The St Margaret’s Church project has been commended in this year’s prestigious RIBA MacEwean Award; we are thrilled that our community project has been so well received in this award, set up to showcases architecture for the common good.

The transformation of the church has been a huge success, for the church (congregation numbers have increased) and the wider community (through the multiple services the space can now offer), this is a project that we, as a design practice, are enormously proud to have collaborated on.

There were some wonderful comments from the award judges:

‘This provides a template showing you don’t have to do much to turn a church back to the community to enliven it.’ Robyn Poulson, BDP

‘They started with the basics and continued to add more uses – it can be executed in multiple phases. This move is smarter than it looks, it’s important in getting the building back into use.’ Pearcy Weston

‘It has been done cleanly, neatly, allowing it to do so many more things.’ Eleanor Young

Fran Carabott, our client and the Lay Pioneer Minister at St Margaret’s commented ‘Key to the project’s success has been the practice’s relationship with the diverse group involved at St Margaret’s; it’s really not just a church in the traditional sense, more like a hub for the community. Studio BAD’s flexibility and mobility have enabled us to move very quickly from concept to site; we are now enjoying the results of that work.’

 

The full article can be read here

We are absolutely delighted, honoured and speechless to announce that we have two projects in the 25 schemes long listed in the, RIBA Journal MacEwen Award 2022. The awards celebrate architecture for the common good, highlighting the projects where design has successfully been applied for the good many across society.

The St Margaret’s church renovation and reimagination project has been longlisted in the Community Endeavours category, Bedford Place public realm project has been longlisted in the Urban and Rural Revitalisation category. The full list of all projects longlisted can be found here

We are so delighted to have these modest projects highlighted in these prestigious awards, they would not have been possible without our amazing clients and collaborators, thank you to all the teams involved.

The shortlist will be announced early next year.

This year’s The Daily Telegraph Homebuilding & Renovating Awards was announced last week, once again I was honoured to be a judge of the latest self-build, renovations, extensions and conversions. I have always really enjoy being part of the process of these awards, showcasing the best UK self-build projects, push the most innovative ideas forward.

Patch House, designed by Levitate Architects really resonated with me for its sustainability approach. This is a house fit for our challenging times, addressing climate change through harnessing renewable energy technologies, it’s designed to enhance the site context and landscape, including the natural swimming pond that sits to one end of the two storey volumes. The house was designed with a fabric-first approach, meaning the property does not require heating for at least 70% of the year.

I was also amazed by Bailey Street, the winner of the Best Renovation of a Cottage category. With a budget of just £65,000, the owner took on the design work themselves and have delivered a bright and welcoming home. This renovation exemplifies everything there is to appreciate about delivering your own personal refurbishment project; it shows just what’s possible with a modest budget, energy, passion and creative endeavour.

The full list of winners can be found here

 

We were delighted to get a mention in Forbes this week, the prestigious business magazine, in an article ‘Architects Seek to Design both Building and their Business’ by journalist Jeffery Steele looking at the changing face of architectural businesses.

The article highlights the changes to the design business, changes which were underway but has been accelerated with the impact of Covid. During the past 18 months many practices have seen a downturn in revenue and workload, Rion Willard sums it up perfectly ‘The architect can no longer reply on past methodology to survive in a post-Covid world. New education, entrepreneurial and business thinking will unlock new pathways for architects to venture powerfully.’

This fits within our belief at Studio BAD, that architecture can now take many forms, it is not just about designing buildings but can look at so many aspects of the design business, as quoted “There’s a notion that we have to follow this kind of traditional method of designing, delivering and building businesses, I think moving forward, there are other methods of being creative.”

The article comes after a conversation we had with Rion Willard, for the Business of Architecture podcast, looking at The Business of Listening which you can find more details on here.

The full Forbes article can be found here.

We had St Margaret’s church photographed by the hugely talented Richard Chivers and are delighted with the images, they really show the essence of this project.

It has been an amazingly collaborative project to work on and we could not have been prouder to have been part of the journey and see the rebirth of the church. We have been working together with the Francis and the team at St Margaret’s Church (or Maggie’s as we affectionately call her) for several years now. When we first started the physical church had been condemned, in desperate need of repair and without any heating. Phase 1 (insert link) of the reimagination of the church has delivered a warm, usable space which is now once again a focal point of the local community.

We are particularly pleased with the Sunday School door, a beautiful birch door that creates a private area off the main nave. The solid wooden door has irregular, glazed cut outs, the design is a reflection of the churches ethos to welcome all, letting the light out into the community, accepting all.

Phase 2, yet to be started, will look at installing a new copper clad porch, to create a warm and inviting entrance that activates the public realm.