when hewitt studios was approached by the morgan motor company for this refurb project in malvern, england, they responded with a thoughtful design that incorporates the client’s key principles of sustainability. the brief was to reimagine the british car brand’s ageing cafe, museum and showroom spaces into an exciting new visitor experience center.

hewitt studios turns post-war buildings into a motor visitor center in england designboom

images courtesy of hewitt studios

 

 

the morgan motor company has been making cars on the same site in malvern, england, since 1914, employing generations of local craftsmen to construct their vehicles from three reusable and recyclable core elements: ash timber, aluminum and leather. morgan cars also boast terrific longevity – on request, the factory will still produce certain parts for models dating as far back as the first half of the previous century.

hewitt studios turns post-war buildings into a motor visitor center in england designboom

the approach

 

 

consistent with a brand that prides itself on ethical sourcing, natural materials, local craftsmanship and a long-lived legacy, hewitt studios‘ solution had a strong focus on sustainability. their design comprises a series of low-carbon interventions to improve building thermal performance, increase natural daylight, reduce energy consumption, reduce surface water run-off and provide for end-of-life recycling of materials.

hewitt studios turns post-war buildings into a motor visitor center in england designboom

the entrance

 

 

the new interventions include a ‘jewel box’ display space for morgan’s ‘hero car’ and customer handovers, a sculptural visitor entrance foyer to welcome people inside, and a timber canopy to protect the fleet of demo cars outside. hewitt studios also re-clad and re-roofed the existing buildings and opened up and enhanced the interior spaces.

hewitt studios turns post-war buildings into a motor visitor center in england designboom

the jewel box

 

 

the three new built interventions all utilize prefabricated, modular timber structures that relate to the historic ash construction of the morgan body frame. moreover, they actually all use the same inexpensive, off-the-shelf industrial product (metsawood kerto LVL), which has been manipulated in a number of different ways to achieve a variety of outcomes. the jewel box is a simple rectilinear space with a restrained ‘goal-post’ structural form to ensure that ‘the car is the star’. the entrance canopy uses the same ‘goal-post’ approach, but each bay is twisted in turn by a few degrees to create a soft, organic form reminiscent of a morgan’s rear wing. this creates a peaked gable at each end which, on one side frames a historic specimen ash tree, and on the other a perfect long-range view of the malvern hills.

hewitt studios turns post-war buildings into a motor visitor center in england designboom

showroom exterior

 

 

large enough to accommodate six demo cars, the timber canopy extends along the main elevation of the visitor center. gently undulating across its length the canopy evokes the rolling topography of the malvern hills. an asymmetric section, with large frontal cantilever, ensures that the cars are all displayed to their best while being protected from the worst of the elements. this strategy of using a single conventional product in a number of unconventional ways delivers terrific value for morgan, creating the impression of an expensive, bespoke outcome using readily available stock timber sections

hewitt studios turns post-war buildings into a motor visitor center in england designboom

showroom interior

 

 

the refurbishment also creates an important legacy for the site, employing sustainably-sourced timber detailed to enable easy dismantling for re-use and or re-cycling at the end of the structure’s life. timber is also used extensively for cladding, with easily recyclable aluminum flashings and cladding panels employed in critical weathering locations as a reference to morgan’s chosen panel material, and that of its latest chassis. the result is a dramatic transformation of the site, which is considerate of both the enviable heritage and the exciting future of this unique british brand.

hewitt studios turns post-war buildings into a motor visitor center in england designboom

view from inside the jewel box

 

 

project info:

 

project name: morgan experience centre

location: malvern, england

client: the morgan motor company

architect: hewitt studios LLP

 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

 

edited by: lynne myers | designboom