This ambitious residential project aimed to replace the historic Metropole Hotel in Ventnor with a striking six-storey building housing luxury apartments. The brief was to match the exact proportions and character of the original Victorian-style building while upgrading to modern performance standards and low-carbon construction methods.
The site itself presented significant hurdles. Situated in a fully exposed coastal location, the structure needed to withstand severe maritime weather. Furthermore, the site suffered from exceptionally tight logistics and narrow access to the esplanade, making traditional heavy construction methods highly impractical and disruptive.
Duncan Gaylor
Residential Multi-Storey
Ventnor, Isle of Wight
Multi-Storey Timber Frame Design, Structural Timber Manufacture, On-Site Assembly
Working closely with architect Duncan Gaylor, Sydenhams Timber Engineering provided the perfect structural solution. We designed, manufactured and assembled the upper five storeys of the building entirely from precision-engineered timber frame.
By taking the construction off-site and into our controlled factory environment, we bypassed the severe logistical constraints of the narrow esplanade access. We coordinated sequenced deliveries to ensure the structural components arrived exactly when needed for rapid assembly. Our advanced engineering ensured the multi-storey timber frame was robust enough for the exposed coastal environment while perfectly accommodating the complex Victorian-style architectural details on the exterior.
You might not guess it from the outside, but this striking six-storey building is a bold and beautiful example of what modern timber frame construction can achieve.
The luxury apartments look as though they have always belonged on the Ventnor seafront. By combining highly accurate timber engineering with thoughtful architectural design, the project successfully honours the heritage of the original Metropole Hotel while quietly delivering the exceptional energy efficiency and low-carbon benefits of a modern build.
