The client, Richards Partnership of Swansea, acquired a former convent in Tremezzo on the shores of Lake Como in northern Italy. The site is located on a steeply sloping hillside surrounded with many similarly aged buildings separated by steep narrow alleys. The building is believed to have been constructed during the 18th Century and was converted into three holiday lets.

QuadConsult was commissioned to undertake an assessment of the basement, formerly a wine cellar and workshop, and to report on its suitability for conversion into a rental property. The access was from the low side of the building shown on the street photograph, but the other side was a storey height below ground.

Considerations to be addressed were the fine brickwork vaulted ceiling which, although slightly distorted, was to be retained as a feature, and an adjacent area of ceiling (ground floor) that had previously been replaced with understrength concrete.