Bristol

Green light for investment by McBraida plc

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After lengthy negotiations over the final Section 106 Agreement between all parties, we received last week on behalf of our client, McBraida plc the Planning Decision Notice that backs up the unanimous committee decision in favour of the development.

McBraida plc are a tier 1 aerospace component manufacturers with production facilities in both the UK and Poland. This approval allows them to realise their long-held ambition to more than double their head office footprint in Bridgeyate, between Bristol and Bath.

Throughout the development of the planning application, gcp as lead consultant, received valuable, impartial opinions on the proposal from development control and economic development officers at South Gloucestershire Council. They provided honest, clear and unambiguous comments on the proposal to the design team that allowed the planning design to evolve in response to site constraints and stakeholder consultations to ensure this vitally important investment in high technology engineering is secured for the county, the region and the UK.

The recent signing of the 106 Agreement clears the last hurdle before the green light can be pressed for the detailed design. We look forward to picking up a conversation with the client in the next few weeks to plan the next stages for this exciting and strategically important development.

Work about to start in St Nick’s Covered Market, Bristol!

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gcp has been working with a fantastic team at Bristol City Council to reimagine the central area of the Grade 2* Listed Covered Market in the highly popular St Nicholas Markets.

The Covered Market has not enjoyed the same footfall as other parts of the market; the scheme therefore provides a new destination to encourage visitors to experience the market in its fullness.

The scheme plays with structure, materials, and recesses to create a finely balanced proposal which achieves both commercially viable floorspace and breathing space to a previously cramped site.

Bristol International Student Centre: Complete

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gcp has just completed a much-needed facelift to the Bristol International Student Centre, a charity that offers accommodation for international students neighbouring Bristol University.

Improvements were needed to maintain the Centre’s HMO licence. gcp reconfigured internal spaces to meet current standards and specified upgrades to ensure safe escape routes from the first floor bedrooms, including lining the existing ceiling to provide better acoustics and fire protection. The work has resulted in increased flexibility for BISC and privacy for the residents.

We are incredibly proud of the outcome, having given the building a new lease of life and assisted a fantastic charity in offering the best possible accommodation to provide a home away from home for international students.

We worked closely with contractor Creative Construction and were incredibly impressed by their attention to detail and ability to tackle unexpected issues arising on site.

gcp's Philip Baker takes team on Medieval Tour through Bristol's Old City

At gcp Chartered Architects, we make a special effort to spend together outside of the usual 9-5 office hours. As part of our June social get-together, Philip Baker took us on a Medieval Tour through Bristol's Old City where we learnt all about the area's fascinating history and how our city came to be.

It was only fitting for the tour to begin at the Bristol Bridge. Bristol, previously known as 'Brycgstow', meaning the "meeting place at the bridge" in the old Saxon language.

St Peters Church

Only a few minutes away, Phil led us to our first stop, St Peter's Church. Before the war, the area was Bristol's main shopping centre, but sadly the area was heavily bombed and mostly destroyed. Fortunately, the shell of the ruined church was retained as a memorial.

Bristol Castle & Sally Port Doorway

Standing at the Round Pool, we looked over Castle Park where the Motte and Bailey Castle once used to stand. Constructed in 1088 on the narrow piece of land between the Frome and Avon River, it was built to control access to the town and announce the new ruler of the country, William the Conqueror.

Making our way through the Park and down to Sally Port, we gazed through the steel gates that lead to a hidden series of steps. These were cut into the rock to allow a garrison of troops to exit the Castle during a siege and allow them to attack the enemy from the rear.

St James Priory

Weaving through the city centre along roads that follow the River Frome down below, we made our way to St James Priory Church. Dating back to the 12th century, this is the oldest Church in Bristol that is still in daily use. Here we were treated to a private tour by one of the very knowledgeable staff members. Through the years, the building has transformed to adapt to the changing city around it, as you can see in the sketch below.

A tiny hidden Church, many more stories, and Part 2 to follow…

The final stop on our tour was the hidden historical gem built on and into the remains of the old Town Wall, St John the Baptist Church, better known as St John on the Wall. Using a large, ornate key to pry open the great green entrance door, Phil lead us within. Here we gazed upon the beautiful stained glass windows, the magnificent church organ, and even had the opportunity to climb the tiny staircase up the clock tower.

We have only been able to retell but a few of the many wonderful stories Phil shared with us about the Medieval Town in the heart of Bristol. Watch this space for Part 2 of the tour which will take place later this month.

5 new homes approved in St Werburghs

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gcp has recently secured planning approval to convert a Victorian warehouse on a landlocked site into 5 new family homes.

 

In a bid to not only consider the building’s history, but embodied carbon as well, the original red brick building has been retained. The 2 later concrete extensions which were in a state of disrepair will be demolished, with one of them being rebuilt in a similar sized footprint and the other becoming garden space for the houses.

 

The red brick building boasts tall ceilings, timber sash windows and an open plan design. The scheme will have PV, water butts and air source heat pumps along with planting boxes to help drainage and encourage new ecology on what was previously a concrete wasteland.

 

The new extension is built with the same red brick as the existing on ground floor to tie the buildings together but has a striking black metal cladding on first floor to pay tribute to the industrial nature of the original site and much of its surrounding areas. To ensure the scheme does not impact surrounding homes, first floor rooms are in the roof, but with high eaves to ensure high quality and useability of the space is achieved.

 

We worked closely with the Bristol Planning Department to ensure a positive outcome was achieved – a design sensitive to its surrounding neighbours and energy-conscious in both embodied and fuel, providing high quality living for future home owners, and maintaining its history from Olliff’s Antiques Warehouse. Upon redevelopment, Olliff’s Architectural Antiques will relocate to an alternative location elsewhere in the city.

 

This scheme follows on from the highly successful Brooks Dye Works project we delivered for Acorn.

Renewable Energy for the Bristol Heat Network

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Castle Park Energy Centre proposal

Castle Park Energy Centre proposal

Planning has been submitted by Bristol City Council’s Energy Service for the construction of a new Water Source Heat Pump energy centre on the edge of Castle Park. gcp have worked with the client and the design team to deliver this exciting scheme which will generate renewable energy for the Bristol Heat Network. Consisting of an abstraction platform on the wall of the Floating Harbour, a heat pump building and a thermal store, the proposed water source heat pump will form a key part of the council’s ambition for Bristol to be a carbon neutral city by 2030.

“Fab to be involved in this fascinating project for the city on such a prominent site on the edge of Castle Park and the floating harbour. ”
— Jonathon Platt, Director, gcp Chartered Architects

Signatory: Bristol Women in Business Charter

“Congratulations on becoming a signatory to the new Bristol Women in Business Charter. We are delighted that you plan to make progress towards gender equality in your organisation. [...] Thank you for being part of the movement to make Bristol business gender equal, developing better business and improving the city for all those who live and work here.”
— Bristol Women in Business Charter
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2018 Recap & Merry Christmas !

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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

Spencer and Norton get new lease of life

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gcp are working for specialist contractor Rateavon on this is an external restoration project for two early 1960’s Bristol City Council tower blocks in sight of St Mary Redcliffe. This scheme includes window replacement, new roofing and complete redecoration.

Working within the constraints of two adjacent conservation areas, colour options to change the identity of the blocks away from established colour palette normally associated with affordable housing in the city have been carefully considered and discussed with the council’s conservation and planning officers before offering then to residents for comment.

Spencer and Norton are the 6th set of tower blocks we have worked on in the city since 2015 and over that time we have developed a detailed understanding of the issues associated with refurbishing these iconic buildings.

A planning application will be made before end of 2018 and works started October 2018 and are scheduled for completion by November 2019.

Spencer House from Bedminster Bridge roundabout

Spencer House from Bedminster Bridge roundabout

Mapping new homes in Bristol

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Junction 3 mixed use, brownfield development in central Bristol

The Architecture Centre along with UWE Architecture & Planning students have undertaken a mapping exercise of new housing across Bristol that highlights the variety of methods of delivery. Available as a downloadable summary report, a series of case studies from individual dwellings through to large scale developments are explored, they include Torpoint and Junction 3 that were delivered by gcp Chartered Architects.

 

 

Successful pre-completion air-testing

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Successful pre-completion air-testing today at our Stoke Bishop low energy project; achieving 0.68 air change per hour - well below our EnerPHit target of 1.0.

Another success for the Nudura ICF construction method and the care taken installing gcp’s carefully considered air tightness detailing.

Air Testing at Church Road

Air Testing at Church Road

Completion: 155 Aztec West, Bristol

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After: what the building looks like now works are complete

gcp Chartered Architects would like to congratulate Rydon Construction on the successful completion of Cat A+works at 155 Aztec West, Bristol.  The project was managed by BNP Paribas Real Estate for the institutional owner.  The project involved replacement of all windows and mechanical and electrical services as well as the introduction of a new shower area.  The entrance has been greatly enhanced with the addition of a new entrance lobby extension with a new boardroom at first floor.

Before: outside 155 Aztec West, Bristol

Lime Property Ventures launch with student scheme

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gcp are pleased to announce Lime Property Ventures first development creating 25 student flats from a decommissioned sheltered housing scheme just off King Square in central Bristol has been delivered on time and within budget. The scheme has been developed in partnership with Bristol SU Lettings.

Lime Ventures is Elim Housings new development arm. This is the 4th project gcp have worked with Elim on over the last 3 years and we are actively sourcing development opportunities for future Lime schemes.