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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.

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.

Want to join gcp?

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We are recruiting here at gcp Chartered Architects. If you are ready for a new challenge, we have opportunities for design professionals to join our team in Bristol. You will need to be organised, proactive and keen to make a difference. The roles will be busy and varied and will focus on two main areas: estate regeneration comprising decarbonisation and retrofitting of medium to large scale projects (£5m to £20m) and sports / leisure projects focusing on indoor cricket facilities, with ambition to grow within that sector. Do you know anyone who might be interested?

Contact mail@gcparch.co.uk

Architectural Technologist

End of Year Wrap Up: 2022

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2022 has seen the “new normal” become the normal-normal, with hybrid working and remote meetings just a part of everyday life now. With bubble-working and office closures a thing of the past, the word of the year at gcp has been collaboration. We have really enjoyed being back in the office together, sharing stories and cakes at our Monday huddles and using our new whiteboard space for design workshops.

We started the year by offsetting carbon emissions: a frosty January day was spent planting trees with Avon Needs Trees. gcp are committed to tackling climate change both through our designs and our actions. We hope to build off this initial planting session by further developing our carbon tracking, reduction, reporting, and offsetting strategies to better understand how we can make a difference.

In February we celebrated national apprenticeship week, with architectural apprentice Owen Faunt. We are pleased to be supporting Owen through his Architectural Apprenticeship at South Bank University, London. We love discussing his projects and seeing his finished work and are incredibly proud of how far he’s come since his change of careers 3 years ago.

Part of his experience this year was the chance to work on The Ranch, Southmead, with DIY SOS. gcp helped with the overarching vision and Owen got the chance to put his amazing sketching skills to work.

Team challenges form the cornerstone of office morale here at gcp, and in March we split into team-bikes and team-books to see who could go the furthest – readers or cyclists. Team reading easily beat the cyclists, though with their many pub lunch cycles clocked up, who was the real winning team?!

In July, some of the staff, their partners and families took a relaxing weekend trip to Devon and in September we celebrated the company’s 30th birthday with our favorite memories and a huge cake.

2022 has seen a boom in recent sports project experience. gcp were proud to help bring a top class sporting facility to West London, with the completion of a fantastic cricket centre developed in conjunction with the Wilf Slack Trust, Middlesex Cricket and Willam Perkins School. We have some more exciting sports projects on the program for 2023!

Our long-running relationship with Curo continued this year, with Century Park a 128 unit scheme progressing well on site. This scheme has received great press and is a finalist in Bristol Property Awards, for Residential Development.

Alongside marking a continued relationship with Curo, we were pleased to be working with EG Carters, a partnership which has been ongoing for over 18 years. We have worked closely with the EG Carter team over the years to find practical development solutions for often tricky sites across the South West.

Our first project together (back in 2004!) was a small infill housing project in a dense urban neighbourhood in Bristol. Current projects include Rural Exception sites in Somerset and Wiltshire where we have worked closely with the E G Carter team, jointly negotiating our way through complex planning, land and environmental issues, to deliver needed affordable homes that are welcomed by the local community.

We celebrated with Acorn Property Group and Halsall the completion of Brooks Dye Works, a 113-home regeneration project in St Werburghs, Bristol.

Our initial contact with Acorn began when we supported Halsall Construction on the Otters Holt development in Ottery St Mary, a complex brownfield development in a conservation area. Acorn subsequently approached us to resolve planning conditions and provide technical design for their major project at the old Brooks Laundry in Bristol. Alongside architectural design we also provided energy assessments to meet Acorn's performance targets through our in-house energy consultancy.

Alongside our continued housing experience and exciting sports projects, we have been working on Retrofit in the Forest of Dean. At the CIH conference in September, Tom Mellor presented alongside Curtins, Two Rivers and Rider Levett Bucknall as part of the “Bristol Retrofit Collective” speaking to Demystify PAS2035. We will be running some further seminars on this subject in the New Year, so please get in touch if you’d like to get added to the list.

All in all, it’s been a busy year for gcp and we rounded it off with a lovely Christmas meal in Bristol last week. After a busy few months, it was lovely to gather around the table, enjoy good food and even better company and raise a glass to the success of our small team over the year.

We can’t wait to see what is in store for us and for you, in 2023.

Season’s greetings to all and wishing you a very happy New Year.

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)


 

 

Happy Birthday gcp!

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It’s gcp’s 35th Birthday this week. We will be celebrating in the office with cake and nibbles!

As part of the celebrations, we asked staff to submit favourite memories, moments and projects and created a list of 35 memories for 35 years of business.


  1. Jeremy gave me my first opportunity to gain work experience back in 2006 (16 years ago!). It gave me a competitive advantage over my peers and helped me get my foot in the door of other architect firms to progress my career.

    I have now come full circle and find myself back with gcp much more capable than when I left back in 2008. Tom H

  2. A memory I’ll treasure forever is the wonderful long weekend we spent in Devon. I couldn’t have hoped for a more supportive, creative and knowledgeable group of colleagues and friends. Hoorah to 35 years and the many more beyond! Martina

  3. A fond memory (which I think is suitable) is me crying whilst doing the gcp Peak Challenge and shouting ‘I hate this so much’ midway up a peak! Everyone was really supportive of me, encouraging me to push through and it made me really proud to be part of such a lovely team! Siobhan

  4. The most rewarding aspect of being an architect is being part of a team which delivers a scheme everyone is happy with. There is nothing more satisfying than the client telling you that they are really pleased with the end result. Jon B

  5. My favourite project was Lisson Grove Medical Centre in Plymouth where we turned a coffin maker’s workshop into a modern medical centre. The building is featured in the surgeries section (1992 – 30 years ago! ) and was completed by Jeremy Pilling and Martin Spear.

    The work was done over a long hot summer and we used to play golf at Moretonhampstead on the way back from site visits.

    It still looked great when I went to look at it a couple of years ago. Jeremy

  6.  Best memory of gcp was the opening of Foundation Park, a new facility that you could see instantly was going to provide an environment to support a community in demand. Bringing together people through activity is very powerful, improving lives socially, physically, and mentally. James

  7. My favourite moments are probably organising the successful 30th anniversary celebrations such as the quiz, the black tie dinner and the client lunch. Everything went to plan and months of organisation were worth it ! Won’t be long until the 40th celebrations…….. Maria

  8. My favourite project was Homelands Dundry – it is so satisfying designing something directly for clients who are so enthusiastic and committed to the project. Colin

  9. My milestone had to be starting at gcp full-time. It was a complete change and a leap into the unknown. But, I had confidence that gcp was a great company from my previous meetings with everyone. 3 years on and it’s one of the best life choices I’ve made. Owen

  10. I really liked the way people pulled together through Covid and in some ways I think we became a more social team because of that. The little 15 min coffee break calls and Friday lunch virtual pub trips, plus the pub quizzes Sarah and others would prepare really demonstrated the importance of caring for your co-workers. Matt B

  11. Playing Articulate at the pub. Jeremy is trying to get us to guess the word ‘Droop’. Gives us the following clue ‘First name of rapper _________ Dog’. Sarah

  12. Pub Fridays – as an office, we are very sociable and many of us like to enjoy a trip to the local pub on Friday. In the summer we often walk, sit outside and enjoy the sun, and in winter we sometimes take games to enjoy. One year we were playing a game where Jeremy was trying to describe the word ‘droop,’ to which he described it as the name of a rapper…the well known ‘droop dog.’ Esther

  13. We teamed up with Avon Needs Trees to plant 68 trees and 69 shrubs to support their local planting program on a cold but beautiful morning back in January 2022.

  14. My favourite memories are always the build up to Christmas – although a busy and often stressful period in the office, we play games like ‘what’s in the stocking’, do activities like ‘hot chocolate bar,’ and spend time together at the christmas party. Even through Covid these games became virtual but were still executed with the same enthusiasm. Esther

  15. We became employee owned in September 2020, marking an exciting evolution for the business.

  16. gcp 30th Charity Quiz: Preparing puzzle questions for a very successful quiz at the Muddock. Sarah

  17. My favourite memory would be our office trip to Barcelona – such a great weekend with a lovely group of people. Colin

  18. Visiting the opening of Brent Knoll, one of my first housing schemes at gcp which I worked on from feasibility, to public consultation, planning and construction. The feedback from the client and the future home owners was incredibly positive. Esther

  19. Christmas-no-lunch. December sees a month-long celebration in our office, with daily games and challenges and lots of social events. I was really proud of how we were able to pull together advent-boxes, prepared and delivered to covid-guidelines so that we could have some of that office-Christmas-feeling in what was a difficult festive season during a pandemic. Our Christmas-no-lunch was a virtual quiz with drinks and snacks, that lasted all afternoon and made things feel a little more normal! Natalie

  20. In the Spring of 1987 Graham Carrthers invited Jeremy Pilling to join him in partnership, launching as Graham Carruthers Partnership in the September. We set up business in a double bedroom (with en-suite print room) with the fabulously entertaining Sharon Rogers as our secretary to keep us well and truly off the straight and narrow. And so gcp began.

  21. 10 Peaks challenge – it was tough, wet and rainy. But a fantastic challenge that a large number of gcp got involved with to raise money. We danced at the top of some of the peaks, encouraged each other to keep pushing on, talked more personal than work lives and finished with a delicious pub dinner. Esther

  22. In 1997, gcp was commissioned by Bristol City Council to undertake an exercise into the provision of new sports facilities in the inner-city St. Paul’s area. This was the first of many consultation-led projects leading to lottery applications run by Jonathan Platt. It culminated in the design and delivery of the Civic Trust Award winning St Paul’s Community Sports Centre, completed by Leadbitter Construction to much appreciation by the City Council in 2000.

  23. I enjoy each project as they come along – and can get very focused in the detail. But Hengrove Leisure park was an early favourtie, as well as work on the major parks in London for RBKC, particularly at Kensington Memorial Park, and then various community centre and old school site works. Always good to see the benefit for the client & users. Michael

  24. Our office refit. 2020 was been a challenging but exciting year at gcp. Lockdown forced us to temporarily vacate our office in Warmley and learn how to work from home. Rather than forgetting about the office we saw this as an opportunity to refurbish our working environment, not just to make it Covid safe, but also to make it a more pleasant place to work when we all returned.

  25. The Lemon Clock: A hysteric team bonding moment in an eerie escape room. Sarah

  26. We launched gcp Consulting in 2006 to offer energy consultancy services to our clients, which would support the success of their projects.

  27. The year we had football matches with other businesses for the gCup on the field at Londonderry – farm animals occasionally taking over the pitch inbetween matches! Michael

  28. My personal milestone I am proud of was completing my Msc at Cardiff University, and the support gcp gave me in my personal development objectives. Colin

  29. On an office trip, backstage at the Bristol Old Vic, I got to live out a personal dream of being on-stage when the Irons went up. A moment that still gives me goosebumps when I think about it Natalie

  30. In our old offices at Londonderry Farm, we used to have these HUGE Christmas trees. One year we set up a Scalextrics track around the tree and spent the afternoon racing and having festive drinks and nibbles.

  31. gcp become one of the first architectural practices in the South West to become ISO accredited in 1994. Quality Assurance is at the heart of project delivery and whilst our system is mature, we are always looking for ways to evolve working practices. In 2020, as a direct response to the pandemic, we began the process of becoming a paperless office.

  32. The gcp team introduced me to escape rooms and the one I’ll never forget is a particularly terrifying séance themed one just up the road in Kingswood. There was much screaming and lots of jumps and scares, including a spooky doll dropping from the ceiling onto a startled colleague. But the funniest thing was when we met up with the other group and they said they could hear us screaming through the walls in their Brunel-themed-escape-challenge! Natalie

  33. It was satisfying when our Henacre scheme started on site after four years! We started working on the project in January 2017 and it started on site around January 2021 Sarah

  34. gcp loves a challenge. One year, we split into teams to create a crazy golf course, with each team creating a hole in a set area. Special mention to the team that got the stairs!

  35. We are really proud of our ongoing commitments to Mental Health Week and Work Life Week, using these as points in the calendar to continue discussions and track progress. These focus weeks have resulted in a regular employee survey, private health insurance for all employees, a commitment to Thrive and much more.


Happy birthday gcp, we can’t wait to make more memories over the next years to come.

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!

The Paddock by Owen Faunt, Architectural Apprentice

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gcp are passionate about housing and passionate about developing people. The Paddock, is a bespoke scheme of three homes, designed for a small local developer. It consists of three houses set on a piece of open grassland, in an outer Bristol suburb. With an engaged and enthusiastic client, this project has been the perfect case study for the professional practice element of my Architectural Apprenticeship. gcp have actively involved me with every stage of the design process, from a pre-planning application through to construction and beyond. All under the fervent mentoring of two of the practice’s most experienced and expert architectural staff.

Tavistock Road by Tom Hubbard →

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It was fantastic to see the progress made down on site at Tavistock road last week. It’s been a pleasure to work alongside Bristol Together who employ recently released prisoners and train them up ready for a career in the construction industry. They have done a great job getting a very complicated design out of the ground and looking so good. The site is aligning to two existing terraces at different angles, creating a complicated geometry and a roof with more angles than a math teachers chalk board. The scheme is to create 12 affordable rented apartments in Knowle West, a deprived area of Bristol with a housing shortage.

We can’t wait to see the finished product.

Employee Survey Results #mentalhealthawareness

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#mentalhealthawareness

Two years ago, as part of our mental health and wellbeing initiatives, gcp implemented an Employee Survey. This is the second year of our survey and we are delighted to have once again received 100% participation.

Using quality questions has enabled us to monitor trends year-on-year so that we can build a picture of how we are all doing and we will continue to do this going forward. We will run the survey annually to track changing trends, but are also investigating other forms of feedback, which can be given more regularly so there is less time between whole office check-ins.

We understand the limitations to a survey taken at a moment in time and have a number of other options in place for staff to access support where required.

Below, we have summarised some of the quality question responses and the next steps we are taking in each area.

At gcp, we are really keen on focus weeks, especially for Mental Health & Wellbeing and use them as a time to reflect on progress to date and to put plans in place for the next period.

There is an awareness of mental health at gcp & this is talked about openly

Next Steps:

  • Set up a mental health task group

  • Finalise and publish our new wellbeing & mental health policy

  • Events Group to form a program of inclusive events

I feel confident that I can open up about mental health issues at work

Next Steps:

  • Investigate ways to receive feedback more regularly

  • Monitor the wellbeing and mental health of staff annually via anonymous survey

  • Keep mental health at the forefront of one-to-ones and reviews. Put wellbeing action plans into place for anyone who wants to

  • Keep to one-to-one schedule (these are informal chats with directors, outside of the review system, when any issues or concerns can be raised or feedback given)

  • Offer alternative ways to get support (via our private medical insurance or Mind)

I am aware of the support available to me at work with regards to mental health

Next Steps:

  • Clarify support available

  • Devise a plan for regular updates / training on mental health and support

Other:

Wilf Slack Cricket Centre Opens

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Tuesday 26th April saw the opening of Wilf Slack Cricket Centre in Ealing, London. This community-focused centre was the brainchild of Keir Smith (William Perkin CofE High School) and Katie Berry (Middlesex Cricket) who have worked tirelessly for the last seven years to bring their vision to reality.

On the recommendation of the England and Wales Cricket Board, gcp were brought on board in 2021 to provide technical guidance and deliver the project. Through close collaboration with specialists and stakeholders, we collectively delivered a centre which provides:

-          Four independent ECB compliant cricket lanes

-          Multisport capability including basketball and badminton

-          Specialist LED lighting with scene control for cricket / badminton / exam conditions

-          Safe viewing areas for coaches and parents

-          State of the art lane cameras with playback capabilities for coaching - possibly the best in the country!

-          Inspiring brand environment designed by RAW Brothers (https://rawbrothers.co.uk/blog/cricketing-legend-wilf-slack) which tells the compelling story of Wilf Slack

-          Meeting room facilities with live / recorded camera playback for events and coaching

Developed with the local community in mind, with a particular focus on providing opportunities for women / girls and people with disabilities, the centre builds on excellent outdoor facilities including a full-sized cricket pitch. Middlesex Cricket’s Women, the Sunrisers (https://www.middlesexccc.com/news/2020/08/sunrisers-launch-new-website) and Girls squads, Disability squads and Participation Team are already making use of the facility alongside local recreational clubs and schools.

It was brilliant to see the centre in use at Tuesday’s opening event. The feedback from all stakeholders was incredibly positive and leaves us with no doubts that the centre will be a success.

Katie Berry, Middlesex Cricket’s Director of Participation, commented:

“As a facility, the Wilf Slack Cricket Centre, stands head and shoulders above anything else in the county. The term state of the art was made for this facility and with the shared vision we have with the team at Twyford CofE Academies Trust, we know that this centre will become a vital hub for the local community.”

Keir Smith, former William Perkin CofE School Head Teacher, commented:

“As a state school, we are extremely proud to be able to offer a first-class cricket facility that rivals anything else in the area, even in the private school sector, and we want this centre to be a shining example of what can be done in state schools with the right vision and the right partners in place.”

Jonathan Platt, Director at gcp Chartered Architects said:

”The future is so exciting for a school with such fantastic sports facilities and demonstrates the true benefit of a trusting partnership between a school, a professional club, local authority, Sport England, and a governing body in the England & Wales Cricket Board can bring in terms of sporting opportunities. There should be more facilities like this that utilises the assets within schools for the wider community. What a great legacy to a committed and highly respected crickets. ”

Futurebuild notes by James

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Generally, really useful to see some new products and services on show, with some interesting discussion topics in between.

 

Innovation stage

Session Title: Generation Zero – Natural timber solutions for retrofit and newbuild.

Presenter: Matt Stevenson of Eco System Technologies

Interesting points: In partnership with GenZero, they are working with the DFE to deliver healthier atmospheres within schools, through sustainable modular design.

They offer the use of natural materials in a controlled environment, which can reduce waste, maximise recycling and potential re-use potential.

The use of timber in buildings provide good quality environments that are better for health and promote well-being.

 

Digital Impact stage

Session title: The new Breeam Platform; data driven whole life performance.

Presenter: Dr Shamir Ghumra, Head of building performance services

Interesting points: Bre are diversifying to add useful interactive data systems to aid Breeam assessors, manufacturers, and clients during the assessment process.

One example being greater engagement and assurances for manufactures during the product development stages, this avoids unnecessary abortive work.

 

Keynote Stage 2

Architects Climate Action Network (ACAN) Natural Materials WG: Natural materials in practice

Passivhaus Talk 1 by Paper igloo Director, Mhairi Grant, Director.

This was a Self-build home she built with her partner, which is called Ostro Passivhaus, near Stirling.

There was a constant use of timber throughout the building, it was described as a ‘box within a box’ as the ‘inner box’ contains all the services and circulation and serves the surrounding spaces.

The home achieved passivhaus certification and technical standard section 7; sustainability gold level.

Pasivhaus Talk 2 by Architype director, Ben Humphries.

Hackbridge Primary School, Sutton, London.

Situated next to an area of metropolitan open land and the BedZED eco-village, this offered an obvious opportunity for the architect to use natural, low-embodied carbon materials.

They adopted a timber-based palette, birch-faced plywood linings, a ‘Larsen truss’ timber frame with wood fibre insulation and sweet chestnut cladding (due to its long lifespan, reducing replacement costs).

He identified the use of pvc in schools (and generally) as being an awful crime, due to the emissions of VOCs. It’s too easily chosen for trunking to conceal services (instead they chose to use plywood, which I thought was neat).

He finished with a statement ‘If you don’t need a material, don’t use it’.

Architype are also carrying out post occupancy studies to monitor improved health and wellbeing at the school to gather feedback. They are already working other schools where they are improving performance and are always looking at other bio-based materials.

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.

ECB Bradford Accessibility Review

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Making cricket facilities accessible: 3 things we have learnt

Accessibility and inclusivity are fundamental requirements for the ECB when developing any new or refurbished facilities. In 2019 the ECB launched their Inspiring Generations (2020-2024) strategy which looked to deliver on six objectives:

·         Grow and nurture the core

·         Inspire through elite teams

·         Make cricket accessible

·         Engage children and young people

·         Transform women’s and girls’ cricket

·         Support our communities

Urban Cricket Centres (UCC) provide a unique opportunity to deliver on many of these objectives, but to fully reap the benefit of these high aspirations, due consideration should be taken at an early design stage.

For the first UCC in Leyton, East London, achieving any accessibility goals were particularly challenging due to the nature of the existing buildings. Through careful planning, we managed to reimagine the existing buildings to provide; a range of improvements including a range of accessible gender neutral changing spaces for individuals, small groups and teams; lift access to a first-floor viewing area which now includes Perspex panels to allow for uninterrupted views from a wheelchair, a dedicated faith room, and step free access around the entire facility. Elsewhere on the site two further changing rooms were refurbished to provide flexible changing for the outdoor cricket / football pitches as well as introducing new referee and accessible changing facilities again with step free access to make the whole site fully accessible.

Working on the design stage of the second UCC in Bradford even more scope for inclusivity was available to the design team as the scheme needed a new entrance and circulation routes for the centre. Through collaboration with Jane Simpson Access at scheme design stage,  the project provides first class accessibility through having: accessible WCs on every level, providing dedicated accessible changing, improving the existing changing to allow for ambulant WCs and showers, increasing the size of circulation routes and sizing the lift to accommodate sports wheelchairs, and providing additional accessible parking spaces and ensuing step free access to the facility.

Refurbishing existing buildings to improve accessibility comes with its challenges, but these changes are fundamental to creating Urban Cricket Centres which truly serve all of their communities. The top three things learnt from these projects are:

1.       Ensure accessibility is fully discussed by key stakeholders and is integral to the client briefing stage

2.       Engage an appropriately qualified access consultant as part of the design team early in the development process

3.       Ensure the true cost of the access improvements are picked up in the cost planning process, and provide the client with specific cost advice on the access enhancement as they might be able to attract specific funding for features that go beyond the minimum requirement of the Building Regulations

To further support the design and management of cricket facilities, the ECB has created a suite of documents including a guide, survey form and facility check list as part of their drive to Create Welcoming Environments. These guides are equally applicable to any sports facility.

Mezzanine Guardrail sketch review

International Women's Day.

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We join the IWD community to celebrate the achievements of our women.

To highlight just a few of these, we have recently welcomed Martina, who has immediately made herself part of the gcp team. Catriona, an Architectural Student, who has also recently joined us from Bath University on a four-month placement, has a passion for creating thriving and sustainable communities. Sarah, our social secretary, has recently summited the final design project of her part-2 qualification at Oxford Brookes University. Completing this all whilst in full-time employment, which is a fantastic achievement!

gcp plant 68 trees and 69 shrubs to support local tree planting program

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gcp have recently teamed up with Avon Needs Trees to support their ambitious tree planting program across the Avon valley. Avon Needs Trees is looking to reforest and rewild the Avon valley by planting trees which will enhance biodiversity, provide natural flood management, improve water and air quality as well as sequester carbon from the air.

By volunteering at the Stanley Lane site gcp managed to plant 68 trees and 69 shrubs which will be maintained by Avon Needs Trees through their ongoing commitment to the site. We also donated to planting at ANT's nearby site at Hazeland and hope that these trees will continue to grow over the coming years and go some way to offsetting the carbon we create as a business in the future.

gcp are committed to tackling climate change both through our designs and our actions. We hope to build off this initial planting session by further developing our carbon tracking, reduction, reporting, and offsetting strategies to better understand how we can make a difference.

Work Life Week 2021: Using National Awareness Days to Evaluate Our Progress

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At gcp, supporting mental health has always been at the core of devising sustainable working practices. We have long had family-friendly working policies in place and support flexible working requests for a variety of reasons from caring responsibilities to personal development, knowing that there is no “one size fits all” solution to improving work/life balance.

For the last few years we have used Work Life Week to evaluate our progress, celebrate achievements in this area and set targets for the following year. In a busy, hybrid working environment, it is helpful to use National Awareness days and weeks as a way for the whole team to think about and discuss our mental health at the same time.

In 2019 we held a mindfulness and creativity week, where we took some time out to be creative together. This was a great opportunity to have fun, take a break from our screens and chat with members of the team we might not work with on a day-to-day basis.

In the midst of a pandemic, Work Life Week saw a change of focus to physical activity breaks: we set ourselves a 1,000,000 step challenge for the week and encouraged everyone to take time off from their screens to get some fresh air. Working virtually, we also held coffee mornings as an opportunity for some chit-chat amongst the increasingly work-focused Teams meetings.

It is important to highlight that these weeks aren’t just one-off events, but something gcp are keen to continue to improve on. In the past year, we have signed up to Thrive at Work West of England and have embarked on a two year commitment to improve and evaluate our working procedures in a way that puts keeping our team mentally healthy at the core of what we do.

One year into this commitment  we have made some subtle shifts in established working practices to support mental health, wellbeing and balance. At the beginning of 2021 we introduced private health insurance for everyone, to provide easy access to medical support for physical and mental health issues.

Long supporters of Mind, all members of the Senior Management Team have already completed Mental Health Awareness Training for Managers in 2021. This training will be provided to the rest of the office during 2021s’ Work Life Week.

This year we also ran an Employee Satisfaction Questionnaire to let us know what we are doing well already and what we need to improve, on an individual and organisational level. This will now become an annual undertaking, with benchmarking questions used to track trends amongst our team. As a result of this survey, we have:

  • Put mental health at the forefront of one-to-ones and reviews

  • Committed to putting wellbeing plans into place for anyone who needs it

  • Reinforced our one-to-one chats, now scheduled every 6 weeks (these are informal chats with directors outside of the formal review system, when any issues or concerns can be raised or feedback given)

  • Checked in on the wellbeing and mental health of staff via an anonymous survey

  • Arranged mental health awareness training for the Senior Management Team

  • Collaboratively planned for return to the office / bubble mixing

  • Attended a RIBA CPD Wellbeing session, with action points fed back to the wider team

  • Encouraged coffee breaks Tuesday & Thursday @10.30 for drop in (online – or in office for those in an office-based bubble)

  • Empowered staff to set up challenges, breakout rooms, coffee breaks, informal meetings as and when they need / want them

To follow, we will in the next 6 months:

  • Arrange mental health awareness training for the whole team

  • Devise a wellbeing & mental health policy, using our survey results, research and findings from year 1

  • Run the annual Employee Satisfaction Survey & report on trends / actions to wider team

  • Undertake a review of our appraisal system

Our Events Team will:

  • Define a place to play games, do puzzles, sketch at lunch (when closer contact is permitted)

  • Plan architectural/cultural day trips

  • Plan lunchtime events: games, exercise, Lego, pub – a mix of events to appeal to a wide audience

It is fair to say that the pandemic has highlighted both the positives and the challenges of virtual working and so this year for Work Life Week, we have changed the focus towards discussions about what sort of working environment we want to create as we move towards 2022.

gcp became employee owned in 2020 and now more than ever the wellbeing of our colleagues is central to us being a successful business. In Work Life Week 2021 we will be having daily discussions around the following:

Flexibility:

What does flexibility mean to me?

How does it impact my colleagues?

Mental health:

What can I do to help my mental health?

What can gcp do to help my mental health?

Practicality:

How do we see the new flexible and hybrid system working?

Creative and collaboration:

How do we see creative and collaborative design working in the new flexible and hybrid system?

Burn-out:

What is the best way to avoid burn-out? How do I work best?

For this week and beyond gcp continues to place employee wellbeing and keeping our team mentally healthy at the core of our company values.

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