Rick Stein’s Cornish Arms

Ed worked very closely with Carpenter Oak Cornwall’s frame designer Tom Jubb from the start of the project and was involved in the design phase.

‘We wanted the new build to look seamless and to tie the extension into the existing building so from the outside it wasn’t noticeable. The frame has worked really well for us – we’ve incorporated traditional elements and we wanted to maintain the feeling of being an old pub, and this has been very successful. Given that it’s a single storey there is a great sense of space, all the structure of the building is on show and we were able to keep the rafters visible. It came together really well.’

The frame incorporates a raised collar truss with tapered posts and common rafters. The oak has not been given a finish so it looks weathered, which helps it blend in with the older parts of the pub.

For a busy pub, the acoustics of the new dining room were important to get right.  ‘One of the reasons we chose oak was for the acoustics – because there are so many different elements and surfaces in the frame it breaks the sound up. This can be the most overlooked aspect of a restaurant design but for us it was one of the most important elements.’

The new extension has seen the pub able to dramatically increase its capacity and has been warmly received by patrons.  ‘The comments we have been getting are very positive – people love the smell of the oak and they relate to it as a material, maybe because it’s textural and it’s a raw earth material.’

The Cornish Arms is the perfect excuse to visit a Carpenter Oak building if you’re in the area – as well as sampling the menu and local ales on offer.

‘Tom was great – I would work with Carpenter Oak again without a doubt.  On design they were fantastic, they delivered everything when they said they would and it was astonishing how quickly the frame went up.  Tim and the guys were great too – really dedicated despite heavy rain when they put the frame up, but they turned it round in four days.  They were brilliant.” – Ed Stein