An interest in reusing architecture first developed into a popular choice for architects and designers alike in the 18th century which saw the beginning of the Georgian period. During this time, designers became largely influenced by other cultures, prompting their creativity within design to advance. This means that they began to take on projects they never would have usually considered, such as conservation architecture. Due to this, a fascination with derelict buildings was born, largely due to this being a sustainable way to develop however also due to the essence of an old building giving new depth to their designs in which the atmosphere of the old design would be felt within the new. As Carster Holler stated, "older properties often ooze character, which new buildings can't match," (Holler 1999, cited in Santifaller. Engal and Zimmerman 2001: 13). This could be an explanation unto why many designers hold a particular enthralment with older structures, ruins being a particularly popular task to undertake. But, as one might expect, it is not a simple or an easy task to refurbish an old building, especially one that may be especially derelict or that may old history that has impacted society today. Many considerations must be taken in order to preserve and protect the character of these structures, a designer cannot unassumingly place any concept they desire into the space on a whim. They are in fact bound by a specific set of rules that adhere to the parameters set by the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which was revised in 2018 to promote a more sustainable form of development, especially when embarking on a project that involves a listed building. Their policy is to only grant planning permission for a project if their three predominant objectives are met – economic, social, and environmental. This means that the new build should be lucrative, it should provide some sort of an economic income for its location in order to bring forth more innovative design and infrastructure whilst also creating a competitive market. A new design should also bring the community together by meeting the needs of future and present generations, it must support the wellbeing of the community and not do anything to damage or offend society. Finally, it should be built in the most sustainable way possible, using materials of a low carbon footprint when available, this supporting the historical, natural and built environment. Sustainable development has never been more important than it is today, designers are encouraged to engage in responsible design by using more holistic methods that take into account the finite resources of the planet. If there is a way to be sustainable, they are expected to take advantage of it. Roger Hunt and Iain Boyd referred to this form of development as "well-mannered," (New Design for Old Buildings, 2017, chapter 1, page 4). However, only a successful adaptive reuse project will have the ability to fulfil all of the requirements outlined by the National Planning Policy Framework. In order to do this, designers need to identify what the genius loci of a building is, what gives it it's character and soul, and how best to preserve and enhance that. The task of the designer is to "grasp the essence of the building" according to Julian Harrap of Harrap Architects (cited in New Design for Old Buildings, 2017, page 2). As Roger Hunt and Iain Boyd affirmed,
"the creative re-use of old buildings can act as a catalyst to the process of regeneration, with successful schemes harnessing history, stitching together communities and drawing outsiders in," (chapter 1, page 12).
A prevalent example a successful adaptive reuse project, which has been described as "one of the UK's most unusual historic building conservation projects" by Tony Dent in his Building Surveying Journal (Rising from the Ruins, October/November 2014), is Astley Castle, North Warwickshire (shown in fig. 1). This building, that is more alike to a manor house rather than a castle, is a fortified ruin that dates back to the thirteenth century and sits on a site that has been owned by three Queens of England making its historical pull a predominant factor in its rebuild. One of which was Lady Jane Grey who lived there with her father Henry Grey, friend to King Henry VIII. She was crowned as Queen of England for only nine days before being deposed and beheaded on the orders of Queen Mary I, more commonly known as Bloody Mary, who then ascended onto the throne for the next five years. During Tudor times, Astley played host to national and social events, making it a hub of activity and entertainment for high class citizens. Its inhabitants were witness to many events that helped to mould history making the space important enough to be listed as a Grade II building. Later in history, Astley Castle provided shelter for servicemen in World War Two before being turned into a hotel. However, in 1978, a large and uncontainable fire stripped it bare, the roof caved in from the damage to the structure and subsequently the building was left to deteriorate for three decades before the Landmark Trust purchased it in 2005. Its state of disarray, as well as the scale of the building and lack of surviving detail, was the reason for this being such an unusual project. Although, despite the site being in such bad condition, J.B. Jackson indicated that "a form of death must precede the rebirth," meaning in order for an adaptive reuse project to be completed to its full potential, the host building must have suffered from some sort of devastating neglect large enough for designers to take action and bring it back to life. He described it as "religiously and artistically essential," (The Necessity for Ruins, page 101).
Figure 1: Astley Castle harbours a holiday home within its ruins, 2013, Independent
It was a site that the Landmark Trust was determined to give a second chance, despite being advised on multiple occasions that it would prove to be extremely difficult and time consuming. Director of the trust, Dr Anna Keay, described the building of being in a "state so bad [we] couldn't even get into the building", (Restoring Britain's Landmarks Part V, 2015, 00:12:26). However, as she goes on to say, the site was getting worse by the day and it "couldn't be kept like that. It was disappearing," (00:14:05), making their eagerness to proceed with the project as soon as possible understandable. However, it was clear that this project deserved the perfect designers in order to help it reach its full potential. The Landmark trust held a competition in order to find a scheme and a team of architects that were best suited to the delicate revival of the site after gaining the permission to turn it into a holiday home as they had done with many other listed buildings in the past. Transforming into a holiday home seemed to be an appropriate new function for the site, according to Derek Latham, who specified in Creative Reuse of Buildings, 2000, that "re-use as a hotel is a natural new use for a grand country house. Such houses were indeed used for entertaining." This meant that the building would once again hold the essence of being a home whilst also seeing many different faces and events as it did in its past. One might describe this as a romantic notion, allowing new memories to be created in the castle whilst still respecting its old ones. A London based architect company, Witherford Watson Mann, came out triumphant in this competition with their concept that detailed an unintentional inverted house that was born from seeing the "extensive views out over this fantastic landscape [that] would be a vivid part of staying in the house," (Witherford Watson Mann, The Restoration of Astley Castle, 00:04:07). The architects proposed having the private areas such as bedrooms and bathrooms on the ground floor, whilst the top floor would be used for an open plan kitchen, dining room and lounge in order to make full use of the views across the landscape. (See fig. 2 and fig. 3)
Figure: 2. Ground Floor Plan, 2013, Inhabit
Figure: 3. First Floor Plan (wrongly labelled as ground floor on plan), 2013, Inhabit.  
Despite it not being their intention to "invert the conventional house", this scheme allowed them to use the full potential of the original masonry, once again transforming it into a space that would host a mass of functions and events as well as providing a space for cosy holidays where guests can immerse themselves in the history of the site as well as the Parish Church, moat, lake and the remains of an Elizabethan pleasure garden. However, before the actual design process could be carried out, the ruin had to undergo serious structural repairs in order the stabilise the building. One of the main methods was the unconventional yet extremely versatile use of Cintec Anchoring introduced by Peter James who previously carried out work in Winsor Castle and Downing Street (shown in fig. 4). Cintec Anchoring is the process by which grout is poured into a polyester sock that wraps around a steel rod. This formula goes solid within seconds and once inserted into the masonry, provided a seamless structural solution that had little impact on the original stone walls of the building. Specialist diamond drilling was used to insert the anchors into the masonry, a method that is considered to be one of the most sympathetic and sustainable when it comes to historical buildings with stone walls. The architects were also insistent about the idea of discovering "what the ruin would do for a house and what a house would do for a ruin," (Witherford Watson Mann, The Restoration of Astley Castle, 00:04:07), realising the importance of the two being separate beings yet somehow working together to create a space with new values and ideals to fit today's society and needs.
As the walls were pieced back together in the first phase of the project, spaces were properly surveyed for the first time ever in history and some of the original walls were measured to be up to a meter thick and over eight centuries old. Being able to preserve these ancient walls was key to the conservation of the character of the building and an important step in the process. As stated in Ruin Lust (2014, 00:02:54), "out of its dereliction it flaunts the flag of what is left," this is true for Astley Castle and in order to make this even more established, Witherford Watson Mann decided to incorporate the use of Danish Petersen Bricks to fill in the gaps where the wall was irreparable. The use of the 40mm coal-fired bricks meant that the smaller size made it possible to follow the irregular lines of the original masonry more tightly than the conventional brick as seen in fig. 5. It was important to the architects to use materials most sympathetic to the building and as Brooker and Stone stated in Rereadings (2014), the architects aimed to "recreate some sort of completeness, to restore the sense of the entire building, while still retaining the consciousness of history." Furthermore, the walls were left bare and unclad on the inside in order to keep the history of the building in the forefront of the guest's minds. Witherford Watson Mann addressed this decision and many others they made:
"We haven't restored it, not left it as a broken, romantic relic. We re-established a kind of wholeness, making it stable, binding it together; but we retained a feeling of incompleteness, leaving it porous, its wounds still open." (Witherford Watson Mann Architects, Astley Castle, 2012).
Additionally, the outside of the building, aside from affixing the loose stones in the walls to make the site safe for guests, Astley Castle was left untouched. This idea is further supported by Rowan Foster who declared that "designing or manipulating a space is not about how beautiful you can make it, it is about how and if you can make it function successfully again," (The Adaptation of Historical Ruins, 2015). To a large extent, this idea is true for the renovation of Astley Castle. Whilst being physically beautiful, the materials chosen were all carefully thought out and reasoned. This is apparent with the architects use of the floor to ceiling glass windows and glued laminated timber flooring which all tie into the historical niche of Tudor Design. Additionally, the windows allow the views over the vast landscape that Witherford Watson Mann had hoped for, in particular the windows that give focus to the original Parish Church that sits behind the castle.
Figure 4: Inflated Cintec Anchoring, Stronghold Preservation
Figure 5: Astley Castle Renovation, 2015
All of these careful considerations make it clear to all that the adaptive reuse of Astley Castle has been successful. This restoration has managed to capture the historical essence of the masonry whilst bringing communities together through frequently held events such as the Sudden Impulse Theatre Company performing on the grounds regularly as well as weddings occurring there with guests coming to stay in the holiday home in between. The Landmark Trust and Witherford Watson Mann managed to take a building that was on the brink of irreparable destruction and give it a new lease for life without ruining everything that makes Astley Castle the enchanting place it is. As Jamie Simpson stated in Restoring Britain's Landmarks (2015), "the teams careful work has kept Astley's ruins frozen in time," (00:17:00). Furthermore, the work rewrote the rules for saving a ruinous building and creating a sympathetic space that works in the 21st century. According to Tony Dent, "the project team sought out a new approach that would bring the new and old together," supporting the idea of the building clinging to both its historical setting and its contemporary use in the present day. Another indication to the success of this project is the awarding of the Riba Sterling Prize which the architect company was presented with in 2013 for their excellence in architecture and contribution to the evolution of architecture. Finally, Joseph Rykwert manages to encapsulate the degree to which Witherford Watson Mann in the Architects Journal, (Quiet Intervention, 2012), in which he stated:
"Witherford Watson Mann have been gentle surgeons, saving the essential, eliminating the incidental. What they have done cannot aim at perfection, yet it is exemplary. There is no comparable recovery of an ancient monument anywhere in this country, and very few elsewhere."