WARREN FARM

A developer / architect open competition was initiated by Milton Keynes Development Corporation to establish the ‘Warren Farm Office Village’, and our team was awarded the project after winning the competition.

Warren Farm was an intact but derelict group of farm buildings which included farm houses, out-buildings, yards and a system of ponds, all in a rural setting. The ponds were inhabited by a colony of rare 'protected' great crested newts.

The scheme used the original spatial organisation of the farm buildings and incorporated new buildings in amongst the old.

A new fully self-contained office building was designed to complement an adjacent refurbished building, The Grange. This was built in matching materials of red brick with natural slate roofing. Both buildings define a new external courtyard. Internally, the building offers completely open plan accommodation, with raised access floors and suspended ceilings. Situated on the southern edge of the development, Grange Court looks over the adjoining working farmland.

Other new buildings included 2 storey offices, fully self contained and situated in a pleasant courtyard setting. The old pond system was restored and extended, and a new public pedestrian walk was introduced for recreation.

In all, some 37 individual self contained offices were created, arranged around a series of courtyards linked by pedestrian pathways. The new buildings combined the use of high quality traditional materials with modern efficient working accommodation. The original retained buildings were restored with largely reclaimed materials.

Warren Farm Office Village successfully combines a vibrant and readily accessible business community with tranquil and peaceful surroundings close to the centre of Milton Keynes.