Esther Brown

gcp visit Edinburgh

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It was back in 2020, when former director, Colin Powell moved to Edinburgh from Bath to fulfil a family dream of living in Scotland. A global pandemic, three years and many successful projects later a small group of the gcp team embarked on a mini-office-trip to pay him (and magnificent Edinburgh) a visit.

Our trip started early on Friday morning with a 7am flight from Bristol International Airport, landing us in Edinburgh just as the day was beginning to break. An atmospheric mist settled over the streets as we took the bus into the capital, finally splitting to cast glorious sunshine over the gothic city once brunch was over.

That first morning was for exploring – the Botanical Gardens, Modern Two, quaintly cobbled streets and an independent-makers-market inside a church were some of the sights taken in before we headed to our meeting place of Edinburgh Castle for a group experience.

We battled the crowds to take in the beauty of the sun soaked city from upon high. The breathless, panoramic views were worth being squeezed like sardines through the entrance and once inside the settlement it was peaceful with lots to look at.

There might have been a pint (or two) consumed afterwards in an quirky little pub and many thousands of steps clocked up on the step trackers.

Day Two started off with pastries and coffee (for those of us who didn’t have breakfasts at the hotel or AirBnB) and meeting Colin at the bottom of the Royal Mile, for a walk that started in a graveyard and ended in a café.

We took a meandering route, soaking up amazing views and the lovely streets of New Town. There were surprising pockets of nature to be discovered in the West End, all sprinkled with history, stories, anecdotes and interesting facts from Colin. We caught up as we walked, taking in what felt like an entirely different city to the day before.

Everywhere you turn in Edinburgh, there is something for your eyes to feast upon. Each street looks like it could be a scene in a film or the setting of a novel; I found myself saying “it’s beautiful, no this is beautiful” more times that I can count. With Autumn just at the edges of the trees and the weather zig-zagging between smokey skies and blinding sunshine, I felt like we really got the best it could offer.

After our tour we were armed with knowledge of the best bookshops in the city and filled with the most delicious toastie I’ve ever eaten it was time for a well-earned rest. Another 15,000 steps clocked in on the tracker, there were a few free hours (an amazing entrance-way in the National Portrait Gallery, yoga, a chapter of my book, a glass of wine) before we met again for a lovely dinner.

Colin surprised us all with some hand-thrown tea bowls (he has taken up pottery since moving to Edinburgh); and we finished the evening in a wine bar, chatting about our trip so far and sharing our go-to karaoke songs.

By Sunday, there was still more to do and by now, my fitness tracker was wondering if perhaps my watch had been stolen by someone who walks much more than I normally do. Today was Arthur’s Seat for some, bookshops, people watching and coffee for others. Signed-First-Editions, origami book pages, museums, galleries, parks, fountains, a fancy new shopping mall – we made the most of our last, long day, squeezing in as many of the sights as we could, before heading back to Edinburgh Airport for dinner and a late flight back to Bristol.

 

Brooks Dye Works complete! Regeneration at the heart of St Werburghs. Bristol.

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Brooks Dye Works sits within the dense Victorian terraced streets of St Werburghs in central Bristol. With an industrial use dating back to the 19th century and its distinctive 39m high brick chimney providing an important landmark for the surrounding area, the site is a key regeneration project in this part of the city. Acorn achieved planning approval for a development of 89 homes, new highways and public open space in 2017 and needed to deliver a complex project with challenging technical requirements. Our previous work with Acorn and our knowledge of this area of the city (illustrated by our completed projects closely adjacent to the site) gave Acorn the confidence to appoint gcp as their Architect for the following stages of the project. Brooks Dye Works has been a major part of our office life for the subsequent 5 years, as we worked closely with Acorn’s design team and Halsall Construction, the contractor delivering the site works at Brooks.

Acorn have high production values and a clear concept for their product, wanting to provide high quality contemporary homes that are attractive, flexible and efficient. These are values very much shared by gcp, and our pragmatic approach, backed up with excellent design and technical knowledge, supported the delivery of this project on multiple levels. Our principal responsibility was in optimising the design and developing the construction solutions to deliver the product Acorn envisaged. In addition, we managed the complex planning implications and discharges required by the planning approval. Our consulting team managed the energy assessment and certification of performance to ensure delivery of new homes that are energy efficient and incorporate renewable energy systems to reduce carbon emissions.

For our team, the project has strong personal connections also – anything you work on continuously for 5 years leaves a mark!

Siobhán Tarr, our Senior Technologist, has led the technical design from inception to completion, applying her knowledge and rigour to all aspects of the design. She says;

“Having grown up in Bristol I am always interested in my city and how the regeneration of different areas enhances my hometown. I have friends who live in St Werburghs and have spent many hours exploring the surrounding streets, so it was great to play a part in the regeneration of this area. I’m looking forward to exploring some higher vantage points to get a different view of the scheme and really see it nestled within the streets I already know. The chimney is a feature I love, it’s fun moving around the area and aligning it with different views of the streets and the new homes. I am so pleased to see residents moving in and making the place their own with the individuality that is so characteristic of the area.”

Colin Powell, Energy Architect at gcp, has managed the planning approvals and consents throughout the project. He says;

“We have always built our business around relationships with people and I was so pleased to work with Acorn again on this project. As a client they take a close interest in every aspect of a project, bringing a clear focus on design quality and practical solutions that I like to think is an area we excel in. I think this is possibly one of the most complex planning approvals I have managed, and keeping track of the different consents, new applications, conditions and discharges has been quite a logistical challenge. The completed project is a credit to everyone involved and as the development matures it will fit seamlessly into the surrounding community and the dense urban character of this part of the city.”

And our joint favourite moment;

“The Brooks ducks and ducklings, who waddled through the construction works on a regular basis, oblivious to the construction activities, making their way to the new Pond in Mina Park. Hopefully the residents will get to enjoy a new duckling family every year.”

Awards:

Residential Development of the Year (Bristol Property Awards 2021);

Small Residential Development of the Year (South West Residential Property Awards 2022)


 

 

Marian's Walk by Esther Brown

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I am pleased to say, after 21 months in planning, the planning committee has voted to approve (subject to 106 agreement) 17 new dwellings on a rural exception site in the Forest of Dean.

The site seemed fairly straightforward at the beginning. It had been put forward by the council and after several consultations was considered to be a great site for 100% affordable housing. However, the site was more tightly constrained than we realised at first. Additional surveys were requested to support the scheme which highlighted a few key items to be considered further. Following lengthy discussions with the planning officers and resultant design changes, we have achieved a widely supported scheme.

One challenge was ecology. After undertaking additional ecological over a larger range of time, one dormouse was found on the site. We had already been designing with ecology in mind, which led to a design set away from the root protection zones of the surrounding trees and hedgerows. The introduction of a 2m ecology buffer zone was incorporated to protect the dormouse whilst allowing the site to remain mainly the same.

Biodiversity net gain also became a big issue as we were having to remove some hedgerows to create an entrance to the site. Grassland was also lost to the dwellings and hardstanding. After several design revisions and calculations, the solution was to reduce the scheme from 18 to 17 units. With the extra space we were able to introduce a small orchard to the entrance and a range of planting throughout the site, particularly in the new play space.

The scheme boasts a mixture of materials, sizes, accessibility provision and house types to reflect the various typologies and needs of the village. Although it’s only a small site, affordable housing is desperately needed and will be a great addition to the village. We were so pleased to give the positive news to our client Two Rivers Housing, who are very happy indeed!

World Down’s Syndrome Day

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Monday was World Down’s Syndrome Day. A day marked with mismatched socks because our differences are what makes us great. It brings awareness and starts a conversation of the equal rights and equal opportunities that anyone with additional needs should be entitled to.

 

We know about the day because of our colleague’s nephew. We celebrate the day because equality is important. Inclusion means no one is left out and no one is left behind.

Great news for those wanting more community-led housing

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The new Community Housing Fund (CHF) will open for applications in August 2021 (but not quite yet – watch here for updates) with £4 million to distribute. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) are proving the funds.  This fund is not for new groups wanting to get going, but for established groups wanting to make meaningful progress. The fund will assist in helping to cover a wide range of costs associate with promoting community-led housing projects including:

  1. Preparing detailed applications to become a Registered Provider

  2. Preparing and submitting capital funding bids

  3. Getting ready to start on-site work

  4. Submitting Full / Detailed Planning Applications or Reserved Matters Planning Applications

  5. Development/ refurbishment of pre-built stock

For detailed assistance on items 1 to 3 above contact Community-led Homes West.

For help with items 4 or 5, contact gcp Chartered Architects and ask to speak with Esther Brown or Sarah Makroum.

Watch out for our updates or email to register interest.

The Willows – Start on site

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We have been working with Curo for over 4 years now to develop 3 adjacent parcels of land in Lawrence Weston. The development will provide 57 new affordable homes across the site, formerly home to the Longcross pub, Holly House and Rockwell House. Last week we had our first site meeting where we finally met the Jehu team in person. It was also an opportunity for some members of the team to see the site in person for the first time!

Works have begun on the Rockwell site where the old care home has been demolished. My inner child loved seeing the diggers in action! Curo’s old office, Holly House, has now been stripped back ahead of refurbishment works to create accommodation for over- 55s.

It’s been a long journey getting here. The Willows, or as I know it Corbet Close, was one of the first projects I worked on when I joined gcp 4 years ago and several initial feasibilities had already been explored. Planning was finally approved in 2019 after an 11-month process. Being a newly qualified architect, I get very excited to see projects I’ve seen through from the beginning getting onto site. I’m looking forward to being back in 4 weeks’ time to see the progress. Esther Brown, Architect, gcp Architects

A lifetime of studying: Esther Brown

I am pleased to say that, after studying for 9 years, I am now a fully qualified Architect.

I am often asked if all the studying was worth it, how I managed to juggle working full time and studying part time, and whether I would tell my 18-year-old self not to do it if I could go back in time. Those who know me well know that I can’t sit still for too long – I like to be active, hands-on and outdoors. Sitting at a computer is not quite the correct fit. With all that being said, I love my job and I would absolutely tell my 18-year-old self to do it again. Most days I don’t mind sitting down or indoors all day (the sit/stand desks at work certainly help), and I really think that this is testament to my love for the job I have spent so long studying for.

The process to becoming an Architect wasn’t completely smooth sailing, and there were several times at university when I felt like quitting. I have been quite open with those who ask that I was never a huge fan of the university system because I learn much better by getting stuck in with a practical task; I always felt like the system did not suite my learning style. I also believed that I hadn’t learned much at university and everything I knew was due to work in practice. But then I taught first year students during the final year of my Master’s and I was reminded that we were all clueless once! 

Despite the challenges of studying at university, it has certainly taught me the foundations and I have learned from the whole process - the good and the bad experiences. I feel truly grateful to be in a job that I love. 

I do like to challenge myself; whilst I was studying for my chartership I also undertook a digital marketing course so that I could support the team as we develop our own in-house marketing strategy. This meant I was then studying for 2 courses and working full time which was far from easy! Many evenings my brain was frazzled and whatever I read or listened to would go in one ear and straight out the other! But I passed both of them and have enjoyed applying the newly acquired knowledge. I am, however, looking forward to giving myself some time off as lockdown restrictions begin to ease.  

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End of year blog 2020

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A year like no other is coming to an end and I just wanted to say that, despite the numerous challenges presented to us, the whole team has responded magnificently demonstrating a deep-routed culture of mutual support and understanding. My thanks and appreciation go to you all. I have known for ages that it was all about the people and so I want to mention some of the ways that we have progressed as an organisation to put us in such a strong position looking forward to 2021 and the part that the individuals have played in that.

Everyone has developed a ‘teams’ persona whether it’s during a virtual rendezvous with genial GP ‘doctor’ Martin Spear, ‘cat juggling’ Esther Brown, ‘squeezed under the stairs’ whispering Michael Hanson or ‘wild man of the woods’ Jonathan Platt. Sometimes they all appear at once on screen like a mad version of University Challenge.

I thought some like borrowing the cool neutral background of a beautifully tasteful modern kitchen until I eventually realised that in Olia Kyritsi’s case it was actually her real kitchen.  Some like Tom Mellor, Tom Hubbard and Matt Andrews like fading out the domestic child strewn chaos in which they obviously live while Owen Faunt either has many rooms in his house or a different selection of bold wallpapers in each. Sarah Markroum looks as though she is just about to pick up an instrument and sing us a song and Matt Bonney has been sitting next to his match pot decorated wall for most of the year.

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Natalie Lock likes to share her domestic bliss with us occasionally interrupted by child or husband or both and recently we have been able to share the homes of Maria Steward, who’s husband lives, we now know, behind a door curiously located half way up the wall in her kitchen, or Siobhan Tarr who has brought the garden inside her house with her spectacularly green fingers.  James Pilling resides in his person shed in the middle of a building site with bike poised for an early morning spin whilst Jon Briscoe organises our every waking hour with benevolent decisiveness and our recently distanced genial voice of reason and wisdom Colin Powell looks over us and after us. 

What a dream teams team!

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This year really has been full of achievement. Financially we have, more or less, broken even which has been no mean feat on its own.  During a year when we have completed a refurbishment of the office, had to work in bubbles, incurred the considerable cost of converting the business into an Employee Owned Trust and set everyone up with the IT infrastructure to work fairly seamlessly from home or from Corum 2, this performance has been even more remarkable.

The year stared with James Pilling achieving a Part 1 Architectural qualification by distance learning with Oxford Brookes and ended with Esther Brown becoming a fully qualified Architect.  In the middle Sarah Makroum passed her first year of Part 2, again at Oxford Brookes and Own Faunt his first year apprentice Part 1 at South Bank University, both with flying colours.  Matt Bonney and Olia Kyrirtsi became qualified Passivhaus designers and Tom Hubbard became a certified Architectural Technologist.  Congratulations to you all.

Shout outs go to Michael Hanson for his tireless responses to your never-ending technical queries and Michael again with Tom Mellor for masterminding the IT development and eventual delivery of a VOIP telephone system.  Don’t ring us ( and expect to get transferred ) we’ll ring you back!  Lastly a big mention for Esther Brown, Natalie Lock, Matt Bonney and James Pilling for boosting our social media presence to the status of influencers – who would have believed it!

And then there was the actual work!

Happy Christmas to you and yours and I look forward to eventually meeting up with you all in 2021.

Jeremy Pilling

Advent day 21: DRAW!

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Today a festive favourite!

Place a paper plate on your head and draw a picture to a set of instructions:

Ground line.

A circle.

Another on top.

And one more … you’ve guessed it, it’s a snowman.

Add some eyes. A nose. A smile.

Give them three buttons and two arms.

2020 Favourites: Malvern

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“We were appointed to support the delivery of 14 homes, located next to several Grade II listed buildings. What seemed like a straightforward project, turned out to be quite challenging with a long process of selecting appropriate materials, detailing complex junctions and delays on site due to weather conditions then Covid-19. Despite the many challenges faced, this was a fantastic learning opportunity for me as it was the first project I have lead at construction stage (with fantastic support from 2 others at gcp). I enjoyed attending site meetings and seeing the progress each time I visited site. CTS have been great to work with and have built fantastic, high quality homes”
— Esther Brown, gcp
Photo credit: Zest Home Staging for Broadway Herritage

Photo credit: Zest Home Staging for Broadway Herritage

We asked everyone in the office to name their favourite project of 2020. Esther chose the completion of 14 dwelling residential scheme in Malvern.

WFH Interview: Esther

As you know from previous posts, gcp continues to be fully operational and are here to assist you. In line with government guidelines we are working from home to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of our employees, our clients and the communities we serve.

Working from home is a new experience for many of us, here are Esther’s thoughts on this new situation.

What’s something challenging about working from home? I can honestly say my cats are as distracting as children! If they aren’t climbing on my shoulder for attention then they are sitting in front of my screen or on my keyboard. I have gotten quite good at working one-handed as one has decided to start sleeping in my arms!

What do you like about working from home? Everyone in the office knows how much I like my PJs and onesies so I have loved being able to work in clothes I feel most comfortable in … I do get dressed properly for conference calls though!

It’s nice to break up my day by cooking at lunchtime - allows me to properly give my brain a rest.

I have a window that is nice to look out of.

What do you miss about being in the office? Firstly I miss my walk to the office in the morning. It’s only 20 minutes but it’s along the Bristol to Bath cycle path & it wakes me up. I get to see the sunrise if I’m early enough & I just felt like it started my day right.

Most importantly, I miss the constant & easy communication in the office from serious, informative conversations about work to just general chit chat about the latest TV series.

Thanks to Microsoft Teams we can still communicate as an office, which is important, but it’s not quite as easy as just talking the ear off the person next to you (sorry Matt, realised how much I must do this now I can’t do it every day!)

The view looks a bit different right now, here is Esther’s desk-at-home.

Esther's desk

Meet the Team: Esther Brown

Esther joined gcp in 2017 after completing her Part 2 studies in Canterbury and moving back home to Bristol. Prior to this, Esther worked in a global practice in Bristol, gaining experience on large, multidisciplinary projects. She also had the opportunity to work in UAE and Qatar on large, fast-paced Rail projects developing her Revit skills greatly.

Esther is currently at the University of the West of England completing her Professional Practice qualification to become a fully qualified Architect. She is hoping to qualify in 2019.

This month marks Esther’s second-year anniversary at gcp, so what better time to ask her a little more about herself.

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So Esther, by now you know the format! Tell us, what inspired you to pursue architecture?

I always liked designing, creating and rebuilding. From a really young age I started redesigning my bedroom and rearranging my furniture!  

If you weren’t training to become an architect, what would you be doing? 

Although I’ve always wanted to be an architect, I have also loved the idea of joining the police force. 

What’s your favourite project that you’ve worked on to date? 

I would probably say Malvern as it my first opportunity to really understand the construction side of the project and get to see the progress as it is being built. 

Also favourite non-project is setting up the Instagram account with the Media team. 

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Esther has been instrumental in getting gcp’s Instagram account up and running this year. Her boundless enthusiasm really shows on our account. Check it out here. 

So what’s been your best moment at gcp in the last year?  

Being able to wear my Santa onesie to work on the last day before Christmas! 

(Photographs NOT available, unfortunately!) Moving on … tell us about a happy moment from your personal life. 

Meeting my nephew when he was just a day old. 

Ahh! We love seeing all the cute pictures and videos you take of him here in the office!  

Tell us something we might not know about you? What do you like to do in your spare time? 

I like to learn instruments. So far I’ve taught myself drums, guitar, bass, ukulele, banjolele and I’m currently learning the piano and harmonica. 

Wow. You really have surprised me with that! Thanks Esther, it’s been a pleasure. Just to wrap up, how about you tell us about a favourite place you’ve visited? 

I went to do a volunteer house build project in Costa Rica which was amazing then travelled around the country after. It has some stunning beaches and lots of cute monkeys and sloths.

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Esther has worked on a wide range of housing jobs whilst with gcp including West Road, Lympsham; Station Road, Brent knoll; Malvern and of course, Corbet Close, which was featured this week on Instagram.

Outside of her architectural work, Esther is a prominent member of the media team and, along with Sarah Makroum, instigator of weekly volleyball matches and daily five-to-four quizzes!

August has been a busy month for staff interviews and we’re not done yet! Keep an eye on our blog for what’s to come.