BaNES Local Plan Update

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BaNES have kicked off 2023 with a “groundbreaking” new policy which sets a precedent for low carbon planning policy across the country.

Housing in BaNES will now need to achieve net-zero energy in use; meaning all operational energy must be off-set using on site renewables, such as solar PV panels. In exceptional circumstances where this is not possible, BaNES will be operating a carbon credit scheme to offset excess energy by funding sustainable schemes throughout the region, such as installing solar PV on social housing.

Alongside this progressive operational policy, BaNES have also introduced an embodied carbon target of 900kgCO2/m2 for large developments.

Together these two policy changes should mean the whole life carbon of residential developments in BaNES will dramatically reduce in the coming years. However, to see the full picture, we need to compare these policies against other progressive industry guidance.

RIBA Climate Challenge 2030 for example sets the following targets for domestic developments:

This guidance suggests we should already be designing for <800 kgCO2/m2 with a 2030 target of <625 kgCO2/m2 embodied carbon, including services which are omitted from the BaNES requirements.

This may seem overly ambitious, but environmentally conscious housing developers are already surpassing these targets with standard forms of construction. We have recently undertaken an embodied carbon assessment for Goram Homes, Bristol City Council’s housing company, in partnership with Vistry Group. Houses at the One Lockleaze development in North Bristol were easily achieving <400 kgCO2/m2 with timber framed construction and <800 kgCO2/m2 with traditional construction for the apartments.

Publishing a target of 900 kgCO2/m2 embodied carbon (not including services) and net-zero operational carbon may inadvertently have a negative effect by encouraging developers to fill rooftops with solar PV to counteract poor thermal performance, rather than investing in fabric first design and integrating low carbon products to achieve buildings with a much lower whole life carbon.

Undoubtably, this is a massive step in the right direction for planning policy in England. Embodied carbon in particular has been screaming out for regulation, and by introducing the industry to concepts such as net-zero and whole life carbon we should see the acceleration of low carbon development we desperately need.

The gauntlet has now been thrown down to all other Local Authorities. I certainly hope Bristol and South Glos will look to match or surpass this policy when their new Local Plans go live in 2024.

gcp offer a whole range of sustainability assessments through gcp Consulting, including whole life carbon assessments. If you need to demonstrate compliance with sustainability targets or would be interested in understanding how well your current developments perform, please get in touch.

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.

Meet the Team: Michael Hanson

Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, Kensington Memorial Park Waterpark

There’s a really exciting employee anniversary this month – Senior Architect Michael Hanson celebrates 23 years at gcp. As part of the celebrations, we wanted to ask him a few questions about his time here.

As one of our longest serving team members, he has a wealth of experience in leisure, community, education, regeneration and social housing projects for a range of clients including local authorities, housing associations and commercial developers.

Michael has worked on a wide range of projects as lead architect, and also in a consultancy role as assessor and expert energy advisor.

For over 15 years, Michael has had particular interest in the issues of conservation and sustainable environmental design, he has undertaken research and energy modelling to help clients optimise design and construction specifications for low energy housing, including researching  renewable  technology  impacts  and  cost-benefits  for  clients  and  occupants.

Michael is an accredited SAP & EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) assessor.

As part of his interest in developing a deeper understanding of building physics and energy in buildings, in 2011 Michael completed an MSc in Environmental Design of Buildings at Cardiff University, achieving a distinction. This included research into the impacts of domestic retrofit measures, which was published in his dissertation; “The Risk and Reward of Implementing Zero Carbon Retrofit to UK Dwellings: Studies of Implemented Measures and Analysis of Outcomes.”

As a project lead, Michael has particular experience of running the construction stage of projects, involving the discharge of planning conditions, Building Regulation compliance and detailed design co-ordination. In recent years Michael has developed particular experience in works to existing buildings. This has included complex conversion and refurbishment of commercial buildings and residential low and high-rise buildings.

As part of this experience Michael has been responsible for consultation with existing occupiers and management of the complexities of working in occupied buildings and the close coordination this requires. His most recent projects continue this, but focus on whole building low energy retrofit and decarbonisation initiatives, delivering stepchanges in resident experience and energy demands.

Michael  has  completed  training  to  deliver  Principal  Designer  services  to  meet  the requirements of CDM 2015 Health & Safety Regulations.

** 

Well Michael, I think your experience speaks for itself. Let’s give our followers the chance to get to know you a bit better with a few quick-fire questions.

We’ll start with the easy one: what inspired you to pursue architecture?

Several aspects; my father was a carpenter, and he had a background of a long running multi-generational family business, in the model of general builder and funeral directors. Construction and buildings were a fact. When I was a child we’d investigate local sites if we came across one on a walk (before current levels of health & safety secured sites!) and I remember trying to piece together the part-finished buildings in my head. Additionally my secondary school art teacher was a good encouragement.  

Thanks for sharing that. If you weren’t an architect, what would you be?

Hmmm. Perhaps I would have pursued art – I did art to A-level, enjoyed painting in oils, mainly landscapes at that point. But essentially I gain joy in creating things – so I guess I would have ended up in some sort of creative endeavour.  

You’ve been here for such a long time, do you think you could narrow it down to your favourite project to work on at gcp?

There have been many really, I enjoy each one as they come along – and can get very focused in the detail. But Hengrove Leisure park was an early one, 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. There are others that I've enjoyed at concept stage which were never realised in the end – several schemes which would have had dramatic interventions for residents such as proposals for refurbishment of highrise towers in Exeter and Swindon, all unfortunately suffered the fate of local authority financial difficulties not pursuing project delivery.

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

I would say some of our staff social events. Gathering again with colleagues and their families down in Devon at the start of this summer was a particular highlight.

Anything Else?

Staggered by way time flies. Time with gcp has been a blend of various different experiences – always with very good people.

Couldn’t agree more and with this anniversary marks the end of another calendar year. Where did 2022 go? Just a few final questions to finish up.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

There never seems to be much of it, but if it is just my time, then cycling and gardening bring satisfaction peace and joy.

When it is longer time with my family we like to get out and visit historic places, to explore or visit new places and do activities – we don’t do static holidays – the act of journeying is part of the experience.

What’s your proudest personal achievement?

My family - My daughters.            

Norfolk Coast, 2020

And to wrap up – my favourite questions to ask! - could tell us something we might not already know about you?

Hmm. Should that be I’m a quarter Italian?

È molto gentile da parte tua!

Narrowboat Steering, 2019

Thanks so much for your time today Michael. It really is a pleasure to celebrate our staff anniversaries and achievements and today was a particularly monumental one.  

We have an exciting month of Christmas fun coming up in December – keep an eye on our blog to see what we doing throughout the month to bring some festive joy to the office.

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.

Welcome Hazel!

We are thrilled to welcome Hazel to our busy team. Hazel’s UK adventure begins at gcp this week as she settles into her new UK life after moving from South Africa. Alongside her role as Architectural Technologist, Hazel is a keen urban landscape photographer and enthusiastic scrambler. Both are valuable skills to have in this office and we look forward to showing her the local sights!  

Welcome Matt

Matt has joined our busy team as a Part 2 and we’re confident that his wealth of housing experience will be a welcome boost to our Vistry projects.

Matt is an enthusiastic digital artist, enjoys paddleboarding, skating and is a keen resistance board game ninja.

Welcome to team gcp, Matt!

Farewell Catriona

Catriona joined gcp back in April for her in-practice-placement, an integral part of her Part 1 course at Bath Uni. Before she finished her placement, we asked her a few questions. Catriona was a great addition to the team and we wish her all the best on her next adventure and her summer in Zambia site managing the construction of sports facilities as part of the ACE2Zambia construction team!

What inspired you to study architecture?

My interest in architecture started when my mum was undergoing treatment for breast cancer at Ninewells Hospital so we spent a lot of time at Maggie’s Dundee. At this time at school we were doing a project where we had to choose a charity and do a presentation on it. My group chose Maggie’s Dundee as our charity so through this project I did a lot of research into Maggie Keswick Jenks and her interest in architecture and Frank Ghery the architect of the Maggie’s Dundee building. This sparked my interest in architecture, and I explored this interest through artwork before starting my degree at the University of Bath in 2019.  

Have you enjoyed your placement with gcp?

I have had a great time working at gcp I have enjoyed the variation of work I have been involved with through working on architecture projects as well as with the marketing team producing graphics. I have also enjoyed the additional site visits gcp have involved me in. These visits have allowed me to gain a knowledge of different construction techniques and detailing.  

How was it different to your expectations of being in a working studio?

I have worked in a practice before so I was familiar with how certain things work however it was a very different experience to my previous practice. I was very grateful for how open the directors were about how the business was run as this allowed me to understand a lot more about the in’s and out’s of an architecture practice.  

What’s your favourite thing that you’ve worked on during your time here?

I have enjoyed all the elements of my work at gcp but I particularly enjoyed one project I was involved with that looked to convert an old Victorian warehouse into houses. I was particularly interested in this project as the existing building had so much character, we worked really hard to retain whilst bringing new opportunities to the area. 

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I am part of the University of Bath Canoe Club and spend a lot of my free time involved in the club. I am regularly involved in pool and river sessions as well as white water trips and Canoe polo tournaments and of course socials.  

What does the future hold for you? What’s next for Catriona?

I am part of a group of 5 civil engineering and architecture students from the University of Bath who are going to Zambia over the summer to project manage the construction of a netball court. Once I leave gcp I have a month to finalise designs and sign the contracts before leaving for Zambia the beginning of July.

In September I will be going into my final year of my Part 1 degree and look forward to bringing the knowledge I have gained from my placement to my studio projects.

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. ”

Intro to ACE2Zambia

Intro to ACE2Zambia

I’m Catriona San, a student at the University of Bath currently undertaking a three-and-a-half-month placement at GCP. This summer I am going to Zambia to site manage the construction of sports facilities as part of the ACE2Zambia construction team. GCP have been kind enough to sponsor me for this project, this is a great partnership as GCP endeavor to make similar change as the ACE2Zambia team

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International Women's Day 2022: A Reflection

The challenge for all businesses is the same: what you collectively agree are priorities for you, your staff, and the industry you work in and serve. We strongly feel equality, diversity, flexibility, and wellbeing are all important, but recognise there are still improvements to make on all fronts.

We acknowledge that change can happen slowly. At gcp, we have been on this journey from the day the business was founded over 30 years ago. Over that time much has changed, with the most happening in the last 10 years.

In this coming year, we want to consolidate the work around wider equality in the business, including an update to our Employee Handbook. Our reporting has always been transparent amongst the team, but since becoming Employee Owned it has become more important than ever to focus on consistency with this reporting.

At gcp we have a strong team of women accounting for over 1/3 of the team ranging from architectural assistants to Senior Management Team.

Focus days are important, but more emphasis must be placed on the work we are doing on the other days of the year. International Women’s Day is necessary to remind us that our journey is not yet complete.

Following on from International Women’s Day 2022 we can confirm our Equal Opportunities Policy is robust and up to date, reflecting the way we recruit and retain our staff. Gender pay gap analysis is in place as part of our Management KPIs and is reviewed yearly. We are a proud signatory for Bristol Women in Business Charter and have been since 2019. This means we track our current composition of staff and set targets and objectives to align with the charter’s goals, which we report on annually.

There is still more work to be done, and the next step for us is unconscious bias training so we can take this conversation into the wider team.

Futurebuild 2022 by Sarah

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I went to two talks on Retrofit, one short one on using timber effectively (a sales pitch by Ecosystem/Soprema), and a grandly named talk on the ‘future of building design’. I was hoping for more case studies, practical information, lessons learned etc..

 

NATIONAL RETROFIT STRATEGY

Speakers:            Sam Balch,Policy advisor at BEIS (Dpt of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy)

                            Brian Berry, Chief Exec Federation of Master Builders

                            Russel Smith, MD Parity Projects

 

 

GETTING RETROFIT DONE

Speakers:             Kate Duffy, Head of Policy at BEIS (Dpt of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy)

                             Kore Mason T&T and Ele George Energiesprong

 

 

USING TIMBER EFFECTIVELY

Speakers: MD from Soprema and Matt Stevenson from Ecosystems Tech

 

  • Soprema have a range of wood-based insulation products https://www.soprema.co.uk/en/gamme/insulation/pavatex

  • Ecosystems Tech use these products in their range of façade and roofing solutions which are suitable for both new build and retrofit. https://www.ecosystemstech.com/

  • They were the first to introduce the use of homegrown timber (grade C16+) in timber construction in the UK.

  • Their approach is BIO-OSM: biogenic based off-site manufacturing. Ie. offsite construction using wood-based materials.

  • The guy from Ecosystems Tech was the most convincing speaker I heard. Their stand was amongst the more interesting ones.

 

THE FUTURE OF BUILDING DESIGN

Speakers: Architect Peter Clegg of FCBS, and Engineer Hanif Kara of AKT II (of Foster/Bloomberg fame)

 

How does building design respond to climate and ecological emergency? Talks raised pretty common sense issues.

  • Consider embodied carbon and operational carbon

  • Peter Clegg called the LETI standard the new Bdg Regs (he didn’t actually clarify that that isn’t factually accurate!)

  • 4-storey buildings generally most efficient in terms of carbon use (I can’t remember if this is specific to operational or if it a combo of embodied and operational)

  • Be wary of assuming that CLT is always the best solution. CLT uses A LOT of timber. We can be more resource efficient than that.

  • They talked through a couple of schemes, but didn’t go into any detail and didn’t raise anything out of the ordinary

  • FCBS have developed a free tool to look at whole life carbon, as previously shared by someone in the office (can’t remember who!): https://fcbstudios.com/fcbscarbon