Complex Refurbishment: When the Existing Building Is the Challenge

Refurbishment can sound straightforward. Strip out the old, put in the new and give the building a fresh lease of life.

But anyone who has worked on an older, occupied or technically challenging building knows it is rarely that simple.

Existing buildings come with history. There can be hidden services, unexpected structural conditions, restricted access, previous alterations or outdated systems that only become apparent once work begins.

Then there is the environment around the building.

A school still needs to operate. A hospice still needs to care for patients. A gallery still needs to welcome visitors.

This is where complex refurbishment requires more than construction skills. It requires careful planning, experienced project management, problem-solving and the ability to adapt when the building presents something unexpected.

At Hawes Construction Group, complex refurbishment is a significant part of the work we deliver across East and West Sussex.

What makes a refurbishment project complex?

There simply isn’t just one definition.

Sometimes the challenge is the building itself. Sometimes it is the environment in which the work is taking place. Often, it is both.

Complex refurbishment can involve:

• Structural alterations and temporary works
• Working within occupied or operational buildings
• Heritage and listed buildings
• Significant strip-out and demolition
• Restricted access and difficult logistics
• Unforeseen conditions within existing structures
• Introducing new services into existing buildings
• Retrofitting and improving energy performance
• Working around ongoing operations

The key is understanding that the construction is only part of the challenge. Planning, communication and management are equally important.

Working in buildings that cannot simply close

One of the biggest challenges with refurbishment is that the building often needs to continue operating while the work takes place.

At Towner, Eastbourne, we completely gutted an existing café to create a new restaurant, kitchen and bar. The project included removing a large structural dividing wall, installing structural steel, new mechanical and electrical services and ventilation, as well as diamond drilling through the concrete roof for ductwork.

Importantly, the gallery remained operational throughout the project.

Noisy and disruptive works were scheduled around the gallery’s opening hours, demonstrating the importance of understanding the wider operation of a building and planning accordingly.

Healthcare refurbishment requires careful planning

Healthcare environments bring additional considerations, particularly where patients and staff remain on site.

At St Peter & St James Hospice, we refurbished patient rooms, treatment and meeting rooms, a medicines room and an assisted shower room in phases.

The works included removing walls to create larger spaces, new flooring, sinks and taps, electrical works, air conditioning and reinstatement of a ceiling hoist track.

We have also completed refurbishment works at St Michael’s Hospice while the hospice remained operational.

In projects like these, controlling dust and noise, maintaining safe access and communicating with building users are just as important as the construction itself.

When the programme has to change at a moment’s notice

Our work across Crawley and Horsham hospitals provides another good example of the realities of working in live healthcare environments.

As part of the works, we stripped out a physiotherapy pool located directly adjacent to audiology operating theatres. Because of the location and the need to minimise disruption to hospital operations, much of the work had to be carried out during night shifts.

But even a carefully planned night shift can change quickly in a hospital environment. On one occasion, an operation was delayed, leaving a patient in recovery next to the area where we had planned to carry out diamond drilling. The team had to immediately rearrange the planned works and adapt the sequence to ensure the patient’s recovery and the hospital’s operations remained the priority.

It is a small example of a much bigger point: working in a live healthcare environment requires flexibility as well as planning. The ability to make sensible deci

sions, communicate quickly and adapt the programme without compromising safety is an essential part of complex refurbishment.

Existing buildings don’t always behave as expected

One of the biggest differences between new build and refurbishment is that you don’t always know exactly what you will find.

Previous alterations, hidden services and unexpected structural conditions can all affect the work once a building is opened up.

At Project Art Works in Hastings, Hawes transformed a challenging space beneath three arches supporting Linton Road into a fully accessible studio and workshop.

The £983,000 project involved completely gutting internal walls, floors and the ground floor slab, internal piling, a new ground floor slab, drainage, structural steel, new facades, a lift, staircase and accessible facilities.

Restricted access, proximity to the railway line and the possibility of unexploded wartime ordnance all added to the complexity. A UXO survey was required before piling, while a contaminated soakaway was also discovered during the works.

It is a good example of why refurbishment requires a contractor who can respond professionally when the reality of the building or site differs from what was anticipated.

Heritage requires a different approach

Historic buildings bring another layer of complexity.

The objective is often to improve or adapt a building without losing the character and features that make it important in the first place.

Our Heritage & Conservation experience includes historic churches, schools, cottages and listed buildings.

Projects such as St Margaret’s Church require close collaboration with clients, architects and conservation specialists to find the right balance between preserving what matters and making a building suitable for its future use.

Refurbishment can also make buildings perform better

Complex refurbishment isn’t always about aesthetics.

Increasingly, clients are looking at how existing buildings can be retained, adapted and improved rather than replaced.

Our Eastbourne residential refurbishment and retrofit project involved bringing three previously separate flats back together as one home while significantly improving

energy efficiency.

The works included external insulation, underfloor heating, an air source heat pump, solar panels, roof replacement and internal reconfiguration.

It demonstrates how refurbishment can extend the useful life of an existing building while improving how it performs.

We have also undertaken specialist work on existing buildings where the underlying issue is much more serious. Our RAAC project at Bramber House, University of Sussex involved removing affected RAAC panels and replacing them with timber following a university survey.

Making better use of the buildings we already have

Every successful refurbishment gives an existing building another chapter.

It can allow clients to:

• Adapt sp
  aces for new uses
• Improve accessibility
• Increase energy efficiency
• Extend the life of existing structures
• Preserve heritage and character
• Improve facilities for staff and building users
• Avoid the disruption of relocating

For us, this is one of the most rewarding aspects of refurbishment.

We are not simply changing buildings. We are helping clients make better use of the buildings they already have.

Why experience matters

Complex refurbishment requires a contractor who understands the practical realities of working within an existing building.

At Hawes Construction Group, our project management and construction teams are supported by specialist capabilities including strip-out, structural alterations, temporary works, diamond drilling, concrete cutting and robotic demolition.

Our experience spans commercial and public-sector buildings, education, healthcare, heritage, cultural venues and residential properties.

You can explore more of our refurbishment projects and see how we have helped clients overcome the challenges of existing buildings.

Complex doesn’t always mean complicated

The best refurbishment projects don’t necessarily feel complicated to the client.

That’s because much of the complexity has been managed before it becomes their problem.

Good planning. Clear communication. Experienced people. Practical solutions.

And, when something unexpected is uncovered, the ability to stop, understand the issue and work out the right way forward.

Because when the existing building is the challenge, experience matters.