Trotters Community Reuse Hub
Reviving a derelict building into a sustainable community hub focused on reuse, creativity, and low‑carbon design.
Sectors
Location
New Cumnock, Scotland, United Kingdom
Client
New Cumnock Development Trust
Architect
INCH Architecture + Design
Trotters sees the regeneration of a derelict building in New Cumnock, vacant for nearly two decades, into a thriving community destination. The project delivers a mix of café, workshop, retail and co‑working spaces, creating a flexible hub that supports local creativity, skills development and social interaction while embedding sustainability and reuse principles throughout its design.
Cundall delivered a fabric-first retrofit, stabilising structural defects while maximising retention of existing materials to reduce embodied carbon. Careful monitoring confirmed cracks were stable, enabling targeted interventions. Timber, masonry, and steel elements were repaired and strengthened rather than replaced, while enhanced building performance and an air source heat pump reduced operational energy demand.
"By prioritising retention and repair over replacement, we were able to significantly reduce embodied carbon while preserving the building’s character. Through close collaboration with the design team and client, we balanced technical constraints with sustainability ambitions to deliver a robust, low carbon solution aligned with the project’s community focused vision,” said Russell Armstrong.
Retaining and repairing existing structure enabled meaningful carbon savings while supporting the project’s circular economy and community‑led ambitions.
