Carden Place: Bringing a Granite Villa Home Again
Some buildings have a quiet way of telling you what they want to be.
When we first stepped inside Carden Place, it was technically an office — but it didn’t feel like one. Beneath the partitions, suspended ceilings, and commercial lighting, there was a house patiently waiting to re-emerge.
Built in 1877, this granite villa in Aberdeen’s West End was always meant to be a family home. Like many buildings in the area, it was heavily altered during the oil boom, when demand for office space reshaped domestic buildings across the city. In this case, walls were removed rather than added, proportions were lost, and many of the features that gave the house its sense of warmth and identity were hidden or stripped out altogether.
Our brief wasn’t just to convert it back into a house.
It was to restore its soul.
Finding the House Beneath the Office
One of the most rewarding parts of this project was the process of discovery.
As we carefully removed later interventions, fragments of the original building began to reveal themselves — a section of cornice here, a hint of a fireplace there. And then came one of those moments every architect secretly hopes for: beneath layers of modern coverings, we uncovered the original patterned tiled floor in the entrance porch, untouched for decades.
It instantly changed how the house felt. That threshold told a story — of craftsmanship, care, and arrival — and it set the tone for the entire restoration. Rather than imposing something new, the building was guiding us.
Why Bringing It Back to a Home Really Matters
Returning Carden Place to residential use wasn’t just a design decision — it was a placemaking one.
These granite villas were designed as homes, forming a coherent, human-scaled streetscape. Reinstating that use supports exactly what Scotland’s National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) champions: reuse of existing buildings, reduced embodied carbon, walkable neighbourhoods, and stronger communities.
Sometimes the most sustainable thing you can do is not to build more — but to care better for what’s already there.
Reinstating the traditional iron railings at the front was a small but powerful moment in that journey. Suddenly, the house belonged to the street again, visually and socially reconnecting it to the wider terrace.
Craftsmanship Makes All the Difference
This project simply wouldn’t be what it is without the incredible skill of local craftspeople.
Specialist stained-glass artists carefully restored original panels and created new ones that feel entirely at home in the building. Decorative plasterers revived fragile cornices using traditional techniques. Joiners reinstated timber detailing and crafted bespoke elements that sit comfortably within the villa’s proportions. Every trade brought knowledge, care, and pride to their work.
There’s a depth and authenticity you can feel in spaces shaped this way — and it’s something no off-the-shelf solution can replicate.
Making Space for Contemporary Life
While the front of the house reclaimed its historic elegance, the rear was reimagined to suit how we live today.
We created a bright, open-plan kitchen, dining, and snug area that now forms the heart of the home. It’s a space designed for gathering, cooking, conversation, and connection — with strong links to the garden — while still respecting the building’s original grain.
Upstairs, the layout was carefully reshaped to create a new master suite with an en-suite, bringing modern comfort into a heritage setting without forcing the building to behave like something it isn’t.
Sustainability, Sensitively Done
Improving the energy performance of a solid granite villa is never straightforward — and it shouldn’t be rushed.
We took a careful, fabric-first approach: installing breathable internal insulation, improving airtightness, and introducing efficient heating systems, all while ensuring the building could continue to perform as a healthy, breathable structure.
The result is a house that feels noticeably warmer and more comfortable, without compromising its character — fully aligned with NPF4’s ambitions for climate resilience and low-carbon living.
From Car Park to Garden Sanctuary
One of the most dramatic transformations happened outside.
What was once a gravel car park has become a biodiverse garden — layered planting, permeable surfaces, and varied species creating a calm, green sanctuary. It’s a space that supports biodiversity, wellbeing, and seasonal change, and it completely transforms how the house is experienced.
A reminder that good design doesn’t stop at the back door.
A Home Ready for Its Next Chapter
Today, Carden Place feels whole again.
It’s a home that honours its past, supports contemporary life, and is ready for a sustainable future. More than that, it’s a clear example of how heritage buildings can positively contribute to placemaking, environmental responsibility, and community life — when they’re treated with care, patience, and understanding.
If you’re thinking about restoring a period property, converting an existing building, or simply want to understand what sensitive, thoughtful design can achieve, I’d love to talk.
Because sometimes, the best architecture is about listening — and letting a building become itself again.
