The Knab site occupies a substantial part of a headland forming the eastern part of Lerwick, Shetland’s capital, and until recently was occupied by the former Anderson High School campus, including several important listed buildings. A new school campus was recently completed and the site is now vacant. 

GRAS were first appointed by Shetland Islands Council in 2017 to prepare a preliminary report on the listed buildings on the site as part of a masterplanning exercise, including an assessment of their significance and the identification of suitable options for future re-use. We were then appointed to apply for planning permission, listed building consent and building warrant for demolition of the various modern buildings on the site, including several link corridors into the listed buildings and the sympathetic making good and infill of the resultant openings.  We were subsequently commissioned to produce a report on the proposed ‘mothballing’ of the listed buildings on the site, setting out recommended measures to ensure that damage and deterioration is minimised over the period they are left empty and unused.

Thaxton is a new urban village centre near Lisburn in County Down. Totalling 10 buildings this project includes 38 residential units, a commercial area, a supermarket, a petrol station, offices, health centre and a pharmacy. A formal layout and urban character was adopted for the site. This, combined with classical design and buildings on a rather grand scale will make Thaxton a landmark development.

In collaboration with both Castlehume Golf & Leisure and Nick Faldo, GRAS carried out the master planning for International Championship Course Spa Hotel, golf village, waterside apartments on the shores Lough Erne and Castlehume Lough, Enniskillen. Around 88 new holiday homes were built and design cues from the historic estates of Castlehume and Ely Lodge ensure that the village sits comfortably in its setting, benefiting from the balanced hierarchical layout of spaces typical of eighteenth century estate planning. The inaugural ‘Duel on the Lough’ event took place in July 2009 between Padraig Harrington and Rory McIlroy.