RIBA publish ‘Inclusion Emergency’

Darren was invited to offer his insights on the Architectural profession for the new ‘Inclusion Emergency, Diversity in Architecture’ book by Hannah Durham & Grace Choi, published by RIBA Publishing.

The book aims to encourage understanding across the industry, asking professionals to reflect on the industry and addresses critical questions to provides steps towards meaningful change. It is widely acknowledged that architecture is at a tipping point and if there isn’t any change there is a risk of limiting our relevance in today’s society, this book looks to engage in meaningful debate to show a way forward.

Within the book are insights from many leading voices, including Amy Francis-Smith, Clare Nash, Mary Holmes, Nick Walker and Sumita Singha to name a few. Each individual highlights a different topic and expresses their experiences to provide a rich foundation for a future of architecture, representing the diverse population the RIBA serve.

The book aims to help those who are under-recognised to find the role models, community and tools to feel confident, supported and valued. It will also help those intimidated by change to understand why it is important and provoke constructive action.

The book is now available from RIBA Books online, and will be in all good retailers from 1 June 2024.

Winning Design for Art Commission

We are absolutely thrilled to have won the commission by the charity Allegra’s Ambition and SPUD to deliver a new piece of public art, to be located outside the Winchester Sports Centre which opened in 2021.

The brief was to design a new sculpture as a place for people to gather and sit, adjacent to the playing fields at the new recreation centre. The piece needed to versatile, to be interesting visually, create a natural gathering point, but also to offer some form of seating, and to ideally incorporate the charity within the design, all within a budget of £50,000.

Our answer was the ‘Tactile Seating Structure’ crafted from hardwood timber fins. Each fin could be a different hardwood to offer a variation on tone, positioned at a slightly different angle to create an organic ripple, reflective of the ribbons within the charity logo. The shape of the wooden structure creates a welcoming enclosure for people to gather, encouraging people to sit or lounge within, or climb and crawl over the undulating surface. Conceived out of reclaimed natural timbers, sourced locally, to create a robust, warm and durable structure which can sustain the public interaction with minimal on-going maintenance. The structure will be integrated with landscaping and outdoor apparatus, offering everyone an opportunity to participate in physical activity and activating an underused public area outside of the leisure centre. Public consultation workshops will be carried out to ensure that the structure incorporates a wide variety of uses for all ages and abilities.

The Allegra’s Ambition charity aims to encourage and empower young and disadvantaged people to fulfil their potential through participation in sport, the charity was set up in memory of Allegra, a keen sports person who died suddenly at the age of 16. SPUD is an arts and education charity located in the New Forest, they aim to create opportunities for people to engage with art, architecture, design and the environment.

Brixham completes

We were down in Brixham last week for a site visit at our Harbour View project, which is now completed and is looking brilliant. Professional photos will be coming in the new year to show it properly, in the meantime please enjoy some quick snaps we took.

The house is in an amazing position, perched on a steep hill overlooking the harbour and offering spectacular views over the Breakwater and Torbay, but the original 1960’s bungalow did not take full advantage of the site.

Our design has extended and upgraded the property, transforming it into a contemporary family home. The design offers flexibility over how the house is lived in, prominently as a main residence but also with the ability to welcome three generations of the family to all be together over holidays.

Internally it was critical that our design did not just increase the space, but that it enhanced the quality of the internal space. We introduced large glazing which has increased the natural daylight deep within, whilst also improved the connectivity to the stunning coastal views on each level of the home.

We were thrilled with the results and can just imagine what a magical Christmas the whole family are going to have, gathered in their new home enjoying spectacular views from the warmth inside. We cannot wait to be back in early spring to take better photos, when everything has settled and the house looking like a home.

Cedar Wood near completed onsite

We are really proud to see our Cedar Wood project nearing completion, it is great to see our designs and ideas come into reality onsite and we cannot wait to see this home finish very soon.

The designs have retrofitted the existing home; extending and reconfiguring the space to transform the existing house and make it more suitable for the family life of the owners. As the home is set within a sensitive rural location the designs had to carefully alter the home without impacting the original mass or form, to reduce to impact on the surrounding area.

Once the work has been completed Cedar Wood will be a comfortable, low energy family home with flexibility built into the design so it can adapt to the many phases of their family life.

We look forward to sharing professional photos of the completed home very soon.

Design-as-Degrowth

We have written a new research module for MArch qualification called ‘Design-as-Degrowth’. The module has been written in partnership with our wide network of collaborators and University partners; this work continues our strong emphasis on teaching and research, which is core to the foundations of the company.

The concept of ‘growth’, particularly economic growth, is central to western capitalist economies. Economic growth requires ever-increasing consumption which have no tangible limits. However, given the physical, emotional, human and natural resources required to support this growth can be so destructive, we question if design hold the potential to question the assumed orthodoxies and encourage a paradigm of ‘Design as Degrowth’.

The module focuses on this concept of ‘Degrowth’, and how architecture may generate meaningful social and economic change. Encouraging a rethink or reuse of existing buildings and spaces which can offer a positive social and economic offer, whilst also providing value and flexibility for clients.

Working with students the module will offer an invaluable opportunity to work on live projects as part of a multidisciplinary team to research, test and offer design solutions. Some examples of past projects that highlight this concept include, St Margaret’s Church or Gosport High Street.

We look forward to sharing updates from this module, and project updates from future students work. For more information about the module, please contact us directly.

Celebrating design success

It is wonderful to see our designs for St Luke’s Church celebrated by the Diocese of Portsmouth, featuring on their website and social platforms. We are thrilled the scheme was recently given planning permission, and we are looking forward to seeing the project start onsite later this year.

This design concentrates on the courtyard area, creating an inviting space between the church and the main road that breaks down the threshold resistance to attract the whole community in from the street. A second phase, which looks at the interior space of the church, will be looked at once this project has been completed.

The vicar, the Rev Annie McCabe, commented: “We’ve already done a lot of work to create The Host as a welcoming space for workers during the day, to repair the church roof and make the building sound, and to open up these spaces to the local community.

“We hope the work to create the courtyard, revamp the church hall and create the garden space will take place over the next three years, and give our buildings a sense of being a ‘campus’ where all sorts of groups meet.”

St Luke’s is the second church renovation and re-imagination project that we have gained planning permission for with the Diocese of Portsmouth, following on from St Margaret’s Church which had phase one completed in 2021 and we have some of their others properties on the drawing board