Philip Baker

Meet the Team: Philip

Experienced architect Philip Baker joined gcp two years ago. Philip last worked for the business in the late 1990’s and brings lots of practical knowledge of managing large scale construction projects to the team. 

Today we take some time to celebrate his two-year-anniversary by asking him some quick-fire questions so you can get to know him better.

Philip is an architect with extensive project delivery experience. He has worked internationally for over 20 years on iconic projects under demanding conditions. He has successfully led design teams to produce coordinated information to meet the project’s requirements. His key strengths are communicating with stakeholders, motivating the design team and organising their output.

Philip takes a creative and practical approach in overcoming and solving project design conflicts to keep in budget and meet deadlines.

Following his time abroad, Philip moved back to the UK and rejoined gcp where he takes great pleasure in sharing his love of Bristolian history with the whole practice.

Philip has successfully led design teams on many high-profile international developments, including ones in Cyprus, India, and Kazakhstan. Prior to his work in Asia, Philip ran his own architectural practice in Cyprus, managing a modest team that served the expatriate community in the Paphos region.

Since rejoining gcp, Philip has led projects predominantly in the industrial sector carefully balancing manufacturing requirements and planning constraints and coordinating the design team. In addition to this, Philip is coordinating estate regeneration and retrofit works to social housing developments.

Hi Philip – happy anniversary – first up we’d like to ask: what inspired you to pursue architecture?

As a child I enjoyed making things mainly Lego and Airfix kits but also origami and drawing. My Dad worked in the building industry, and I would be fascinated by the working drawings of houses he would bring home.

Obviously, you have some history with gcp, having worked for the business back on the 90’s. What has been your favourite project to work on at gcp, so far?

Easily, my favourite project was the refurbishment of St Pierre Hotel in Chepstow back in 1990 during my first tenure with gcp. The original building was a listed Tudor manor house which had been converted to a hotel and extended. The project was a total renovation of the entire property, I was based on site to coordinate the interior fit-out with the various contractors and the interior designers.

Sounds fascinating, I’ll have to go and check our archive for that one. And what’s been your best moment at gcp in the last year?

The weekend in Devon

I hear the BBQ your provided, inspired by your life in Cyprus, was a huge success!

If you weren’t an architect, what would you be?

I originally left school at 16 and worked as an apprentice for a consulting engineering company. We were involved in the construction of the three aircraft carriers, Illustrious, Invincible and Ark Royal. So, if I was not an architect, I would probably be an engineer.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I am currently remodelling my flat. Otherwise, my long term hobby is spannering classic cars and motorcycles. I am restoring my MG midget for the third time.

The one everyone is waiting for: can you tell us something we might not already know about you?

I like making 1/12 scale models of F1 cars

That sounds cool! Perhaps a show-and-tell of the models you’ve made might be on the cards in the future. To finish up, what is your proudest personal achievement?

 I travelled solo around the world when I was 23.

What an amazing achievement!

Thanks for your time today Phillip, it’s fantastic getting to know more about our team as individuals and todays interview did not disappoint. To read about Philip’s Medieval walking tour through Old Bristol, click here.

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.

Planning Submitted for Aerospace Engineering Company

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gcp have recently submitted for planning consent a scheme to extend and reimagine the McBraida factory building at Bridgeyate near Bristol. McBraida plc have operated at this plant supplying precision machined parts to a domestic and an increasingly important international aviation market.

Over the last 30 years, as the business expanded, the original brick factory unit has been expanded in piecemeal fashion without any fundamental re-planning of the production space, or strategic view to the future. Consequently, the site is now operating at significantly below optimum efficiency due to the resulting cramped conditions. Likewise, the industry shift into computer aided design and manufacture requires an expansion in office area to accommodate these increasingly desk based manufacturing processes.

Driven by overseas sales success and the lack of space at the Bridgeyate plant, in 2013 the business opened a second production base in Poland. This is a purpose-built modern factory unit with an efficient layout and high levels of staff satisfaction with the workspace environment. It is equipped with all facilities expected of a modern engineering production plant including offices, laboratories, testing facilities, meeting rooms and a client presentation suite. There is a stark contrast between the highly efficient McBraida Polska plant and the somewhat dated, inefficient, sub-optimal accommodation at Bridgeyate.

The proposed extensions will envelope most of the existing factory and will give increased production area, storage, new offices and staff facilities to a high modern standard. The public image of the McBraida works will be transformed from its current anonymous appearance. The intended design aesthetic is ‘modern industrial’; appropriate for the company’s business although to a higher specification than a standard industrial unit. The public-facing façade of the building will express the forward-looking aspirations fitting for this high technology company.