31 October 2011

Beers and blisters..

The office is recovering today from a marathon 26 mile walk along the Limestone Way at the weekend! We arranged this sponsored walk to raise some funds for the Ashgate Croft School to buy planting for the raised beds that have been constructed outside our recently completed Independent Living Unit.

Rachel, Andy, Dan and Mike set off from the office
We set off from the office in Matlock early on Saturday morning, and made it to our midway campsite in Monyash just as the rain started.

Mike, Dan, Andy, Rob and Rachel set off on Day 2
Day two was harder walking, particularly after a late evening in the local pub and  a very early morning wake up by our noisy campsite neighbours. However, the sun finally broke through the grey clouds at our lunch stop in Millers Dale and we had a fantastic afternoon walking down valleys and over hilltops just as the sun was setting.


We descended into Castleton just as darkness fell, to be met by John and a much needed pint of beer!

Overall a great weekend, and many thanks to all our sponsors - we hope to have raised over £300 for Ashgate Croft which will fill the garden with fruit and veg next spring!

21 October 2011

The daily grind

The Funeral Directors at Wirksworth is nearing completion now. With 2 weeks to go until the grand opening, the sliding timber gate to enclose the courtyard is being fitted and decoration is well underway inside. The brickwork is settling in with its surroundings and looking great in the Autumn sunshine.

Funeral Directors, Wirksworth from Coldwell Street.
Dan has been continuing to develop the new block adjacent to the Olde English hotel, adding rigour to the elevational design by emphasising the structure and bays in an unwrapped elevation drawing.

Olde English Hotel new flats and retail unit, Matlock
Rob is back teaching at the University of Sheffield School of Architecture as a visiting tutor, recently attending a site visit with pupils to the Longshaw Estate on the outskirts of Sheffield to study a millstone quarry.

Longshaw Estate sketch by Robert Evans

14 October 2011

Pasties and Powercuts

Andy took a trip down to Cornwall this week to inspect the start of the refurbishment works on a house situated on National Trust land. Early designs for an ambitious penthouse extension to the house were pared back at the request of the National Trust to work within the existing building fabric. Within the retained external walls, demolitions are underway to create a dramatic double height entrance space with sea views.

Sketch model development of house renovation, Cornwall

Whilst Andy was away at the seaside, the rest of the office experienced a day without computer or Internet access, with a 24hour power cut caused by a fire at a sub-station near Derby. Whilst we quite enjoyed the time sketching and hand drawing, we suffered with not being able to make a cup of tea! Rob became a local reporter for Radio Derby, keeping listeners updated on the power cuts in Matlock (32 minutes into this programme!), and Dan used the time without power to produce a sketch of a historic copper mine, to accompany our tender submission for a very interesting potential project in Staffordshire.


Finally, the Ashgate Croft School Independent Living Unit has now been completed and handed over to the client. We hope they are enjoy using the building. Only the landscaping is left to complete now and we're hoping the funds we raise on a sponsored walk along the Limestone Way at the end of October will help to fill the raised beds!

Ashgate Croft ILU - 1 week before handover

7 October 2011

Shortlistings and sponsorship

The office has now started work on the detailed design of the Olde English mixed-use development in Matlock Town Centre. The project involved a detailed planning application for a contemporary design that respected the adjacent late C19th French Baronial style hotel building, whilst also addressing the riverfront and potential flood risk. Following careful design development and consultation, the project was unanimously granted planning permission by the local Planning Committee. We're looking forward to developing the detailed design.


Further award shortlistings were also announced this week!

- The Clay Cross Regeneration Framework that we developed with MAXIM urban design has been shortlisted for a Landscape Institute Award in the category of Local Landscape Planning. This masterplanning work detailed a proposal for the future of Clay Cross, a former mining town in North East Derbyshire with the railway tunnelling underneath the town centre. The awards are announced in London on the 17th November.


- Mike from the office has been quietly working away on a critique of The Collection, Lincoln, for which he has made the shortlist of 6 from 91 entries for the Architects Journal Writing Prize for up and coming architectural critics. Congratulations to Mike, and good luck for the final awards!

And finally, results of the Bath to Bournemouth bike ride - Rach and Andy made it safely to Bournemouth last Sunday after a long 80 mile cycle ride through some beautiful English countryside, and up some tough hills! Thanks again to everyone who sponsored them, raising a fantastic £315.00 for the British Heart Foundation.