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.

2020 Favourites: Oakfield

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“My favourite project this year has been Oakfield’s. A not-for-profit, high quality, sustainable housing community in Swindon. It’s really been refreshing working on a project with such variety, and one that is going to make a positive impact on people’s lives”
— Matt Andrews, gcp
CGIs by PicturePlane, Metropolitan Workshop and PRP

CGIs by PicturePlane, Metropolitan Workshop and PRP

We asked everyone in the office to name their favourite project of 2020. Matt joined the team this year and dove straight into supporting our largest not for profit development delivering 239 quality sustainable homes. gcp are working for contractor Mi-Space, who started on site in April 2020. The first homes will be available to view in autumn 2021.

Advent day 17: Christmas No-Lunch

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Christmas lunch day normally consists of an afternoon away from our screens, eating good food, drinking a fair bit of wine and chatting to those colleagues you might not work with on a day-to-day basis. It’s normally a fun event and the one time in the year we can clear our schedules and get together.

This crazy year has meant having to adjust in lots of ways. For the Christmas No-lunch this year, our Events team hosted a “Quiz of the Year” over Teams. In the lead up, we were each delivered a package containing drinks, nibbles and festive headgear for the big event.

Whilst it wasn’t quite the same as being in the same room or eating a fancy meal, much fun was had by all and getting home after a few glasses of wine was certainly easier this year!

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2020 Favourites: Trinity Digs

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“Working on behalf of Trinity Community Arts, gcp secured planning consent to carry out capital improvements so that the site can host and support more community activities. The proposals, developed and approved following several months of consultations with key stakeholders, will see customised timber clad containers installed on site, to provide affordable, low-cost, sustainable hot-desk space as a base for community partners, emerging artists and local start-ups. The Digs project has minimal impact on the historic setting of the listed building and aims to release space in the exiting building for additional programme related activities, therefore has the real potential to consolidate the long-term financial resilience of the centre”
— Olia Kyritsi, gcp
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We asked everyone in the office to name their favourite project of 2020. Olia has chosen Trinity Digs, a scheme for affordable office space for the community which was granted planning late last year for Trinity Community Arts.

2020 Favourites: Social Media Takeover

“The beginning of lockdown was so hectic with everyone trying to get to grips with working from home, home-schooling and collaborating with colleagues in a completely different way. Immediately the media team made the decision to use our Social Media to connect with each other across the distance of lockdown. We wanted to find out what people liked about working from home, to talk about some of the challenges and to bring the varied and vibrant personalities of our team to the forefront of our posts. It was so much fun sharing pictures of our families, pets, home offices and daily walks and it felt like maybe we weren’t as far apart after all.”
— Natalie Lock, gcp

We asked everyone in the office to name their favourite project or activity of 2020. Our Practice Manager Natalie took over the social’s during Lockdown.

2020 Favourites: Urban Cricket Centre

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“I chose this project because it is the first project I have taken from concept to completion with gcp. It is also the first pilot scheme in the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) exciting Urban Cricket Centre Initiative (UCCI) which aims to increase community engagement with cricket, but more importantly sports, health, and wellbeing. Refurbishing an existing building under an accelerated programme created various challenges to solve but working closely with fantastic design and construction teams meant that Phase 1 was opened as part of the 2019 Cricket World Cup, with Phase 2/3 following in Summer 2020. Our client (ECB) and the end user (Waltham Forest) have been delighted with the transformation. We hope to achieve similar success on the future UCCI centres across the UK.”
— Matt Bonney, gcp
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We asked everyone in the office to name their favourite project of 2020. Matt has worked on several cricket schemes over the past 2 years so no wonder this makes the list of his favourite project.

2020 Favourites: Downend & Frenchay Pavilion

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“We have a number of sports enthusiasts here at gcp and so it’s always a delight to design facilities to support sport in the community. We’ve been working with Downend & Frenchay Tennis Club to deliver a new pavilion to cater for their growing membership and exciting programmes. We share a passion for sustainable communities with the client and are looking at ways to make the pavilion as self-sufficient as possible with regards to energy generation and use.”
— Sarah Makroum, gcp
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We asked everyone in the office to name their favourite project of 2020. Sarah couldn’t decide on her favourite so along with Radford Cottage (8th December), she also enjoyed working on Downend & Frenchay Tennis Pavilion.

2020 Favourites: Office Refit

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2020 has 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 return.

2020 Favourites: Castle Park Energy Centre

“This has been a fantastic project to be involved with. gcp has always been passionate about designing low energy buildings and Castle Park Energy Centre has given us the opportunity to work on a project which will deliver renewable energy. In a prominent location on the Floating Harbour on the edge of Castle Park the proposed Water Source Heat Pump forms an exciting part of the council’s ambition for Bristol to be a carbon neutral city by 2030”
— Jon Briscoe, gcp
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We asked everyone in the office to name their favourite project of 2020. Jon has an interest in low energy buildings and was thrilled to help deliver this project which was granted permission in November.

2020 Favourites: Brentry, Bristol

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“A very interesting project working alongside a flexible main contractor, able to adapt to LiveWest requirements as they developed.

The resultant building achieved an attractive domestic scale frontage to the residential streetscape and provided the residents with an accessible building with high levels of safety built in”
— Martin Spear, gcp
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We asked everyone in the office to name their favourite project of 2020. Martin has chosen a lovely scheme in Brentry for LiveWest and Fisher & Dean. This scheme is for 8 flats for residents requiring additional support.

2020 Favourites: James' Home Office

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“Designing (and building) my home office has been a fantastic challenge, one that has certainly developed my skill set.  I feel I have a greater understanding of the challenges that are faced on site, even on a small scale, procuring materials, site logistics and sequencing has certainly been testing.

I have come out of it with a lovely, calming workspace that provides an area for focus. It is great that it is separate to the house and even though I’m only walking to the bottom of my garden it’s enough to provide the necessary separation. With the likelihood of working from home more in the future with gcp, I am lucky to have such a nice spot to show off on our weekly teams calls.”
— James Pilling, gcp
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We asked everyone in the office to name their favourite project of 2020. James has had an exciting time whilst working home this year and has decided to talk about his own home project with the support of his partner @personalised_by_amy

2020 Favourites: Radford Cottage

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“It’s currently on site and we can’t wait to see the finished project! We’ve seen this year in particular how important it is for mental health to have an inspiring working environment. This project will create a bright office with fantastic views over the countryside and features a beautiful oak frame crafted by local carpenter @CarpentersMarkltd.”
— Sarah Makroum, gcp

We asked everyone in the office to name their favourite project of 2020. Sarah’s favourite scheme is a little home office for a longstanding client of gcp.