Our clients have owned the Pittodrie Podiatry Practice, at 318 King Street, Aberdeen for a number of years and were looking to expand their business because they needed more space.

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We had to consider the option of expanding the existing practice into the adjoining premises with the aim of forming one larger unit to include treatment rooms at basement level.

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Our clients had a very limited amount of time to decide whether or not purchasing the neighbouring property would be viable decision and needed us to to make the necessary investigations  quickly to ensure that any decision to go forth was one that would support their objectives.

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An early dialogue with our team of professional consultants and the Local Authority Planning and Building Standards Service allowed us to suggest we could make this all work.  A full measurement survey was conducted along with some invasive surveying to determine existing structure.

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There were a few potential issues during the initial survey/site investigations when we found the basement floor had very limited headroom.  Our measurement survey also confirmed an added complexity in that the two adjacent units were divided by a major thick and load bearing granite wall and the floor levels of the existing and new units were at different heights. Furthermore, the new unit floor level was a step above street level making less-abled visitor access very difficult and non-compliant with regulations.  The existing shopfront needed to be changed and consent from Aberdeen City Council was required.

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Fortunately, the team at Roundhouse Architecture is very experienced in handling unexpected complications.  With careful consideration of the existing structure and layout, using our existing survey drawings and 3D modelling software we were able to prepare a conceptual layout for our clients consideration.  Upon the clients instruction and the advice of the Structural Engineers, we began a fairly major refurbishment which included the removal of the existing floor in the new unit and we proceeded to excavate  the basement floor.  Once that part of the construction was complete we merged the units into one using steel supports so that the units could be accessed via one and other.

 

In this particular project we, as a team were responsive to the time-limited needs of our clients and worked with them and their team of dedicated contractors and friends to help expand their practice and create a very welcoming space for their clients within the desired time frame.

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