In early 2022, Bauman Lyons successfully tendered for the refurbishment of a Grade II Listed former Victorian department store at Cooke’s Studios in Barrow-in-Furness. The building is owned by Westmorland & Furness Council and has been managed by our Client Signal Film & Media, a digital arts charity, since 2008. The building is organised across several storeys accommodating Signal and a diverse range of tenants including a theatre, dance school, a multi-cultural youth group and other voluntary sector organisations.
Ad-hoc adaptations and piecemeal funding throughout the building’s history resulted in a ‘rabbit-warren’ like layout which was poorly connected and difficult for Cooke’s staff and visitors to navigate. The main frontage was of low-quality modern construction with private uses immediately behind, blocking potentially engaging views into the ground floor. Combined with a narrow, intercom controlled entrance, the overall visitor experience was un-inclusive, unwelcoming and not reflective of the vibrant activities and important outreach work being delivered by Signal and their tenants.
We worked closely with Signal to develop a joined-up overarching vision and to phase the works to be deliverable within Arts Council and Community Ownership Fund constraints. Phase 1 of the scheme has focussed on ground floor improvements including new shopfronts and the conversion of a disused attic into an artist studio. The ground floor alterations included removing modern partitions to create inviting and flexible open plan café, exhibition and work spaces. New structural openings were formed between the ‘bays’ of the building to greatly improve connectivity facilitating the ground floor to operate as a unified whole.
We took the opportunity to expose and repair original brickwork and floorboards, lending the spaces an authentic and tactile character while enhancing the historic fabric. New build plywood ‘pods’ that define Signal’s workspace, together with contemporary fittings and judicious use of vibrant colours and finishes, introduce a fresh and energetic aesthetic to the building.
The shopfront designs were well received by the LPA and incorporated principles from the Council’s Shopfront SPD and Conservation Area guidance. The new doubled glazed timber shopfronts reinstate and reinterpret a legible hierarchy of core elements from the building’s historically recorded former Victorian shopfront, such as the clerestory level, shop window, sill and stallriser, while ensuring the remaining historic façade retains primacy. Taking cues from the structural rhythms of the upper floors’ elevations, we restored a pattern of vertical and horizontal subdivisions to establish a strong underlying visual structure tying all three shopfronts together, while allowing for variation within these rules. This enabled each bay’s shopfront design to be adapted to reflect the proposed uses behind, creating a dynamic and interactive character for each bay, while maintaining a coherent design language across the entire frontage. The project has recently completed and will be officially unveiled by Signal in September 2025.