A brutalist water tower becomes a one-of-a-kind home and holiday rental in the English countryside. Roca’s commitment to sustainability played an essential role in the property’s distinctive transformation, which received several environmental certifications including BREEAM and WELL standards.
| Project type | Residential building |
| Location | East Hertfordshire |
| Architects | Designed by Edmund Perce. Renovation by Matt Grey |
| Roca Products | Beyond Totem basin, Beyond wall-hung toilet, Beyond Surfex® freestanding bath, W+W wall-hung toilet and basin, Insignia faucets, Tempo accessories. |
| Year | 2025 |
The meticulous renovation of the Tonwell Tower reflects the ingenuity and passion of its owners, Matt and Ali Grey and their two daughters. The family saw the potential of turning a disused water tower into a contemporary, sustainable home that would be welcoming and energy efficient. Originally built in the 1960s by Edmund Percy, the Grade II listed tower has a unique conical structure that lends to an unusual floorplan, including unique bathroom spaces for which Roca provided products that adapted to unique spaces and high-environmental standards required.
Located in Hertfordshire, just 30 minutes from London’s St Pancras, the 23-meter boutique retreat, comprises over 160 square-meters of living space across multiple levels, accessible by two hand-built spiral staircases. The renovation preserved the tower’s brutalist heritage while infusing it with modern design, energy efficiency, and multi-generational usability. With restored Danish and British furniture and cabinetry, the tower's interiors embrace comfort, design, and purpose. The conversion also complies with current environmental standards, including BREEAM certification.
A central feature of the renovation project is the bathroom design, with Roca providing key products in four bathrooms. The main en-suite bathroom showcases the Roca Beyond collection in matte white, including the sleek Beyond wall-hung toilet, the sculptural Beyond Totem basin, whose elegant form mimics the rounded shape of the tower itself, and the Surfex® bath, whose smooth, rounded form is ideal for long soaks. These elements not only deliver visual harmony by echoing the building’s silhouette but also reinforce a philosophy of seamless, intuitive living.
Roca reinforced the project’s energy-efficient and green-design philosopies with its W+W wall-hung toilet and washbasin, a space-saving innovation that integrates a basin and toilet in one unit. Ideal for compact spaces as well as regular bathrooms, W+W exemplifies Roca’s forward-thinking approach to exceptional bathroom design solutions. In addition to its curved and compact form, what sets this product apart is its greywater recycling system in which water from the basin is treated and reused for flushing—providing an eco-friendly solution that supports the tower’s sustainability goals without sacrificing style or function.
Roca’s Insignia faucets and Tempo accessories in chrome finish were selected for their flexible style, easy-clean surfaces, and water-saving technology. Throughout the multi-year transformation, Roca offered aesthetically cohesive products but also critical support during the specification process and beyond. Their reliability and emphasis on sustainable solutions made them the ideal partner for a project where every detail mattered.
Tonwell Tower is more than a unique renovation—it’s a blueprint how repurposing historic structures can become sustainable and comfortable living spaces. Through its collaboration with Roca, the tower underscores how smart bathroom design can elevate everyday living, contributing meaningfully to both environmental goals and personal wellbeing.
