Coo!

The winners were announced for the Forgotten Spaces Sheffield competition at the Crucible on Monday. Our entry for the Coo-op gained a 'Highly Commended' and a 'Best Model' award voted for by visitors to the exhibition! We were delighted with our prizes and it was great to see Chris Patersons 'Guiding Lights' scheme for animal avatars on a dark footpath win a well deserved first prize. Details of the other winners can be found here.

Forgotten Spaces Awards evening, The Crucible, Sheffield

Nottingham Trent University are welcoming students back into the renovated Student Union building at the Clifton Campus this week. We have been working with the University over the summer to bring the facilities up to date as a union venue. We think it's a great improvement and hope the students are enjoying it!

NTU Clifton Campus Student Union - Before and After

Finally, this weekend Andy and Rachel from the office are heading South to take part in the Bath to Bournemouth Bike ride to raise money for the British Heart Foundation. 80 miles of cycling in 1 day! Last minute training was completed last night in a ride over the hills from Matlock to Chesterfield. Gloves, thermals and coats are being unpacked and replaced with suncream, sunglasses and a few snacks!

If anyone would like to sponsor us, please visit http://www.justgiving.com/rachel-h-b2b/
We will be tweeting with progress reports : @evansvettori !

RIBA East Midlands Awards

We went along to the RIBA East Midlands awards ceremony in Leicester last night hopeful that our two shortlisted projects would succeed ...and came away with two awards!

Sea House, Portloe gained an Out of Area Award for projects built out of the East Midlands but by architects working in the area, with the presenter announcing, "I wish I lived there!"

The living room of Sea House (photographed by Sam Morgan Moore)

Rob, Andy and Dan collect the award

The Renishaw Foundation Unit was awarded an East Midlands Award for the "joyous" design. We're delighted that the Client from Derbyshire County Council was with us to collect the award and was also able to see his colleagues at Derbyshire County Council pick up a Commendation for the Eco Centre.

Renishaw Foundation Unit (Photographed by Tristan Poyser)

Andy and Rachel with the award

Other winners included Stephen George & Partners, with the Low Carbon Award and a Special Project Award for their 'Guide to Building Materials and Environment' which they have generously published as a free download. Congratulations to them and all the other winners, and to the RIBA East Midlands team for organising the event.

Say Hello, Wave Goodbye!

With the start of the new school term several projects are nearing completion.

Rosehill Special School in Nottingham was handed over during the holidays and is now back in use.

Andy Sloan, Headteacher: "The new school is unique in its design and the builders and architects have produced a superb purpose-built school specifically planned to meet the needs of pupils with autism. The site encapsulates the original open air nature of the school while providing 21st century facilities with its eye firmly on the future." (MyNottingham website article)

Central Courtyard looking towards Central Core

Cafe at Rosehill Special School

The webcam set up by Carillion during the works has now been converted into a timelapse video of the build from start to finish: http://www.nottinghamlep.co.uk/bsf_projects/nottingham/schools/rosehill_timelapse.asp

Ashgate Croft is also nearing completion, the cladding is almost complete and interior finishes underway:

To help the school fill the raised beds in the gardens of the Independent Living Unit, all of us at the office will be completing a 2 day sponsored walk along the Limestone Way on 21st and 22nd October to raise funds for an edible planting scheme...a sponsorship form will be posted soon!

As some projects are ending, others are starting on site. Work has commenced on the Nethergate School in Nottingham with slab to the extension being poured next week. We have been asked to commence working drawings for the house at South Field in Fritchley with the aim of starting on site next year, and designs for a new eco house in Matlock are in progress...

The birds have flown

Finally finished the model for the Forgotten Spaces exhibition at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield. Bit of a long weekend getting it done but happy with the result. The exhibition will be open from Thursday the 15th September showing all 19 shortlisted schemes from the 60 that entered. Taking the model over today (very carefully!!)

http://www.welcometosheffield.co.uk/culture

There is then a ceremony on the 26th where prizes for the top three schemes and the models will be presented...so fingers crossed again.

Back again!!

Hello.... long time no write...apologies for that, but shouldn't complain about being busy.

The image above is by our very newest member of staff, John Evans, who had just completed his degree in Architecture. It shows our latest sketch thinking on the roof structure of the design for the new proposed Square Chapel extension linking it back to the Piece Hall in Halifax. Generating a lot of discussion in the office! John used Sketch-up and V-Ray to produce the image which, when combined with our cardboard models really helps us to understand the space.  

Update on the Independent Living Unit at Ashgate Croft School in Chesterfield too. Now nearing completion the windows are in and the final bits of the cladding going up. The spaces inside feel really good so we're really chuffed with how it's looking. The pile of building materials outside should become a patio, lawn and raised vegetable plots in the next couple of weeks. The School start back this week so hope they are surprised with progress over the holidays.

Make sure you follow us on Twitter too...will be keeping that ticking over with more immediate news and views.