Client
Maven
Year
2023
Services
BusinessesThe Concept
This Listed building, built in 1935 and located on a prominent corner on the Lisburn Road, Belfast, has been repurposed as a contemporary homewares shop, for locally owned design-led business, Maven. This fine single storey building, originally designed by the Bank of Ireland in-house architect, had been used as a bank until relatively recently, however, had been unsympathetically altered over the years.
The brief here was to make minimal interventions, reinstating the original scale of the banking hall and sensitively adapting the existing extensions to the building to integrate with an open plan layout, while retaining as much of the existing character and historic fabric as possible. The building was carefully stripped out of unsympathetic previous alterations, and the spaces opened up to provide a bright spacious layout to showcase contemporary furnishings and accessories. Services and back of house functions were carefully re-ordered to maximise the space for retail floor, and the existing bank vault remains unaltered in the basement.
Existing features such as the unique window surrounds and mahogany and brass radiator covers in the main banking hall were retained, and one missing surround was carefully reinstated, and simple shelving fitted. A bespoke long counter positioned within the former banking hall, was designed with an engraved pattern that echoes the motif of the existing brass radiator grill, a nod to the craft of the original installation, reflected in the new contemporary counter. Following careful consultation with HED, Listed Building Consent was granted for the alteration works.
