Collaborative Process Exhibition

Last week we hosted our first exhibition, held at the awesome God’s House Tower in the heart of the old town of Southampton. The show was in part a celebration of Studio BAD’s 4th anniversary, and in part a commemoration of our collaborative process of working. The show looked at some of the key projects for our practice, past, present and future, that have been uniquely shaped by the way we work.

The show was a huge success, over the weekend we were honoured to welcomed over 300 people to the show. On the Saturday night we hosted a special drinks reception, a moment to stop, reflect and celebrate with our friends, colleagues and collaborators.

We worked with Reading University architectural students to create a centrepiece for the exhibition. We gave a design brief to design and build a prototype temporary ‘room within a room’ to sit within large internal spaces, as you often find within churches. The idea was to create a structure that can be used as a private space, to hold meetings, private contemplation or just to create a more comfortable, space smaller in scale.

The prototype device was built in-situ within God’s House Tower, creating a wonderfully warm room, which we have nicknamed the ‘Bishops Hat’ due to the overall space and detailing. Crafted from chip board with a Perspex window, laid out in a simple cross shape, the design offers a small scale room which is designed to fit comfortably within a church environment.

We would like to thank our sponsors of the event, University of Reading, Arts Committee, Eckersley O’Callaghan, Mesh Energy, Bentley SIPS Systems and Muse Coffee (who have defiantly fuelled this exhibition!) without all their support we could not have gone ahead with the event. We would also like to thank God’s House Tower; the team have been so helpful and the space is beautiful and so versatile.

Finally, we would like to thank the whole of the Studio BAD collaborative team, you can find the list of our team here, each and everyone has shaped the practice.  Studio BAD is a rich tapestry of all our skills, experience and heritage, the company has thrived from our collaborative approach and I could not be prouder of what we have all achieved together.

Architecture Through a Shared Collaborative Process Event

We are thrilled to be hosting ‘Architecture Through a Shared Collaborative Process’ at God’s House Tower in Southampton, it is a free to visit exhibition and discussion from Friday 20th January until Sunday 22nd January 2023.

‘Architecture Through a Shared Collaborative Process’ celebrates four years of working collaboratively and highlights the process and potential in working collectively to achieve inclusion and equality. 

The possibility that architecture can be developed through shared collaboration is an ambition and lived experience for us at Studio B.A.D. Our practice ethos is to collaborate with clients, designers, architects, artists and academics to bring a range of voices and perspectives to enrich their projects.

The process is inclusive; all collaborators are equal.

As a practice we work with community groups through a process of listening initiated at community consultation workshops to develop shared visions and goals with the client body. The practice develops proposals with clients that are about the long-term sustainability of the community, with the architectural practice as partners in this relationship.

Come and join us, tickets are free and can be booked on Eventbrite here

Tayseer completes her Part 3

I am so thrilled to be able to share the happy news that my colleague and friend, Tayseer Kardash, has successfully passed her Part 3 studies. This is a huge milestone for her as it marks the final step to becoming an official Architect in the UK.

We have known each other for many years now, through university and also working together when we were both at PAD studio. When I set up Studio BAD I was delighted that she agreed to come and join the team, I knew she would be a perfect fit for what I had set out to achieve. Over the many years we have known each other it has been amazing to see her develop and grown, into the confidant and talented architect she is today.

To become an official Architect in the UK takes a lot of dedication. To complete the studies will take at least 7 years, so even with the fairest of winds behind you this can be a long journey. Over Tayseer’s journey she has also had to contended with the pandemic, lockdown, living away from family and job uncertainty. Many of us would have understandably buckled under the weight, but it is a sign of Tayseer strength and persistence to keep going with the biggest smile on her face.

Studio BAD collaboration

A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of working with Katie from KLC Studio to have some professional photos taken of the team in our studio, for an upcoming brochure we are currently working on. Now this might not seem newsworthy to many of you, but a few important things struck me.

Firstly, the simple task of trying to get a date that everyone was available for the photoshoot was impossible! In the end we had to settle on a date when the majority could join us, which really highlighted to me how much the Studio BAD team has grown.

We have come a long way from me working on my own in my home office, and Studio BAD has become far richer from it! I am so proud of the collective of collaborators who are involved with Studio BAD. Every member of our team brings their professional (& personal) expertise, skills and experience to the team, helping to produce interesting ideas and design solutions. As we always shape our team around each project’s needs, we are able to be nimble and flexible to offer the best solutions for our clients, it also ensures that no two project teams are the same and no two projects are the same.

Secondly, we could host the photoshoot in our own studio space! Earlier this year we opened our first Studio BAD studio in central Southampton, which was a huge step for us but has been so rewarding.

We now have the physical space to get together, facilitate workshops and hold design crit, which has been tricky to do in the past when we had to rely on online meetings or hiring space. Having a ‘home’ that reflects the company, where people can find us and drop in is really gratifying and hugely beneficial to the whole team. Whilst I love technology as a way of keeping in touch, nothing quite beats sitting down over a coffee to talk through and solve a tricky design issue.

And finally, the simple fact that we are putting together a brochure for the company is brilliantly amazing to me. Initially we had started looking at putting a simple gatefold leaflet together, but once we started looking at the wide variety of projects that we wanted to include it quickly became obvious that this was not going to work.

The process of putting together the brochure has been another enjoyable collective endeavour. From the consideration over the design, to discussing the projects to include and the conversations over the copy text; we have worked in an open and honest way, to deliver the best outcome (which we hope to be able to publish very soon.)

It is incredible how this simple task has highlighted so much positive change in the company, but I wanted to share this as I know how important it is to occasionally take a moment and appreciate how far we have come.

 

 

 

 

Studio BAD team grows

We have welcomed Tayseer Kardash into the Studio BAD : Architecture team, we are so delighted that she is joining us to assist with the increased portfolio of work we have going forward, also she brings with her a beautiful design aesthetic which fits so well with our ethos.

I was lucky enough to have worked with Tayseer previously, initially when I was teaching her in my third-year studio at the University of Portsmouth and then later when we were both at PAD studio together. I have always been in slight awe of her, she is quite inspirational and I believe she is one of the most courageous and fearless women I have ever met!

Tayseer is an accomplished designer, she has extensive experience working in Sudan and across the UK, having previously worked with PAD studio, Hyde + Hyde Architects and Design Engine Architects she is extremely experienced with forward thinking designs. She has recently completed her Master of Architecture RIBA Part 2 at Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff and is planning to start her Part 3 studies later this year.