Regaining the Live / Work Balance in Greenbank

With 2.9 million businesses being run from homes in the UK and millions more people spending at least some of their week hybrid-working, house designs are changing. The need for homes to provide more than a third bedroom or spare landing to work from has increased, as people settle down to the reality of working from home.

One place that has embraced this and been able to adapt some of their houses to this growing trend is The Chocolate Factory in Greenbank, BS5. New townhouses, created from the fabric of the original Victorian factory building have been specially designed to cater for a range of home working environments, providing a truly flexible space that can be suited to a variety of uses.

Mya Castillo, consultant to The Chocolate Factory said ‘’We took the opportunity to revisit the interior layouts after the pandemic and saw a chance to redesign 3 of the 7 townhouses to cater for a slightly different type of buyer. Someone who works from home or runs their own business and wants to integrate their work and home life more. The high ceilings, huge windows and exposed brick work create a beautiful place to work from and utilising a whole floor of the house keeps it away from the family area. As the space is flexible it can easily be adapted back to be used as a main part of the house but we thought, it’s nice to have options. These are houses for buyers that think a little bit outside of the box. It’s a great office space but it could equally be used as a treatment room, music or artist’s studio, consulting room, practice space, therapy room or gym even - people will have their own interpretations. We even had one couple who were into bouldering say they would take advantage of the 4 meter high ceiling and install a climbing wall!’.

Whilst several of the original buildings on the development have been retained, this building is particularly historic as it’s the original

Victorian factory built on the site at the turn of the 20th century. It became the home of the chocolate making business that employed 1500 people at its peak and turned out popular brands such as Elizabeth Shaw Mint Crisps and Famous Names. Whilst refurbishing the building, some of the original glass Victorian tiles that had lined the walls of the first production kitchen were found intact, providing an interesting insight to how the factory operated when it first opened more than 120 years ago.

‘Naturally we have replaced the old materials with new to ensure our homes meet today’s energy efficiency standards. But, by stripping away the interior structure of the property and redesigning in new internal spaces we have created modern homes whilst still retaining the original Victorian factory aesthetic. Keeping the exposed brick to the exterior and adding in the imposing steel frame balconies makes quite a statement. Adding in the flexibility of a dedicated work space brings these homes right up to date. And, at the end of the day, you can just go upstairs and relax. The kitchen diner on the top floor gives you amazing views to the west across the city lights, and incredible sunsets’.

Housing designs in the UK have to change with the times. In 1981 only 1.5% of those in employment said they worked mainly from home but that had tripled to 4.7% by 2019. In recent years the whole situation changed again and now it is not just those people working in their own business that work from home. Hybrid working is now favoured by 50 of the country’s biggest employers, so even those with an office to go to are looking for a workspace at home.

The Chocolate Factory is being marketed by Savills and CJ Hole. Viewings can be arranged by calling 0117 374 6600 or emailing enquiries@chocolatefactorybristol.com More information can be found at www.chocolatefactorybristol.com