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The Cowyards, Blenheim Park

Blenheim Palace was designed by Sir John Vanburgh and built between 1705 and 1722.The Park, in which the Palace is set, was landscaped by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown in the 1760s was inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1987.

As a World Heritage Site, Blenheim Park is unusually still privately owned and is still self-sustaining. The disused cow yards, built circa 1860 as a model farm, offered the client a revenue opportunity to further improve the sustainability of the Estate.

The Cowyards consisted of four separate single-storey buildings, laid out around internal courtyards. A natural-stone wall, within the Park grounds, defines the boundary.  As part of the Estate, the site holds Grade II listing and is set within a Grade I Landscape.

Ridge, who has worked on Blenheim projects for some 20 years, came in as a potential occupier at an early stage, and with the added advantage of being able to develop the initial design to its own requirements, Ridge wanted a building with sustainability as an important priority.

Ridge’s sympathetic approach to restoration carefully conserved the historic details; sensitive consideration was given to the new use of the building to enhance existing features. Any changes to the fabric of the building were limited; the footprint remains unchanged with the exception of a glazed link (which was incorporated to unite the buildings), and the formation of new openings was reduced to a minimum.

With sustainability at the top of Ridge’s agenda, it engineered a heating and ventilation solution which utilises the heavy mass of the building by heating and cooling the fabric via a low temperature hot water under-floor heating system. During summer, this same system uses cooled water circulated through the under-floor pipework to transfer internal heat gains to outside. This is complimented by the use of ridge vents in each unit, which disperse heated air at high level.

Hard landscaping and external works within the development follow a rural character utilising natural materials (stone, slate, lead), much of which has been reclaimed and reused - any new timber has been sourced in a responsible manner, even the carpets have been made from recycled material.

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