Landmark stands tall again
IT STARTED as an industrial furnace, later became an elephant house and then fell into decay.
Today this Sheffield landmark is enjoying a new lease of life, as a stylish conference centre and the headquarters for two cutting-edge businesses.
Transformation of the Chimney House at Kelham Island has been a labour of love for designer Tim Hubbard and his PR consultant partner Sally Clark.
Tim was based at the nearby Lion Works when he heard that the Grade II listed building was about to go on the market. "I'd actually tried to buy the place about 15 years ago; it was a complete ruin in those days," he says. "When we heard it was coming up for sale last year we weren't looking to move… until we walked in."
Captivated by the industrial beauty of the rough brick walls and old oak beams, they negotiated a price with the developers and set about restoring and equipping the building.
"The chimney had been restored but the rest was just a shell when we took over: a dusty bomb-site covered in patchy plaster and crumbling brickwork," says Sally.
Their first job was to install a new roof and clean up the interior. Then they set about finding appropriate fixtures and fittings.
Everything has been salvaged, from the lighting and the wallpaper to the furniture. "We've literally scoured the UK for crazy bits of architectural salvage that we've restored by hand."
Sally's stationery cupboard in the Lark PR office was an oil-covered steel cabinet when she discovered it at the back of a furniture warehouse. Once it had been cleaned, and the back taken out, it not only gave her storage space but also served as a cover for messy pipes and cables.
The red and green staircase light is an old eye-test unit, while the main conference room is lit by mismatched white glass lamps and old theatre spotlights, each cleaned and rewired.
The solid teak doors once hung in the toilets of a mental hospital, the grain hidden beneath layers of black sludge and green slime.
An antique Mr Toad-style car horn offers a means for clients to summon assistance.
But the pice de rsistance is the boardroom table – all 20 feet of it – which was specially made, using salvaged elements, by a local craftsman.
Sewing machine trestles, old school science benches complete with graffiti and several dozen parquet flooring blocks have been reassembled to create a striking work of art that is also a functional piece of furniture. The only problem was getting it into the building once it had been made.
"It wouldn't fit through the doors, so Kelham Island Museum lent us their fork lift truck and we lifted it in through the window," says Sally.
The only new furniture is a set of 20 iconic Brno cantilever chairs, which blend with the simple lines.
The other focal point, naturally, is the 93-foot chimney itself. From outside it dominates the area. Inside the curved wall has become a mural by local artist Tom Newell.
The monochrome design – featuring an elephant, three fishes and a lot of water – tells the story of the Chimney House.
Sarah the elephant was stabled in the building during the First World War. A former circus animal, she was kept by scrap metal dealer Tommy Ward to replace his horses, which had been requisitioned for the war effort, and was an incongruous sight as she hauled loads of steel.
The fish represent the traditional payment system which permitted steel workers to take three salmon out of the Kelham goyt each week as a supplement to their wages. And the water is a symbol of the floods which have played a dramatic part in the fate of Kelham Island over the centuries.
Now that the building is complete, Tim and Sally are turning their attention to developing it as an asset both to their own ambitions and to the Sheffield business community in general.
"This place puts us in a different ball park," says Tim. "We always knew it would be a statement about what we do but the building speaks for itself. This is us, it's as simple as that."
A former electronics engineer, he first made a name for himself while studying industrial design at Hallam University. His prototype for a wireless phone charger won a design award, was singled out by organisers of the Ideal Home Exhibition and then taken up by O2.
That launched him with other influential names, including Orange and G-Star, and as Designers' Hub he undertook various projects. The most recent was the new Nonna's restaurant complex in Chesterfield and the branding of the Nonna's range of deli products.
The company has now been rebranded itself – as 93ft – in honour of the Kelham chimney that towers over its new offices.
"Until the last year there's been no real focus as to where the company is going. But now we can deliver design products, interiors, graphics and web in a one-stop shop."
Sally is equally thrilled: "It's hard to keep being impressed by a space when you're up a scaffolding, hulking bricks, or scraping doors in the freezing rain. But now it's finished, it really moves me. It's even better than I'd hoped."
The couple are now enjoying weekends at home in Nether Edge for the first time in a year.
"The house is our next big project," says Tim. "But if all else fails maybe we'll just live here."
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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