This piece was first published in the Matcham Society Journal (Edition 10), 2024. It was written by Giles Woodford of the Frank Matcham Society, following an interview between Giles and Graham Ross, Chief Executive at Austin-Smith:Lord. Giles has kindly given permission for us to re-publish it. Our thanks also go to Rhiannon Davies and Peter McCurdy for their contributions to the piece. 

“By Jove missus!” It’s surely one of the most famous phrases of faux- horror ever uttered across the footlights of a British theatre, and it came, of course, from the lips of our late Patron Sir Ken Dodd.

Along with several other trademark Dodd catchphrases like “Tatty bye”, it’s inscribed on the stepped seating of the Sir Ken Dodd Performance Garden, which is part of the Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot, Merseyside. Interleaved with the Dodd-isms on alternate steps are quotes from Shakespeare himself – a combination which must sure tickle Sir Ken as he watches down on audiences courtesy of a giant mural on a side wall. It’s all most appropriate too, as the theatre is only four miles from Sir Ken’s Knotty Ash home, and Lady Dodd was a major donor to the Shakespeare North project.

Executive architects on the project were Austin-Smith:Lord (A-S:L), working in tandem with HELM Architecture.  A-S:L has recently joined the Frank Matcham Society as a Corporate member, so it was good to find out more about the firm with the unusually-punctuated name.

“The practice was founded by the husband and wife team Michael and Inette Austin-Smith in London,” CEO Graham Ross tells me on a Zoom call from his Glasgow office.  “It grew and expanded into the North-West of England, initially in Warrington. They were joined in partnership by Peter Lord in the early to mid 1950s, hence the somewhat dramatic colon, to separate him from Mike and Inette.

The unusual punctuation has caused a bit of confusion over the years, but it does distinguish us, I suppose!

“It’s now a multi-disciplinary practice. We have studios across the UK, in Cardiff, Bristol, Liverpool, and Glasgow. We are a design-led practice with building, conservation and landscape architects, interior designers and urban planners. We were established in 1949, so this year is our 75th anniversary. We’ve grown and developed as a practice, with expertise across a range of sectors – not least in arts and culture, of which we are very proud.”

Graham has been with the practice for 25 years. He was the first employee in the Glasgow studio, and became Chief Executive in 2020. At what stage in life, I ask him, did he decide to become an architect?

“I do a lot of work with school-age kids and students at universities, advising them about potential careers. I try to inspire them to engage in the design professions. I was fortunate that somehow or other instinctively I just had an attraction towards architecture in my early to mid teens. There had never been an architect or anyone in the design professions in my family before. I’ve always championed architecture as a profession because it connects a great many things: you can engage in culture, society, design, history, mathematics and the sciences. You can develop your own personal interests within the profession, it’s a very broad church, from conservation architecture through to pioneering design.

“All of that comes back to design that has a potential to be a powerful tool for good, not only for how things comes together but also the positive impact that buildings, spaces, and human settlement can have on society more widely. I was fortunate that I latched onto something that was not only a passion but could also become a profession.”

Graham Ross is not only CEO of A-S:L, he also heads up the arts and culture sector of the practice. A wide variety of projects have been undertaken, including both new-build and restoration work. Examples include Liverpool Central Library (extending over several floors, its free-flowing, curvaceous lines remind me of a modern cruise ship atrium), the new V&A Collection and Research Centre in East London, the restoration of the Grade I-listed Great Pagoda in Kew Gardens, and – in 2016 – the refurbishment of the Gaiety Theatre, Ayr.

The Gaiety first opened in 1902, with a 580-seat replacement auditorium designed by Alec Cullen built in 1904 following an early fire. It was reinstated in 1955 following a second fire.

“It’s a B-listed building, somewhat isolated in central Ayr,” Graham Ross comments. “The interior was intact, but the quality of audience experience and accessibility issues were not meeting contemporary standards. Equally there were technical challenges with the staging of performances. Moreover, the fabric itself was deteriorating and required attention. This is an example of a venue that is fondly held in high regard by local people in Ayr. It was host to a wide range of performances, from panto to local groups to touring companies including household names.”

A-S:L was engaged to carry out a £2.4 million project, with the refurbishment work being carried out in two phases. The first focussed on front-of-house audience facilities, and the second restored and rejuvenated the auditorium back to its Edwardian splendour.  Out went the “garish pink and gold paintwork” noted in the Theatres Trust Guide to British Theatres.

“It was a very interesting proposition,” Graham continues. “Jeremy Wyatt, a very energetic and passionate chief executive, was adept at securing funding, first of all for appointing consultant teams to assess the fabric, and the heritage and historical significance aspects of the building. Latterly we have been exploring with the theatre the opportunity to further improve and enhance the quality of their venue, and perhaps provide a secondary studio theatre stage. It’s heartening to see that the project in the first instance managed to save what could otherwise have been a very sorry tale about the decline of a heritage building through neglect, then rejuvenated and brought new life to it.”

But the stand-out theatre project in the A-S:L arts portfolio is surely the £25 million Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot, completed in 2022.

Looking at the thoroughly modern exterior of the building, you would never guess that it contains a 470-seat theatre auditorium that Shakespeare himself might have recognised.

There is a historical precedent for siting the theatre in Prescot. In the 1590s the town boasted what is thought to be Britain’s only indoor theatre outside London at the time.  It hosted touring companies, funded by the Earl of Derby, resident of nearby Knowsley Hall, who presented the new shows of the day – including Shakespeare’s latest works.

“The design of the Shakespeare North project was done in collaboration with Dr Nick Helm, whose expertise on Shakespearean theatre was key,” Graham Ross explains. “Austin-Smith:Lord was involved right from the start, helping the local authority and relevant local partners to conceive of the idea of a cultural venue in Prescot to regenerate the Knowsley area: we’ve been part of that journey to make the business case, secure the funding and bring in experts, including other design experts. It’s been a great privilege to see the project come to life.”

The main auditorium is named the Cockpit Theatre, after the cockpit theatre in Whitehall, London, built by Henry VIII in 1533: its remains sit directly below No.10 Downing Street. But much has changed since the sixteenth century, and the Prescot auditorium is designed to offer flexible staging formats.

“One of the most critical considerations when recreating the historic theatre for modern-day usage was compliance with current fire regulations,” explains Rhiannon Davies, A-S:L’s project architect during the contract phase of the building. “This affected every design decision. Building on this, was extensive exploration of options for smoke ventilation that could be visually hidden, and technically perform alongside the acoustic requirements. At detailed design stage every material was thoroughly examined to ensure compliance, and careful consideration was given to the type of detection systems that could best be integrated into a historic environment. We worked very closely with our local authority building control officer throughout design development and during construction.”

We can all think of examples where hideous modern stage lighting installations have teeth-clenchingly impinged on a historic theatre auditorium design and atmosphere. This was another major consideration at Prescot, Rhiannon tells me.

“Part of the concept design was for the theatre to perform in a series of different ‘modes’, and so when in ‘historic mode’ it is crucial that theatre equipment such as lighting bars and facilities panels are not visible to the audience.  The facilities panels, for example, are recessed into floor and ceiling voids or recessed into benches, often behind removable panels, so that different equipment is available in different locations around the theatre: this is also coordinated to cater for each of the layouts – theatre-in-the-round or end stage.

“The ceiling is central to the fire, acoustic and technical performance of the theatre in all modes.  The ceiling incorporates a series of trap doors for lowering props and lighting bars over the stage, alongside almost 100 small openings for individual lines to be discretely lowered.  It is finished with angled panelling designed by our acoustic engineers to optimise reflections over the stage. Heavy wool curtains were added on the diagonal walls to provide variable acoustics: they can be drawn to soften the exposed concrete walls behind as required.

“Creating a theatre that is equally accessible for all was also a key part of our brief,” Rhiannon continues. “This was factored into every design decision, from the physical setting out of the theatre – creating wide accessible routes and wheelchair-accessible viewing spaces – to the selection of finishes that provide appropriate contrasts for different visual needs.”

Construction of the oak-framed Cockpit Theatre was in the hands of specialist designer-craftsmen firm McCurdy & Co.  Project director was master- craftsman Peter McCurdy, who performed the same role for the Globe and the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse in London.

“All the oak in the Cockpit comes from sustainable sources,” Peter tells me. “The timber for the sixteen large shaped main posts, as well as some of the other larger timbers were sourced from English oak trees. The remainder of the smaller timbers and the floor joists were sourced from European oak. There are also a few oak timbers that have been reused in the Cockpit that were originally used in the theatre in the Shakespeare in Love film set.”

Although McCurdy & Co. have considerable experience in reconstructing historic timber structures, their previous work on the Globe and Sam Wanamaker reconstructions certainly helped when it came to constructing the Cockpit, Peter continues. “In the 60-80 years that separated Henry VIII’s original Cockpit from the Globe and then the Jacobean theatres, carpentry practice and methodologies changed very little, so the historic jointing and fabrication methods used by McCurdy were similar for the timber frames of all three theatres. The historical process involved working on the timbers and pre-fabricating the timber frames off-site in our workshops, before transporting the timbers and erecting the timber frame on-site.

“It is the design and detailing for each theatre that distinguishes them apart. The Cockpit is a substantial and robust medieval timber structure but with a level of finish, detail and carving that befits a Tudor King’s building. Although larger, the Globe is a more vernacular Elizabethan building with its thatch roof and timber frame of plainer squared timbers. By comparison the Jacobean Sam Wanamaker Playhouse is a more delicate oak structure with its refined turned columns and carved bases and capitals.”

Experience with the London theatres also helped when the Cockpit timber work was installed at Prescot, Peter adds.

“The timber frame for the Cockpit had to be erected within the modern shell of concrete walls and steel framed roof that had already been constructed on site. McCurdy had encountered similar challenges when erecting the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, which helped when planning the erection of the Cockpit. A ‘spider crane’ that only just fitted through one of the openings in the concrete walls, sat in the middle of what would eventual become the Cockpit and one by one the oak timbers were carefully lifted into place. Once the timbers and joints had come together the McCurdy team then drove the tapered oak pegs through the mortise and tenon joints that secure the Cockpit frame.”

A-S:L’s website features a video showing the Shakespeare North building going up at a rate of knots. Was it really like that?

“Every single construction project, big or small, always encounters unforeseen issues,” A-S:L CEO Graham Ross says as he comments about the video. “Prescot was built during the Covid pandemic. None of us had experienced anything like that during our lifetimes, but the building work progressed very well on a very tight site within the historic town centre. It was deeply sloping topography with level-changing issues. The work went remarkably well – especially when you compound the challenge with the difficulties of social distancing. The build quality achieved was remarkable, not least with the solid oak frame of the Cockpit Theatre.”

Approaching Shakespeare North from Prescot railway station on a dark and drizzly February evening, the building was not that easy to spot. Perhaps for reasons of economy, the uplighters designed to flood the concertina façade with vivid colour were all switched off, so the theatre didn’t exactly offer a seductive street presence.

However, a warm welcome is certainly forthcoming from the front-of-house staff the minute you step over the threshold.  “You don’t need to buy a programme,” you are cheerfully informed, “just point your phone at that QR code over there.”  Illuminated by bright white ceiling strip lights, the foyer spaces feel modern-functional, with their exposed concrete and brick surfaces.

The first thing that hits you is the smell of freshly cut timber.

But the atmosphere changes completely when you enter the Cockpit auditorium. The first thing that hits you is the smell of freshly cut timber. Light in colour and octagonal in shape, the space immediately wraps you in its warm embrace. With reasonably comfortable cushioning, the bench seating means that you are up close and cosy with your neighbours. Not many seats have backs.  But modern theatre seating would hardly be appropriate or practical in this space.

John Godber’s Bouncers was on stage the night we visited. Playing in-the- round to a packed house, the four first-rate actors demonstrated that the Cockpit has a reverberant acoustic.  But the gales of laughter that were forthcoming from all around as one bawdy line followed another made it clear that this historic-design, wrap-round theatre really connects the stage with the audience – a factor that was so important to Matcham some three centuries later.

“Indeed,” A-S:L’s Graham Ross agrees.  “Theatre and live performance, whether it’s spoken or music-based, is a visceral experience. Sometimes the power of that experience can overcome any shortcomings in the venue involved, but the careful crafting of Matcham’s designs – and one hopes of contemporary theatre design – removes any impediments, and makes that intimate connection between the performer and the audience. One of the joys of a Matcham theatre is that sense of intimacy with the stage which is achieved even in an auditorium that can accommodate hundreds of people. And it can  do so in a way that heightens the quality of the performance on the stage.”

Many thanks to Giles Woodforde and the Frank Matcham Society for writing this piece. You can view a pdf of the article at this link: Matcham Journal: Interview with Graham Ross

Frank Matcham Society website: http://www.frankmatchamsociety.org.uk/

By Andrew McCafferty, Director and Head of Architecture at Austin-Smith:Lord

Made viable by the introduction of post covid blended working, I am fortunate to have recently moved to the coastal town of Helensburgh in Argyll & Bute and I’m loving my 3 day a week commute to work in Glasgow City Centre.

I enjoy the downhill walk from the house my wife and I live in, through quiet grass verged and tree lined streets down to the 19^th Century Grade B Listed red sandstone station typical of railway station architecture of the period. I enjoy the view across the Clyde estuary towards Greenock and think of my grandfather who started his Merchant Navy career there, subsequently promoted to captain, torpedoed twice during WW2 North Atlantic convoy runs and managing to survive without loss of life to his crew.

As I approach the station, I glimpse the periphery of the award winning public realm works designed by my colleagues at Austin-Smith:Lord completed in 2015. The quality of design, the reimagining of the town square and promenade and selection of materials successfully enhances the centre of Helensburgh and is a fine example of successful urban regeneration that the Practice is justifiably proud of. On a rainy day (of which there are many), the warm colours of the multi coloured granite paving is enlivened and lifts the spirit.

The train journey along the coast to Dumbarton is memorable in all weathers. As the train passes Craigendoran, the skeleton of the old pier represents a bygone age where steamships full of Glaswegians having a “wee swally” would have stopped off on their trip “doon the watter.”

The Clyde is ominously empty and sadly silent now with few watercraft making use of a route that would have been filled with all manner of shipping during the 19^h and early 20^th centuries.

My train journey continues past Dunglass Castle where our Conservation Architects recently complete research and a feasibility study to identify new uses for this formidable and historic structure which is lost amongst the construction work associated with remediating the former Esso oil refinery site.

As the train passes through Dumbarton, I think about the family connection to this town where my Great Grandfather lived and worked as a baker and my Great Great grandfather a labourer. Spooky that I am now living in the same parish as my ancestors?

When the train gets closer to the city centre passing through Clydebank and Hyndland I recall the projects Austin-Smith:Lord has completed or are current in this area ranging from design charrettes, depot rationalization feasibilities, public realm works, healthcare projects – the list is long.

By the time I reach Partick, I recall one of my favourite projects for SPT – Partick Bus Station – completed in 2018 and still looking fresh with its curved glass ends, cantilevered roofs, polished granite plinths and integrated CIS technology. I remember the site visits during the construction phase and the hours of checking sub-contractor drawings to ensure the design was coordinated.

The commute gives me time to get my thoughts together for my day at work. With my to do list formed, priorities identified I’m ready to face the day’s challenges of leading multiple projects from our Glasgow studio. I just need that first cup of coffee!

As multi -disciplinary organisations consider new ways of working, office culture, collaboration, online/face to face interaction – blended working makes it viable to choose places to live that suit those who want to be closer to countryside and are looking for an alternative to life in the suburbs. So, commuting can be beneficial: time to warm up for the day and decompress on the way home. I feel privileged to be able to travel along the Clyde estuary, passing through contrasting urban environments that all have their own historic legacy and story to tell, and I am reminded of the work in this locality that our Practice has completed in the last 25 years.

We’re celebrating 25 years of creativity and collaboration at our Glasgow studio! As part of the festivities, we’ve caught up with David Carr for a quickfire Q&A session:

Name:
David Michael Carr.

When did you join the Glasgow studio?
November 2021.

What is your role within our Creative Collective?
I am a Part II Architectural Assistant in the process of getting my Part III qualification.

What are you working on at the moment?
A number of office fit-outs for the NHS, a large scale speculative healthcare project and a number of urban design projects around Scotland.

What inspires you most in your work?
Knowing that in some small way, my work with A-S:L is helping steward the industry in this country, toward an eventual carbon neutral future (hopefully).

What’s your favourite project you’ve worked on at A-S:L?
Westhaugh Traveller’s Site Transformation. This project:
– Gave me the opportunity to implement Passivhaus principles in the design and material selection.
– Allowed me to work on a project with a user base with very specific cultural needs.
– Was an informative process that helped me progress my technical knowledge and develop multiple aspects of my skillset.

Which Glasgow studio project, from the last 25 years, would you most like to visit and why?
Roseisle Distillery, because I need a drink. But in all seriousness, it was the ambition of this project to achieve BREEAM Excellent Standard for a substantial industrial building which drew me to the project. It’s also intriguing to see the number of techniques employed to conserve energy and optimise resources, such as through the use of a water-reclamation plant, heat recovery systems and using leftover grain as biomass fuel.

What’s the most unusual thing you have on your desk?
An alphabet key so I can decipher certain members of staff’s handwriting.

What’s your favourite memory so far of working at A-S:L?
Participating in a public engagement event along the Saltcoats coast in North Ayrshire, on a clear day with the isle of Arran directly in front of me.

Where’s your favourite place to go for lunch near the Glasgow studio?
Paesano! or Metro if I can’t be bothered to walk that far.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received from a colleague?
“If you’re writing to someone and you know their name then sign off ‘yours sincerely’, if you don’t then sign off ‘yours faithfully’” – Graham Ross

By Victoria Slater, Architect, Austin-Smith:Lord

The challenge of how to design an inspiring new school building on a constrained city centre site in Cardiff was difficult – this was set to us in Spring 2019 in responding to Cardiff Council’s tender for the replacement of the current school as part of the Welsh Government’s Band B programme of school rebuilding. Austin-Smith:Lord were appointed as Lead Designer providing Architecture, Interior Architecture and Landscape Design services as part of Kier’s successful design team.

Our design response at tender stage was extremely well received, successfully interpreting the vision and brief produced by the client team within the limitations of the schedule of accommodation and the extensive site constraints. Central to this was the way we unlocked the school’s spatial requirements to provide a large central space which acts as the heart for the whole school.

Project Vision

The project vision stated the following key objectives;

• • Replacement facilities for the 11-18 year old 10FE High School plus 350 place Sixth Form, 1850 pupils total
  • Extended Opportunities provision for 40 pupils & Primary Cluster for 10 Key Stage 2 pupils
  • Accessible by community after school; ability to zone these facilities securely including a 25m indoor swimming pool
  • Learning spaces which adapt easily and quickly to provide a variety of pedagogic approaches for the New Curriculum in Wales
  • Provision of a bright, high quality new building that will support the changing and developing needs of both learners and teachers
  • Integration of learning and working environments with a visible ‘public face’ to raise aspirations

Design Concept

The simple concept for the massing of the building is derived of 3 interlocking blocks reflecting the differing functions of the brief; the school, sports facilities and the community pool. These are clearly expressed for ease of wayfinding, with cut away entrances where each of the blocks intersect. The main school teaching accommodation is formed by a 3 story “superblock”, a necessary response to the site constraints.

Designed for the New Curriculum for Wales we zoned the Areas of Learning (AoLe) vertically and horizontally through the building, in response to the proposed changes we knew were coming. Working with educational consultants, Lloyd Wilson Partnership, we re-ordered the Schedule of Accommodation away from the traditional departmental model which was still in use at the time.

Atria are placed throughout the building to bring natural daylight into internalised spaces, to create visual connections across the different floors; acting as unifying elements for the various AoLe, social, dining and open learning spaces located around them. These light-wells are extremely important to the success of the building from a health and wellbeing perspective; delivering a light and spacious interior that inspires and supports the school community.

Heart of the School

A key design challenge within the School’s briefing documents was the requirement to provide two separate assembly halls in addition to a dedicated dining space. This was required to meet their teaching timetabling, however they longed for a larger gathering space to hold whole-school events and celebrate their achievements with the community, after having been constrained for so many years by their existing school buildings.

We turned this challenge into an opportunity through the innovative co-location of these spaces in 3-dimensions as illustrated in the sections below. By utilising some of the breakout space area allocation we provided a large Hellerup staircase as part of the dining hall (or learning steps) which functions as an informal seating area to link the two assembly halls together with the dining space in the centre. The concept section through the halls demonstrates the flexibility to create different sized spaces through large folding partitions at the ends of each hall. When these partitions are opened up it therefore creates an impressive, inter-connected large space which has become the heart of the new school.

Achieving the Vision

The heart space provides multiple opportunities for hundreds of staff and pupils to gather, learn, present, perform, welcome, study, dine and celebrate. It also offers an opportunity to better engage with the wider community, with the spaces also available for hire to generate additional school income – this became an important long term benefit in terms of current school funding challenges.

Through the detail design development stages we worked through the technical performance requirements to deliver the winning concept – analysing the acoustic performance of the halls, partitions, modelling the spaces throughout the day, undertaking spatial analysis against exam and lesson timetables with the project acoustician and educationalist.

The technical coordination of the AV equipment enables the linking of the three spaces together via projectors, camera and audio relay, allowing performances and assemblies to be held to large audiences, including those without direct sight of the stage. Also key to the success of this concept is the selection of the FF&E, allowing for multiple configurations and positioning of the speakers and performers through modular flexible staging, mobile AV positions and seating types to suit the configurations. A bleacher seat unit can travel forward in the upper sixth form hall, which is mostly used for lectures, allowing for direct sightline views into the dining and main hall at ground floor when capacity is not maximised.

It has been a privilege to work with the School and the entire project team to design and deliver this unique series of spaces, and to see the vision brought into reality. We are delighted to have had the opportunity to join the school at some of their first events to utilise their heart space and see what a difference it is already making for pupils, staff and the local community, and look forward to a continued relationship with our friends at Fitzalan High School.

More project info at this link: https://www.austinsmithlord.com/projects/fitzalan-high-school-cardiff/

Local communities in and around Saltcoats are being invited to have their say and help shape the future of Melbourne Public Park.

Over the past 2 years several community action groups have emerged in Saltcoats, each seeking to make improvements to the town centre, shorefront area and lives of local people. More recently, these organisations have started to collaborate with more established projects under a new umbrella body called Ripple Effect: Saltcoats with a vision to make Saltcoats a thriving place that is great to live in, work in and visit.

Ripple Effect: Saltcoats’ first priority is to make Melbourne Public Park a vital community asset that not only looks great but supports its vision. Therefore, the group has Austin-Smith:Lord and their partner WAVEParticle, to undertake a Feasibility Study of the park. In scope, the study will cover the entire park site and adjoining areas. This will include consideration of the future of the redundant toilet block and any future toilet provision on site.

The consultation will provide valuable insights on what you want from the park and how that might be achieved. This could include consideration of the park as a place that promotes and enables social connection, good health and wellbeing, wildlife and nature, planting and growing, arts, enterprise, employment and connects the town centre and shore front in an effective way.

We’d be delighted if you could join us and share your thoughts at our community engagement events on and around the park on Friday 10th November from 10am-3pm and on Saturday 11th November from 11.15-3 pm. Join us at Melbourne Public Park & Melbourne Fry, 3 Winton St, KA21 5BN

Also, please also take ten minutes to complete our online community survey as another way of sharing your views. The survey can be accessed via the following link:

https://forms.office.com/e/yVp5Spjpds

The survey will be open until noon on Friday 17th November.

Name
Karen Monks.

When did you join Austin-Smith:Lord?
1983.

What is your role within our Creative Collective?
HR Manager + Practice Administrator.

What inspires you most in your work? 
Finding positive solutions to HR issues.

What lessons have you learned in your work?
Attention to detail is essential.

What is your favourite place / building / landscape and why?
Our Liverpool studio – Port of Liverpool Building –  an iconic, magnificent building that keeps adapting to modern ways of working without losing its grandeur.

What fictional place would you like to visit?
Hogwarts

What’s something that recently made you smile?
My two year old granddaughter announcing to anyone who would listen in the supermarket “This is MY Grandma”.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever heard?
It’s tough at the top but crowded at the bottom – so always try to be the best you can.

Complete the following – “I couldn’t get through the week without….”
My Friday night (large) glass of Sauvignon Blanc!

Name
Colin M Miller.

When did you join Austin-Smith:Lord?
2006.

What is your role within our Creative Collective?
Senior Architect.

What are you working on at the moment?
Major hospital masterplanning, Ayrshire Hospice, Children’s Burn Unit at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, and window replacement at the William Street Clinic, Glasgow.

What aspects of your work are you most proud of?
The number and breadth of project types I’ve been able to adapt to.

Which designers / projects do you most admire and why? 
The makers of architecture without architects.
Image shown above: Typical House, Li Tang.

What is your favourite place / building / landscape and why? 
The Tibetan Plateau – Vernacular Tibetan/Himalayan architecture. No matter whether domestic or palatial in scale, it is so deeply rooted in place and setting and it must tick every environmental box there is. The landscapes and skies are the most incredible huge spaces in all conditions.
Image shown above: Chortens Prayer Flags, Li Tang.

Which of Austin-Smith:Lord’s guiding principles do you most relate to, and why?
Design excellence. It’s why I chose to do this – to make things work well and look good at the same time.

What’s something you’re planning on doing in the next year that you’ve never done?
I definitely need to plan to go up Ben Nevis.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever heard?
Measure twice, cut once.

Complete the following – “I couldn’t get through the week without….”
Hitting my head or injuring myself somehow (oh and coffee and grapefruit juice).

Name
Tanya Simeonova.

When did you join Austin-Smith:Lord?
2016.

What is your role within our Creative Collective?
Architect.

What are you working on at the moment?
A mix of residential and masterplanning projects

What inspires you most in your work?
Imagining a journey through a design and crafting functional places dotted with focal points of delight.

What lessons have you learned in your work?
Do one thing at a time; creative tasks require focus and time to get in the flow.

Which designers / projects do you most admire and why? 
I admire the work of countless designers; creativity never ceases to amaze. We all tap into an enormous wealth of already existing ideas, rarely anyone produces anything entirely new. I am in awe of how vigorous, fruitful, and sometimes frightening humans’ collective intelligence is.

What is your favourite place / building / landscape and why? 
Vantage points with expansive views over a city or landscapes have an appealing draw for me. I have been fortunate to settle in Penarth located on high cliffs affording plentiful vistas of Cardiff, Vale of Glamorgan and Bristol Channel. I grew up in a town spread across the skirts of a mountain where beautiful long view scenery is a short walk away. Enjoying a large panorama resets the narrow perspective imposed by the mundane day-to-day; it is humbling and freeing experience.

What’s something that recently made you smile?
My son making his first steps, and ‘I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue’ after the 6 o’clock news doom on BBC radio 4.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever heard?
“If you are irritated by every rub, how will you be polished?” – Rumi

What is your pet hate?
Mediocracy.

Name
Anna Blamire-Brown.

When did you join Austin-Smith:Lord?
2019.

What is your role within our Creative Collective?
Passivhaus Designer.

What are you working on at the moment?
A number of residential and higher education Passivhaus schemes.

What inspires you most in your work?
Opportunities to design buildings that are elegant and contextual, as well as self-sustaining and regenerative.

Which designers / projects do you most admire and why? 
Carlo Scarpa, for his originality and craftsman-like approach to design.

What is your favourite place / building / landscape and why? 
Glanusk Estate, specifically during the 4 days in late August when it hosts the Green Man festival. A special mention also goes to the Princess of Wales Conservatory at Kew Gardens which is a plant-lover’s heaven.

What is one of the key challenges facing our design professions in the 2020s?
Getting to a point where everything we design gives back to the environment, rather than taking from it.

What’s something that recently made you smile?
Probably a dog video on Instagram.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever heard? 
Becoming Vegan is a really effective way to reduce your personal carbon footprint, and it can open your eyes to delicious new recipes too!

Complete the following – “I couldn’t get through the week without……..”
Making something out of clay. Spending a couple of hours on my potter’s wheel helps me wind down and clear my head at the end of a busy week.

By Kate Thomas, Director and Head of Interior Design, Austin-Smith:Lord

The future of Estates management is without doubt in the adaptive reuse and repurposing of outdated building stock, fuelled by the sustainable agenda behind reuse, programme time pressures, and by the noticeable reduction in appetite in several sectors for large budgets to be spent on capital new-build projects.

Amongst other specialisms, as a design practice Austin-smith:Lord is very well seasoned in refurbishments, and it has always occupied a high percentage of our portfolio. However, we are now predictably seeing this percentage grow further to become one of the mainstays of our work. Over the years in my role as head of Interior Design I have been involved in ‘reimagination’ projects across sectors including universities, colleges & schools, commercial, healthcare, arts and culture facilities and heritage projects. Our specialist team takes on projects ranging from full strip out with heavy structural and envelope changes, to light touch renovations. Every project is as unique as the building it adopts, but there are definitely recurring challenges. I’ve come to see these as ‘personality quirks’ of the building, and like any good carers responsible for restoring the outlook of their dependant, we have armed ourselves with an arsenal of responses for handling them, embracing these challenges and giving the building the best reboot possible to ensure long and useful life.

Here are my top 6 commonly recurring ‘personality quirks’ we see in existing buildings, with examples of successful responses to these challenges from recent projects:

1 – Low head heights

Often exacerbated by the need for overhead services, low existing head heights regularly pose a significant challenge to the feel of spaces. Where raising the roof is financially or structurally unviable, we concentrate on manipulating the proportions of space along with pushing ceiling heights to their practical limit. Open style ceilings such as grid mesh retain a sense of height above them whilst visually screening services above. Alternatively, we have often decided to remove ceilings completely to allow the eye to appreciate the height to the soffit above, and achieve acoustic absorption and masking of services with free hanging rafts or baffles rather than wall to wall ceilings. We have used this approach in our own Cardiff design studio which we recently converted from an old cosmetic surgery clinic which had existing low ceiling grids. The extra feeling of height the exposed soffits has given along with omitting the institutional aesthetic of the grids and exposing the structure and services has completely transformed the feel of the space.

Tight ceiling voids, exposed services and setting out of suspended rafts between equipment requires close coordination with mechanical and electrical engineers to give a neat finish and avoid clashes. We routinely model spaces in 3D drawing software, import a corresponding 3D model of M&E services and run coordination workshops moving items around live on screen together to best effect.

2 –  Aesthetic goals & innovative space planning

Clients need their new buildings to reflect their mission, vision and principles and communicate their own brand identity. Existing buildings come with their own style and feel and it can require clever and careful design intervention to dovetail the two. At one end of the spectrum some of our listed property restorations such as Llanellay House or The Reader Mansion House bring the joy of historic beauty and heritage features to capitalise upon when set against newly designed contemporary insertions in the space.

At the other end of the scale, some existing buildings can pose more of an aesthetic challenge if they are seemingly without charm. We pride ourselves in the ability to bring that charm ourselves through a strong interior design vision. The outside need not dictate the internal style if it is not appropriate. In the refurbishment of Alexandra House for product design company PDR in Cardiff we transformed an ‘aesthetically challenged’ 1980s building. With limited budget the client was keen to prioritise the interior reflecting their ethos, transporting you to another dimension when you enter the scheme.

Increasingly however we find value in using a contemporary take on the strongest design language from the time the building was originally conceived. For example, we have used black crittal style internal glazed partitioning in post war building refurbishments to give a nod to the building’s era whilst maintaining a contemporary response.

Building plans with existing constraints can limit the way spaces can be used. Existing constraints can include structural columns breaking up a space, or existing window positions which limit where new partitions can be introduced. In this instance we are fans of increasing flexibility by only introducing partitions where really needed, and are advocates of a world without excess internal walls. The latest loose acoustic furniture, pods and curtains can in certain circumstances give a viable more flexible alternative for privacy and can often more easily work around existing constraints. Rethinking creatively how people could use the building in future avoids replicating past cellular environments that are ultimately outdated. Cloud based mobile technology enables more free flowing agile space that was previously possible.

In my experience, the key to the most successful repurposing projects in often in organising the new spaces to work with the original layout rather than forcing unnatural uses into the form. For example, the simple task of grading existing floor areas by daylight quality then using the best spaces in this regard to create the areas where people will spend most time is of huge value. Equally, simplifying the diagram of people movement through an old building to aid space efficiency and wayfinding often means undoing the piecemeal additions that have been introduced over time and restoring the original clarity.

The approach of simplification of people movement has been critical in redesigning the new Community Hub, reimagining the disused Debenhams department store in Carmarthen town centre. Various community uses are combined in the scheme including healthcare, council services, education and leisure. Complex wayfinding and circulation strategies were hampering the design prior to our involvement. Our solution has been to create a single wayfinding hub in the central courtyard of the scheme with access to various departments from this internal landmark point, allowing instinctive wayfinding and clear signposting. Mixed use refurbishments are becoming more prevalent in the drive to rejuvenate town centres, and empty retail units present a fantastic opportunity for a wide variety of community uses with great transport links and accessibility.

3 – Weak soffits 

Where possible we advocate natural ventilation through opening windows to avoid unnecessary energy use and vent kit. However, where mechanical ventilation is required due to high occupancy numbers or specialist activities, existing soffits routinely need to support the kit suspended from them. In recent projects we have found that the poor structural performance or listed nature of the existing soffits has made this unviable. In this circumstance we work closely with mechanical and structural engineers along with cost consultants to assess the alternatives for viability and select the preferred approach. Housing kit outside the building and lacing lightweight ductwork through to internal spaces can be one approach, although often poses penetration and routing challenges. For Cardiff University’s new School Of healthcare (currently in construction) we have recently developed a solution with Aecom (MEP) & Curtins (structures) and ISG (contractors) in a post war building with weak soffits, forming internal steel skeleton frames sitting on the floor slabs to support overhead kit. The existing soffits are a rare type of hollow concrete beam and block, which has very little capacity for fixing or suspending from them. The new steel overhead steel is now painted black and the vertical posts encased in the wall linings. Once installed, acoustic rafts will visually detract from the exposed services. In this circumstance the solution fits well with the industrial aesthetic of the existing building. Whilst this has added cost to the project, the combined sustainability and cost benefits along with the faster timescales of reuse have ensured the viability of the project.

4 – Poor thermal efficiency and air tightness

As part of our sustainability and net zero agenda, often along with that of our clients, we routinely analyse options for improving the thermal efficiency and air tightness of the existing buildings we are refurbishing. For Building Regulations Part L compliance, consequential improvements are often required to demonstrate that reasonable energy performance improvements have been made. Working with cost consultants and M&E engineers we analyse the cost benefit of options including upgrade of building services, as well as championing a ‘fabric fist’ approach such as using additional internal thermal lining, external thermal upgrade, cavity fill or replacing old windows & doors. For the aforementioned School of Healthcare, the design team calculated the U value improvements, future energy savings and associated costs for each viable option. As the existing external walls had cavities that had previously been filled, the relative U value gains from internally lining the external walls in this instance was not worthwhile. Instead, replacing all of the external windows and doors was found to have a much greater impact on performance due to the poor air tightness of the existing UPVC units. this also had the added benefit of vastly improving the external appearance of the building.

For historic fabric and listed buildings, viable options are often reduced in number. In this circumstance, as well as limitations in changing the appearance or replacing windows, breathability usually becomes a key consideration in options feasibility studies. It is crucial to understand the original way the building was intended to perform and not undermine this through sealing in moisture in the quest to insulate. This can eventually degrade the fabric and cause more problems than it solves. In this circumstance, as an example, we are increasingly looking to the use of breathable thermal finishes such as insulating lime render with cork content. Happily, experience has taught us there is very rarely no viable way to improve the energy performance within the project budget.

5 – Complex internal fabric retention requirements

In historic properties, working with our in house Conservation Architects, we are often required to retain or re-use finishes and fittings of heritage value. Where the project is small in scale we survey, photograph and measure these elements ourselves to incorporate into the proposed design. Where the building is large or complex in varying requirements room to room, or a fair distance away, this becomes very time consuming to survey and heavy on our carbon footprint for the travel. In this circumstance we weigh up the cost benefit to the client and environmental benefit of commissioning a Matterport 3D ‘virtual walkthrough’ building model. This has recently been completed for us on the Fulton House refurbishment project for Swansea University, and will allow the project team to check existing ceiling heights, historic features and existing finishes in each room, analysing the existing interiors virtually at our convenience. It is a powerful 3D visual tool which even allows approximate dimensions to be taken within it, and gives a fast and clear understanding of existing constraints within this listed environment. The project is at early design stages so this upfront investment will certainly pay dividends going forwards.

6 – Penetration limitations for lifts & services

A common constraint we find is limitations on the ability to create penetrations through the existing walls and floor slabs for both services and new lifts for accessibility compliance. This can be due to historic value of the building fabric, or frequently their structural limitations. The existing hollow concrete beam and block floor and roof slabs at the new School Of Healthcare for Cardiff University are interlocking, meaning individual blocks could not be removed to make penetrations without the whole structural bay needing replacement. The solution has been a combination of three approaches. Where possible we have reused existing service risers formed into the original construction and used horizontal distribution from these points. Secondly, where existing penetrations were not adequate, we have added new build vertical service risers and a lift shaft as small building extensions to avoid punching through existing slabs. Where we required local air intake and extract for ventilation, the height was not available to add in separate louvre openings above the first floor windows with requirements for structural support of the roof edge. Windows are being replaced for improved thermal performance and air tightness, so our third approach was to raise the lintels on the existing window openings to house new ventilation louvres in the top of the window openings. Whilst many internal soffits will be exposed with acoustic rafts, perimeter plasterboard bulkheads will house vent services against the louvres internally where they occur. 

The list is much longer than these six subjects, and there is much more to discuss for each than is covered here! However, tackling whatever quirks and challenges existing buildings present, we stand by the belief that the key skills to identifying the correct solutions and successfully implementing them are creativity, pragmatism, design flexibility, strong communication and above all proactive design team coordination.

Please get in touch for further information or to discuss how we can support your refurbishment projects. Kate.thomas@austinsmithlord.com