Auburn Hill, who design and build luxury orangeries and conservatories across the UK, has taken conservatory design to new heights with one of their recent builds. When they were approached about replacing a rotten timber conservatory in Brentwood Essex; the build was set to be anything but ordinary.

While on first inspection the build looked like it would be fairly straight forward, the RIBA certified architects at Auburn Hill were soon notified that the demolition and reconstruction would need to be completed without disrupting an 80-year-old grape vine.

In order to ensure the build could take place without any harm occurring to the grape vine, arboriculture and vine impact assessments were carried out by the attentive team to ensure the vine survived the project without coming to any harm.

All groundwork was completed by hand in order to identify the roots of the vine and to keep them protected during excavation work. In order to make sure the vine could continue its development the root systems had to be protected before the foundations were completed.

A temporary support structure was installed to hang the vine in the same position throughout the works, which meant that once the build was completed the vine hadn’t moved an inch from its previous position.

Due to the sensitivity of the vine, the conservatory fabricators had to install a specially made hardwood frame, which was assembled on site around the trunk. Bespoke glass was then installed to ensure the vine was housed in top growing conditions.

Auburn Hill operate across design, specification and build which meant they had complete control of the build from inception to completion. Leaving the proprietors with a completely bespoke build and their ageing vine intact.

As the vine project proves, residential projects can be just as exciting and intriguing as larger builds. While ultra-modern builds certainly have their place, importing the old into the new creates a build with a long tale to tell.