely seen today, from the oversized hand crafted Oak front door, the stunning hand made solid Oak stairway to the 3 metre Iroko breakfast bar – a design statement in itself.

All principal rooms face South toward the coast and boast full height glazing with vaulted ceilings and bi fold doors that open onto a 80 sq metre porcelain terrace and sun deck – the outstanding views really are the designing feature of this house; truly captivating.

Eden House lies approx. 800 m to Penally beach, and easy access to Trefloyne Parkland golf course, ½ mile distant, and Tenby links golf course, approx. 1 mile distant. Penally has a great village shop that offers delivery service 7 days a week, a welcoming village pub that provides great home cooked food and a fine restaurant at Penally Abbey hotel, wonderful for a special occasion.

Client’s comment “We wanted to ensure that we could fully appreciate the panoramic views and so the main living rooms are on the first floor. The very generous kitchen, dining and family room overlook Caldey & St Margaret’s Island, from early spring to late summer, with the bifolding doors open, the vast terrace becomes an extension to the house. It is a constant joy to sit and watch the busy waterway, the wheeling birds and the ever changing sea and sky. It is a glorious spot to enjoy a morning coffee or a sunset glass of wine and simply unwind.”

Built on a plot which originally received planning for three houses, the owners of this contemporary home felt it was instead perfect for just one, very substantial home. The five bedroom house features huge amounts of glazing and is defined by two enormous full-height windows to the front gable ends. The crisp, white-rendered walls are in striking contrast to the slate roof, and to the rear lies a hexagonal room, designed to almost sit alone within the garden, yet linked to the main building.

Internally, one of the defining features of the house is the helical staircase, by KDH Fabrications , which sits in the full-height entrance hall, with its combination of  white curves and rich timber treads. Mood lighting ensures the house is just as striking by night as it is by day. http://www.kdhfabrications.co.uk

The layout of the plan was designed to maximise the light gain from the sun path, flooding the house with light through the full-height glazing and linking through to the external garden areas defined by the plan shape. Internally the house can be opened up on the ground floor through the series of double doors into one large living space. Our clients sourced the internal fittings and co-ordinated the interior design, the success of which shows just how much the concept had enthused all involved.

Architect: Steve Hole

Contractors: Mike Higgon and FDS Construction

I love the freedom allowed by the climate, outdoor living spaces and in most parts the total absence of any planning authority control, not to mention the site visit I took at the end of September. There are of course still design constraints imposed by the site, in this case quite severe and ones client’s own brief and preferences for style.

The site is a long narrow strip of land widening slightly and pointing out like a windsock into Kartini Bay just south of Jepara on the northern peninsula of Java. It’s an area I know well having travelled there four times over the past ten years in connection with a factory project, built about five years ago for the same client.

Although Jepara is well off the tourist trail, it has a pleasant warm water coast with white sand beaches and access to the Karimunjawa Island Dive Resort about an hour’s boat trip across the Java Sea.

The proposed villa scheme is based on the traditional architecture of Sumatra and the beautiful thatched grain store buildings in Bali. As with these traditional buildings, it is raised a full storey above ground level, not so much to avoid insect pests and predators but to allow parking and storage in the undercroft and to offer some protection should storms push the normal sea level.

The structure is a simple series of  large “A” frames supporting intermediate floor structures and purlins under a reed thatch roof. Jepara is the furniture woodworking centre of Indonesia thus a wide variety of suitable sustainable hardwoods are available.

The separate living blocks of the design, linked by an open roofed walkway, are offset on plan within the walled site to create views to the sea for most rooms and to define external courtyards in the site for tropical gardens. The main outdoor living terrace off the lounge area has the prominent position at the front of the site immediately over the access lane and beach looking straight into the setting sun.

Cliff Café, Tenby
Client : Atlantic Hotel Limited

Design Brief

Creation of a new bistro bar for the Hotel within the established terraced gardens above the beach cliffs.

Design Solution

The scheme was designed in steel and reinforced concrete creating roof terracing and frameless structural glazing to maximise the panoramic views of the coast and Caldy Island.

The building was anchored back to the existing rock face in the central position amoung the Italianate Gardens created at the turn of the century.

It was envisaged that the new kitchen would serve food not only to the interior of the cafe and its new glass fronted terrace but to tables located on the roof and the other existing garden terraces that lead off from the existing steps down to the beach.

The building was designed to have a simple grill kitchen and air conditioning to counter the heat gain from the glass walls. Services to be brought under the road from the Hotel. Toilet facilities are provided at the lower level, waste water being collected in a pump house under the lower level and pumped back across the road to the hotel.

Contractors
Ross James Construction
Approximate Contract Value
£125,000

Barn Conversion—Conversion of an existing small barn to residential use observing the restrictions of the local planning policies

Design Solution
The scheme proposed that an extension be built to accommodate the new kitchen/dining area which incorporated the stone walls of a previous outhouse. Slate flooring was saved and reused and oak lintels were replaced in kind.

The roof structure was replaced to match the existing and reclad in slate. The barn had lain derelict for many years and was gradually giving in to the onslaught from the brambles that had overtaken it.

Our clients were sensitive to the situation and keen to see the building brought back to life and re-instated for future generations.

The building now has a new life and vibrancy reflecting its past use.

Contractors
Johnny Elston Construction | Approximate Contract value £125,000