This heritage-sensitive bespoke architectural design project demonstrates our specialist expertise in care home design. We provided a complete architectural service, from initial feasibility studies and heritage appraisal, through planning submission and detailed technical design, to construction-stage support and final completion on site.
The scheme delivers a contemporary yet contextually appropriate single-storey rear extension, connected to the existing building via a discreet glazed link. This approach minimises intervention to the fabric of the Grade II listed Green Lane House, originally designed in 1878 by Philip Webb as a vicarage for St Martin’s Church, Brampton. By cutting the new building sensitively into the garden topography, we achieved a low visual impact while preserving daylight to the bedrooms of the historic main house – addressing the principal shortcomings of earlier two-storey proposals.
Set within the beautiful Cumbrian countryside close to the Lake District, the extension provides 14 spacious en-suite bedrooms. Most feature full-height patio doors opening directly onto private garden terraces. At the centre of the plan are bright, generously proportioned communal living and dining areas that also enjoy direct garden access, encouraging social interaction in a calm, homely environment. Dedicated staff and maintenance facilities are positioned to maintain clear operational separation while supporting efficient day-to-day care.
Material choices – including light brown render paired with contemporary grey vertical slatted composite cladding and a natural slate roof – complement the warm red sandstone of the original Philip Webb building, creating a harmonious blend of traditional form and modern architectural language. The crisp grey vertical slatting provides a refined contemporary texture and rhythm to the elevations while offering excellent durability, low maintenance and weather resistance, ideally suited to a care home environment. The natural slate roof reinforces the traditional Cumbrian material palette and sits comfortably alongside the existing steeply pitched roofs.
Wide accessible corridors, appropriate colour contrasts, high lighting levels and calming internal palettes have been incorporated throughout to meet current care standards and support the wellbeing of residents, including those with visual impairment.
The project retains the most level areas of the rear garden as shared communal space for all residents, ensuring the existing landscape continues to be enjoyed by the wider care home community.
We are proud to have guided this scheme from architectural feasibility through technical design and planning approval to successful completion on site. The result is a high-quality, resident-focused addition that enhances the capacity and amenity of Greenlane Care Home while respecting its important listed setting in the Cumbrian landscape.
