During July, we undertook a small project for Eastside Community Trust, coordinating with Stacey Yelland, CEO, to create scaled floorplans of Easton Community Centre. The community centre currently has a hall, café, nursery and various offices, and these spaces provide a base for activities for everyone. These include book clubs, coffee mornings, Lego clubs, litter picking and more, which contribute to their passion for building healthy neighbourhoods.
Over a 20-year period gcp have provided periodic support to the management team at Easton Community Centre when reviewing facility improvement. This latest support has been provided as a social value contribution linked to gcp winning a contract from Bristol City Council for design work to energy retrofit high-rise flats in the city centre.
We spent a day in the community centre measuring the entire building, with a short break to sample the excellent food, and then drew the plans up in the weeks following. These plans will provide a basis for any future improvement works that the community centre wish to undertake.
Community & NFP
Facilitating more food!
We have recently achieved PC on the refurbishment of a light industrial unit for Fareshare South West, this gives them much needed dedicated office space, meeting room and kitchenette / breakout space making a huge difference to staff and volunteers. This is as well as another large packing space and chilled storage unit making their operations much more streamlined.
The brightly coloured interventions built by Creative Construction divide the large space and give respite from the cooler warehouse environment for desk-based tasks and breaks. A new breakthrough into their existing warehouse allows people and forklifts to move easily between the two.
Public consultation out for Woolavington, a scheme for 14 New affordable homes.
Our proposals for 14 new affordable homes in Woolavington have gone out for public consultation this week! We are looking forward to the feedback and progressing the scheme towards a planning application later this month. Working with EG Carter to deliver the houses for SHAL Housing Association.
Special moment for Lawrence Weston as planning submitted for Ambition House, a much needed Community Hub.
gcp is delighted to have submitted a full planning application to Bristol City Council for Ambition Lawrence Weston’s new community hub in the heart of Lawrence Weston.
This will create a fantastic facility so desperately needed for the community of Lawrence Weston providing multi-purpose halls, meeting rooms, workshops, a community led interactive library and much more.
We have been working with Ambition Lawrence Weston for several years now and have had various setbacks along the way, but we are proud of the proposed scheme and the determination of the team.
Ambition House, Lawrence Weston, Bristol.
2020 Favourites: Avonmouth Community Centre
“This has been a really rewarding project to be involved with. gcp have always been enthusiastic about supporting and enabling community organisations to improve their facilities and Avonmouth Community Centre has given us the opportunity to work at length on a project which will dramatically enhance their capability to offer services to the community. The existing Victorian school buildings have been repurposed and reordered as part of a masterplan to provide dedicated meeting spaces, a teaching kitchen, function area and library space. Further phases would look to improve the fabric and include renewable energy provision to reduce ongoing expenditure.”
We asked everyone in the office to name their favourite project of 2020. Michael has chosen this small scheme for Avonmouth Community Centre Association looking to reconfigure and refurbish the existing space.
2020 Favourites: Trinity Digs
“Working on behalf of Trinity Community Arts, gcp secured planning consent to carry out capital improvements so that the site can host and support more community activities. The proposals, developed and approved following several months of consultations with key stakeholders, will see customised timber clad containers installed on site, to provide affordable, low-cost, sustainable hot-desk space as a base for community partners, emerging artists and local start-ups. The Digs project has minimal impact on the historic setting of the listed building and aims to release space in the exiting building for additional programme related activities, therefore has the real potential to consolidate the long-term financial resilience of the centre”
We asked everyone in the office to name their favourite project of 2020. Olia has chosen Trinity Digs, a scheme for affordable office space for the community which was granted planning late last year for Trinity Community Arts.
2020 Favourites: Ambition House, Lawrence Weston
“I am proud to have been involved in this project as this is a community driven building, desperately needed in this active but underfunded area of Bristol. This has been in the making for several years and has had many challenges along the way. I am hopeful that the latest scheme being developed with the client, Ambition Lawrence Weston, will be the final design and we can get this building out the ground to provide a well-deserved functional community hub for future generations to enjoy. Public consultation is now well under way with responses due back by 8 December”
We asked everyone in the office to name their favourite project of 2020. Tom’s favourite is the new community centre at Lawrence Weston Ambition Lawrence Weston.
Community-led Housing: Creating a group and getting community support
We are really pleased to have supported Southmead Development Trust in the early stages of their first Glencoyne Square community led housing project as featured in this excellent video. We are also pleased to be investigating a second scheme on their Greenway Community Centre site with support from the Homes England Community Housing Fund.
Trinity Digs - planning consent secured for providing additional accommodation for desk spaces and kitchen/coffee bar with outdoor seating.
The Trinity Centre occupies the Holy Trinity St Phillip’s, a Grade II* Listed parliamentary church. Originally built in 1832, the church was declared redundant in 1976 and was appropriated for community use in 1977. Continuing the tradition of a community hub and music venue, the centre today also provides recording and broadcast studios, training around media arts and technology. It also holds a licence to perform civil ceremonies! The centre is run by Trinity Community Arts TCA.
TCA’s mission, which has never been more important than in these really difficult times, is to: “use the Trinity Centre to engage the local community of all ages in imaginative and socially inclusive projects.”
Working on behalf of Trinity Community Arts, gcp secured planning consent to carry out capital improvements so the site can host and support even more community activity. The proposals, developed and approved following several months of consultations with key stakeholders will see customised timber clad containers installed on site, to provide affordable, low-cost, sustainable hot-desk space as a base for community partners, emerging artists and local start-ups. The Digs project has minimal impact on the historic setting of the listed building and aims to release space in the exiting building for additional programme related activities, therefore has the real potential to consolidate the long-term financial resilience of the centre.
Given the Grade II* Listed status of the site planning was complex and demanded working closely with the planning and listed building officers who were keen to minimise the impact of any development on the historic setting. Therefore, the elevations of the listed building have been studied and analysed, leading to the creation of a vertical and horizontal ‘grid’ that informs the timber cladding for the new building.
gcp team is passionate about supporting community groups and voluntary sector organisations, and for over 20 years has helped organisations like TCA make the best used of their assets.
Mark Affordable Housing wins Somerset LABC Award
Recently completed affordable rural housing designed by gcp Chartered Architects has won the ‘Best Affordable Housing’ category in the Somerset Local Authority Building Control Awards. The project, designed for South Western Housing Society and built by EG Carter Construction, provides 12 new homes for local families. gcp designed the homes to be comfortable and cheap to run, incorporating high levels of insulation with heating and hot water provided by ground-sourced heat pumps. Residents will enjoy low energy costs from a simple technology that is easy to operate and maintain.
Winner – Best Affordable Housing
2018 Recap & Merry Christmas !
Henacre Road, Bristol
During 2018, gcp has been continuing to work with Courtenay Investments on the strip back to shell refurbishment and extension of their 1950’s office block in Holborn, Central London. Enabling works are now complete and construction work proper will commence in Q1 2019.
Elizabeth House, Holborn
Four schemes have been progressing in Lawrence Weston in North West Bristol with ongoing design work for Ambition Lawrence Weston, Pioneer Medical Group and Bristol City Council to try and bring the vision of a community hub building to fruition. We are also working with social landlord Curo at Henacre Road and Corbett Close. The 128 home scheme at Henacre Road will be on site by Easter next year following a painstaking search for any unexploded ordnance scheduled for the New Year. The fourth scheme is for Bristol City Council to the rear of the Ridingleaze shops where we will have designed nine houses for social rent.
Henacre Road, Bristol
We have also been working on an inner-city housing scheme for Acorn Property Group at Brooks Dye Works in St. Werburghs, Bristol (106 units) and large rural schemes for Lindon Homes near Long Ashton (103 units for phase 1) and Stonewater at Northwick Farm near Worcester (62 units).
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has been working with us on the development of their Urban Cricket Centre Concept, designed to bring playing opportunities to some of the most deprived post codes across East London, Birmingham and Bradford. The opening of the first site in East London is scheduled to coincide with the Cricket World Cup 2019.
ECB Urban Cricket Centre Concept
Halsall Construction continue to be a great supporter with design for projects completed at Silver Street in Willand and Station Road in Castle Carey. In Swindon we have been working with the football club’s community trust to bring about the construction of a new pavilion building to support their new artificial turf pitch at the County Ground site. In Malvern we have just secured planning consent for fourteen homes for c-t-s Construction and Broadway Heritage Ltd on the edge of a local conservation area in the grounds of a former convent.
Swindon Town Football in the Community Trust, Community Club Hub
It only remains for me on behalf of the Directors to express our warmest thanks to the staff, clients and fellow consultants who have made 2018 the most successful in our now 31 year history!
Happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year to you all.
Jeremy Pilling
Managing Director
gcp chartered Architects
Avonmouth Community Centre Asset Transfer
Avonmouth Community Centre proposed ground floor plan
Housed in a former Victorian primary school, Avonmouth Community Centre is a well used and much-loved community facility on the edge of Avonmouth Docks.
In line with council policy the management team were invited to bid to transfer the ownership via community asset transfer. With financial support from the Port Communities Resilience Fund the community association appointed gcp Chartered Architects to prepare a feasibility study to investigate the potential to increase revenue streams and secure existing tenancies for this popular community centre.
gcp devised a phased development plan that allowed for the progressive refurbishment as capital grants became available. Detailed design work are due to commence in the New Year.
gcp team shortlisted for Southmead Development Trust Competition
Competition Display Boards for Glencoyne Square Redevelopment
Southmead Development Trust invited architects and design teams to register their interest in taking part in a limited design competition for the redevelopment of the Glencoyne Square area of Southmead.
gcp Chartered Architects teamed up with Alec French Architects and McGregor Coxall Landscape and Urban Design Consultants to prepare a strong submission from Bristol-based design companies. The team was one of four shortlisted practices selected to develop their ideas through to a public and stakeholder consultation carried out over three days last week. This exercise created good interest from stakeholders and the local community, where there is an enthusiasm to support change and develop new facilities around the Glencoyne Square area. This exciting project could have wide-ranging benefits, supporting community organisations, local shops and traders, creating opportunities for new housing and community facilities and regenerating the infrastructure of the area.
All four design teams were challenged to explain and justify their ideas and approach. Southmead Development Trust are expected to announce a preferred design team to move forward for the next stage of the project that will include detailed consultation and planning applications.
Public consultation underway at the Greenway Centre
bristol open doors
Trinity Arts Centre, Bristol
It is Bristol Open Doors http://www.bristoldoorsopenday.org.uk/ this weekend and gcp are supporting Trinity Community Arts https://www.3ca.org.uk/.
We have developed a long term masterplan of the site and you can visit the centre on Thursday 7th September and Sunday 10th September between the hours of 10am and 4pm.
Place, Time + Architecture (Bristol)
Image: Frances Gard. The Trinity Centre, Bristol
“A lot has happened since the Architecture Centre first opened its doors onto Narrow Quay in 1996. Trace the changes in Bristol over the past two decades along a timeline that focuses on how significant buildings, places and people have shaped the city. Look ahead to consider what the future might be for one of the city’s most contested places – Castle Park – and find out about the different elements that contribute to making a successful place.”
The Architecture Centre is celebrating 20 years of people and places in Bristol with their exhibition running between 9 September & 13 November 2016.
Three projects we have been involved in feature in this exhibit: Trinity, J3 and Filwood Green.
Beautiful images taken by Frances Gard, check out her website or follow her on twitter.
Image: Frances Gard. J3, Bristol