Prior to settling in South Devon, Colin Ritchie practiced as an architect in Norwich, London, Sydney and Cape Town. Colin initially set up an office in Teignmouth but moved to the current premises on the edge of the harbour in Torquay in 1984.
Consequently, he celebrated his 25 years “in the bay” during 2009. Colin Ritchie Architects became a Limited Company in 1993 and the practice went on to become an RIBA Chartered Practice in 2007. Since then, although the majority of the practice work has been based locally in the Bay and the southwest, there have been commercial projects in London and individual houses in Hong Kong and Iran.
Talking to Colin reveals his passion for what he is doing. “We have built up an extensive network of knowledge about Torbay and the surrounding area and the people involved in taking a project from an initial concept into a built reality. We pride ourselves on working closely with our clients to best meet with the delivery of their aspirations. Our project scales vary from small domestic extensions through to larger scale developments. The areas of expertise include the residential, commercial and ecclesiastical sectors as well as community buildings and offices. We also have extensive experience in building conservation and the care of historic buildings.”
One recent example of their work can be seen in a local community centre in Torquay, where a 1960s building erected in the middle of a housing estate as a church was being greatly underused. It was decided to convert it into a more modern building that would be of much greater use to the whole community. Colin said, “We built on a completely new café and kitchen area complete with a new meeting room. The original church became a multi-purpose hall with a small chapel attached to it. We are now waiting for the contract to design a new youth club to be attached to the building in the space that we left for it. The church raised the money for this project by selling off the manse and the old church hall which have now been demolished and new housing built.”
Another interesting project was Oversands. This design project was awarded “The Best Small Housing Development – Local Authority Building Excellence Award 2009”.
It comprised the design of three large flats that had to be built over a car park on the sea front in Torquay. In doing the design, care was taken to pick up the line of the building next door to ensure that the new building was readily assimilated into its environment. Another project involved the conversion of a former pottery building and the redevelopment of the site to become a new rural housing scheme. Situated in the Dartmoor National Park, the original and historic fabric of the earlier buildings was refurbished and converted into two-storey houses, while the more modern and unsympathetic parts of the pottery buildings were removed. The new-build element of the scheme was derived from the traditional local vernacular and includes a semi-circular house. The iconic mid-nineteenth century pottery kiln was retained as a central feature for the development.
We are currently working on some exciting new individual houses and apartments and looking forward to realising these projects on site this coming year.
For further information please telephone 01803 298431 or visit www.colinritchiearchitects.co.uk
