Place, Time + Architecture (Bristol)

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Image: Frances Gard. The Trinity Centre, Bristol

“A lot has happened since the Architecture Centre first opened its doors onto Narrow Quay in 1996. Trace the changes in Bristol over the past two decades along a timeline that focuses on how significant buildings, places and people have shaped the city. Look ahead to consider what the future might be for one of the city’s most contested places – Castle Park – and find out about the different elements that contribute to making a successful place.”
— The Architecture Centre Programme, Celebrating 20 Years, Autumn 2016

The Architecture Centre is celebrating 20 years of people and places in Bristol with their exhibition running between 9 September & 13 November 2016.

Three projects we have been involved in feature in this exhibit: Trinity, J3 and Filwood Green.

Beautiful images taken by Frances Gard, check out her website or follow her on twitter.

Image: Frances Gard. J3, Bristol

 

 

 

#HealthyBristol: another great event !

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Healthy Bristol community event

Another busy morning discussing #health #wellbeing and #productivity in the workplace. Delighted to be able to hold this in the recently completed Bristol Water HQ. Such an inspiring place and right-on message for this seminar !

We've had a great time participating in Healthy City Week 2016 - a roundup of the weeks' events written by our very own James Pilling to follow soon.

Follow Bristol Green Capital on Twitter.

Healthy Bristol community event

#HealthyBristol

Just back from an interesting morning at Ambition Lawrence Weston discussing #healthy communities and the journey taken so far at Lawrence Weston Community Hub.

gcp are pleased to be making the link between #healthy homes, workspaces and communities.

Our second event is happening on Thursday @BrisolWater where we shall be discussing how building impact on #health #wellbeing and #productivity at work.

#HealthyBristol

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. 

Custom build is all go this autumn

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Graven Hill near Banbury is the largest development of custom / self-build homes in the country.

We are pleased to be supporting a couple keen to move in to the area who are bidding for a plot in Phase 1A.  Using the Plot Passport for their preferred site we have developed a compact modern home with the agreed Material Palette for that part of the site.

For more information about the Graven Hill development see their September 2016 Newsletter or go to www.gravenhill.co.uk.

Graven Hill, Banbury

'New tall buildings should not harm the character of an area'

 

Our project J3 takes the lead image for this story as an example of how new tall buildings can make a positive impact on the skyline.

 

Exert from Bristol 24/7:

Last week, Bristol mayor Marvin Rees said: "I want Bristol's skyline to grow. Years of low level buildings and a reluctance to build up in an already congested city is a policy I am keen to change. Tall buildings built in the right way, in the right places and for the right reasons, communicate ambition and energy."

 

Click here to read the full story

Goose Chase PassivHaus one year on

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An interesting day returning to our Oxfordshire PassivHaus project with Tim Bartlett from CVC (http://cvcdirect.co.uk/ ) to check the calibration of the ventilation system and confirm that the MVHR is working as designed. CVC have been really helpful in the design and installation of the Brink Renovent system and measuring air flows shows that all rooms are receiving the correct amount of fresh air and the almost silent MVHR is working as designed. After a year of living in their new home the client says they wouldn’t want to live in anything else!

Goose Chase Passivhaus

Get a £50k grant towards building your Grand Design

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Material supplier Saint-Gobain and creator of the Multi Comfort concept have teamed up with Grand Designs to host a competition for aspiring self-builders by offering a £50k grant to the winner of a competition to design the ideal Multi Comfort home.

A prerequisite of the competition is all entrants must appoint a PassivHaus-competent architect to design the dwelling. Colin Powell, architect and director at gcp Chartered Architects is a certified PassivHaus designer and is keen to take support your Grand Design aspiration.

The competition is open for entries from 15th August 2016 to 15th October 2016.

https://www.multicomfort.co.uk/multi-comfort-projects/grand-designs-self-build-competition/

Doors open @ 3 of our projects

Three projects we've been involved with will feature on the Bristol Doors Open Day @BristolDOD programme this year. Bristol Water @BristolWater, Trinity @TrinityBristol and Filwood Green @FilwoodGreen  all made the list. 

Bristol Water and Filwood Green are both ticketed events, so please book early to avoid disappointment. No tickets needed for Trinity. Let us know what you think by tweeting @gcparchitects and @BristolDOD.

Click here for the programme.

Click here to book tickets for Filwood Green Business Park.

Click here to book tickets for Bristol Water.

J3 gets the thumbs up from Place Making Resource, sister publication of Planning Resource!

John Baker, partner at PBA Associates provides a rounded review of the scheme three years on since completion and finds it a worthy winner South West RTPI 2015 Planning Excellence Best Scheme on the Ground.

The mixed use scheme next to the M32 motorway now has all ground floor commercial work space units fully let that further contribute to the vibrancy of this urban meeting place.

The J3 scheme has transformed an unloved and unsafe corner of Bristol in to an active and accessible crossing point for the M32. J3 has become a catalyst for further development work in the area and bring forward ideas about regeneration in the vicinity of the motorway.

The J3 scheme builds on an earlier Master Planning study gcp undertook to bring forward development opportunities along Stapleton Road in Easton which runs parallel to the M32.

If you don’t have a full log on licence read the full article by John Baker of PBA Associates here

J3

Looking good in Clevedon

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View from the site

The sun is setting and the scaffolding has been struck on our listed building redevelopment in Clevedon. The specification was for a high performance baumit lime render system that avoids the time and environment constraints of traditional lime render. This specification was agreed with the North Somerset Conservation Officer and allowed the project to get to a water tight stage with windows fitted earlier in the programme than would normally be expected.

Cambrian House with Baumit rendering just completed

More success in Quality Assurance

 

gcp are really proud of our ongoing commitments to Quality Assurance and Environmental Management.

Following on from our successful integration of ISO14001 to our system, we have now completed transition training to ISO9001:2015.

We are looking forward to the new challenges and the opportunities for change and improvement this new standard will bring.

We will be undertaking a Customer Satisfaction Survey over the next few months to infrom this process and shall report back on the findings.