We were first invited to help Oak Hill College with some refurbishment work on the ground floor of their grade II listed building. In the process and through dialogue with the College, questions were raised about the development priorities and whether this modest refurbishment project should be the focus of attention in the short term. The absence of a strategic masterplan had led to a scattered approach to capital projects, addressing needs in isolation rather than in a coherent and big picture way.

Instead of investing in the modest refurb project, a comprehensive masterplan appraisal and design study was commissioned. The study didn’t focus on architectural potential of the site in isolation but explored how well the buildings and site currently serve the vision, mission and business needs of the College and identifying ways that the College could be better served by its buildings and wider site. One of Oak Hill’s USPs is the ability to provide housing for students to live on the College campus together with their families as part of the wider College community for the duration of their course. The College offers accommodation for single students, houses and flats for married couples and for families with children. Significant investment has been made in the housing stock and academic facilities over the years but planning and legal covenants that apply to many of the buildings and site areas are complicated to navigate and limit how the facilities can be used.

The masterplan study identified several inefficiencies of the site and shortcomings of the buildings including some subtle and overt ways in which they were hindering the work and development of the College. It put forward a robust strategy to address the issues and a road map for future development which met the College’s needs as well as providing new income generation opportunities.

Grant Farrant – former Operations & Finance Director at Oak Hill College said: 

“Leap Architects’ architectural vision and creativity is energizing to work with in terms of possibilities being presented to you that are better than you could have imagined. Often there is the trap that as the ‘steward’ of the building you are best placed to know what the best solution might look like, but time and time again Kelvin has demonstrated that as a client you can be blind to the potential, yet working together ensures the perfect blend to build on both perspectives.

Leap Architects are particularly good at working collaboratively with the client. This sounds simple but is a significant part of project success in charitable organisations where it is critical to ensure trustees and beneficiaries are very much part of the journey. Kelvin’s wisdom, patience and ability to listen well is key to the success of his stakeholder management – but neither is it a typical consultant who just listens and re-presents it all back to the client… it is listening to inform the proposals, based on his professional skill and expertise. And it may even involve accepting and implementing proposals that may well be the opposite of what you first imagined they might be!”