23rd August 2024 | IN HOSPITALITY DESIGN | BY SBID ShareTweetPinterestLinkedIn A Brasserie-Style restaurant converted from the 19th-century Grade II-listed former Minster School, the design respects and enhances the old Music school building, doing justice to its historical importance. Simple colours, furniture, and pared-back materials allow the building to stand in its own integrity. Rachel McLane Ltd wanted to retain the school’s tradition of being a “coming together space.” We kept the integrity of the school lunch/music hall, once the main assembly area, as one big dining space. Within the limitations of a Grade II listed building, adaptations were made to meet building control and fire regulations, such as installing a lift, new WCs, and air conditioning. Provisions for accessibility were also made by dropping the floor, removing the steps at the entrance, and installing sandstone ramps. All this required a balancing act involving all parties, including the Minster itself. Our commitment to sustainability is evident in our approach to materials. Wherever possible, we reused existing materials, lifting and relaying stone flags. Stone lintels and mullions were restored, and timber trusses were sandblasted to remove layers of old paint. This preserves the building’s original character and reduces our environmental footprint, a testament to our commitment to sustainability. All materials used were sympathetic and in tune with the Minster, including wood that is medium to dark oak, antique brushed brass, and furniture that marries a style that is relaxed and eclectically functional. The simple colour palette allows the building to have its own voice. Muted tones on walls are broken by panelling – some existing and some new. Some of the old scholarship boards are re-hung in situ as a nod to the building’s past. Rachel McLane Ltd We created bespoke chandelier lighting from printed manuscripts from the Mister Chorister archives. We printed these onto cotton parchment to make shades and as details on the fixed seating screens. We littered the walls with an eclectic mix of musical instruments. We created a gantry that hung over the central detain section with props from typical school subjects such as globes, rugby boots, chemistry apparatus and so on. We also designed a bespoke piece of back lit wall art made up of the iconic yellow and black HB pencils. The WCs are individually designed and quirky with a school-related vibe – reflecting, perhaps, the habits of pupil’s past, escaping to the WC instead to avoid maths! An old pulpit was repurposed as a meet-and-greet station/reception, setting a monastic, scholarly feel for arriving guests. A dropped ceiling detail conceals mechanical/electrical services and air conditioning. The double-height front windows are single-glazed – counteracted with mechanical heating rather than double-glazing the windows. As regulations require, fire doors are compartmentalised as sympathetically as possible throughout the interior and made to look like they had always been there. We acquired old-school subject artefacts that are displayed in the gantry above the banquette seating, a nod to the building’s school heritage. We also used copies from original manuscripts associated with the Minster and its choristers, which we printed onto canvas and parchment and incorporated into bespoke chandeliers and screens. Rachel McLane Ltd York Minster Refectory is the first listed building in York to have solar. The installation of solar slates on the roof is forecast to produce 11,000 kWh of power annually on average. The energy accumulated from the solar slates feeds into the invertors, which subsequently feed the hot water supplies to the washroom facilities. An ASHP (Air source heat pump) on the plant deck serves power to the building and underfloor heating system to the entrance lobby. The front entrance of the York Minster Refectory was designed with a simple, flexible, and easy-to-use takeaway kiosk. The Refectory offers takeaway drinks, cakes, and snacks during the day and is also used for finer evening dining. The upper floor, which was the school’s old science labs, IT suite & geography room, was reconfigured to accommodate accessible WCs with lift and a more open plan, lounge-type hub and meeting area, with mixed seating and tables and spaces for private dining and smaller functions, such as weddings. York Minster Refectory was opened by King Charles III and Queen Camilla in April, which was kept secret until just before the restaurant opened. We didn’t know until late in the development cycle that there would be a Royal opening, and it meant we had to bring forward and adapt a lot of the project schedules across all aspects of the design work, including signing off concepts, procurement and sub-contracted items. Rachel McLane Ltd About Rachel McLane Limited Rachel McLane Ltd offers a full design service that interprets a client’s brief and delivers their project on time, on budget, and as envisaged. Every client and every project is different, so how we get there is entirely up to the client. Not every project requires internal spaces reconfiguring; not every client has an architect or project manager. However, as a general rule, their project process offers: Feasibility Study – narrowing down your options; Concept Design – sketched visuals of how your space might look; Design Detailing – producing drawings & plans for trades; Purchasing – new, bespoke or repurposed; Fit-Out. Visit Profile If you’d like to feature your news or stories on SBID.org, get in touch to find out more. If you’d like to become SBID Accredited, click here for more information.