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WI GC #DC-1142079

(414) 555-0187
CORBELDesign—Build

P-108 / Renovation & adaptive reuse

Malt House Lofts

Twenty years empty, one fire and a failing roof. We turned Walker’s Point’s last malt house into homes, without losing a single arched window.

Elevation drawing of Malt House Lofts: four storeys of brick with arched windows, a glazed market hall at street level and a water tower on the roof
North elevation, 1:200Drawing: Corbel Studio

The brief

The challenge

The malt house was built in 1898 to hold grain, not people. Its floors were rated for barley, not bathrooms; a 2011 fire had charred a third of the timber; and the city wanted the street front kept exactly as it was.

  • Brick walls up to 900 mm thick with no insulation
  • Timber floors too weak for residential loads
  • Historic district rules on every window and opening
  • River-edge site with a high water table

Our solution

We slid a new steel frame inside the old shell, so the brick only carries itself. Sound timber went back in as exposed beams; charred timber became the market hall’s counters.

  • Independent steel frame on 64 new helical piles
  • Inside-face wood-fibre insulation that lets the brick breathe
  • 212 arched windows rebuilt with slim double glazing
  • Ground-source heat pumps under the courtyard

Before / after

Same walls. New life.

Drag the handle, or focus it and use the arrow keys, to compare the street front in 2022 with the finished building.

After: repointed brick, new steel windows and a glazed shopfront
Before: boarded and broken windows, stained brick and a for-lease sign

Drawings & views

Gallery

4 sheets  /  Select to enlarge

1 / 4

North elevation: Restored brick, steel windows and the rebuilt water tower.

North elevation

Restored brick, steel windows and the rebuilt water tower.

Outcome

Delivered under the guaranteed price.

“Corbel told us in month two what the building would cost in month twenty-two. Final account came in 1.8 percent under.”

Priya Raman, Development Director, Lakeline Partners
Homes created
86
Windows restored
212
Under GMP
1.8%
Lost-time incidents
0

Keep looking

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Next step

Got an old building worth saving?

We have brought 41 pre-1930 buildings back into use. Tell us about yours and we will walk it with you, free.

Estimate my project(414) 555-0187