St Andrew Place

Located in York’s historic core, St Andrew Place was built in the 1980s and has undergone a whole house re-design and refurbishment that included a new extension. Every element from the roof to the ground floor was improved together with the layout of the rooms to transform a dark and cramped interior into open, light-filled spaces with long, inviting views. The design team overcame significant physical challenges to fit everything the client requested and externally there were huge challenges working within a tight urban location.

The client’s requirements included:-

• An open plan living space on the ground floor
• A new garden extension and landscaping
• Efficient and bright naturally lit access to the new bedroom layout
• Healthy indoor environment to support family health
• Natural building materials with low VOCs and high energy performance
• Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery and an air source heat pump to replace the inefficient gas central heating
• High levels of storage
• New bathrooms, windows and kitchen
• Views of York Minster from the upper floors

The project thoughtfully revitalised a tired townhouse into a elegant energy efficient home with meticulous attention to detail.  This project creates an inspiring space that highlights the best potential of refurbishment, enhancing sustainability and comfort in the heart of a historic city. Modern sustainable technologies and cradle-to-cradle materials creates a low energy solution to upgrading this dwelling.

This retrofit project was awarded the Small Residential York Design Award in 2025. The Judges described St Andrews Place as

“A project that imaginatively and sustainably reimagines a modest family home, creating seamless connections between interior and exterior spaces. Maximising potential, the judges felt that this project is an exemplar in the use of environmentally friendly materials and construction to deliver a transformation that embraces sustainability, functionality, and modern design, while celebrating the historic context.”