When it came to commissioning a video piece to capture the completed Digital Media Hub at UWE, we needed to look no further than the students for whom the building was designed.  This seemed like a perfect opportunity for us to continue our relationship with the building and its occupants beyond the post occupancy review exercises being undertaken.

We met with students Kyle Griffiths, Connor Hall, Toby Hallett and Todd Sinden with support from Student Learning Support Assistant Molly Denton, to set out our brief and invited them to return a proposal to us, exactly as we would with commercial video organisations. The response was enthusiastic and very professional and the team soon set about creating video footage to suit the agreed storyboard. It was great fun for us to be part of the process and a nice twist to become client for a while.

Indeed, Tom Barker, part of our Bristol based architectural team, has had a very interesting journey; firstly he was a UWE student, graduating in 2016, before joining us to work for the university on the project and finally becoming the University’s client in commissioning the video. He has truly seen UWE life from all sides now.

We are delighted with the quality of the completed video piece and pleased to share it with you as a combined record of both our work and that of the Digital Media Hub students.

Watch the video below or click here

Dragons return to adorn The Great Pagoda at Kew Gardens after a 200 year absence due to the technical expertise of Austin-Smith:Lord Architects. Eighty decorative dragons once again adorn the famous Kew Pagoda, following a two-year conservation project.

Now, the two-year project by our client Historic Royal Palaces in partnership with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, is complete, and dragons once more adorn this unique structure. Thanks to the technical conservation expertise supplied by the Glasgow studio of Austin-Smith:Lord architects, and with the generous support of the Sanpower Group of Companies, the building has finally been returned to its 18^th century splendor, and for the first time in decades the general public will have access to the upper floors.

The Great Pagoda was designed by architect Sir William Chambers for the royal family. Chambers was inspired by the buildings he saw when working in Canton and his designs for the Great Pagoda were influenced by prints he had seen of the famous Porcelain Pagoda at Nanjing.  Londoners and tourists alike flocked to see the striking 50m tall building, which formed part of a homage to the Grand Tour in the royal garden, with the Pagoda providing an unusual window into Chinese culture at the time.

It was one of the jewels in the crown of Georgian London: a building so unusual that a suspicious public were unconvinced it would remain standing when it was built in 1762. Designed at the height of the eighteenth century craze for Chinoiserie, The Great Pagoda at Kew was famously adorned with eighty brightly coloured wooden dragons. The eye-catching dragons were the talk of the town.

Observers were most impressed by dragons, designed to dazzle and described tantalizingly in accounts at the time as ‘iridescent.’ Though memorable, the dragons were removed in 1784, when slate and copper work replaced earlier experimental cast iron tiles on the building’s roofs under the direction of Chambers.

David Millar, Lead Designer and Conservation Architect, A-S:L, said

“It has been an immense privilege to be involved with the conservation work at this unique and important 18^th century structure sharing our approach to the repairs and the reinstatement of the dragons with the HRP team of surveyors to the fabric and curators. For myself the process has been both intellectually stimulating and rewarding and the end result of this collaborative labour sensational. We have successfully blended traditional craftsmanship with innovative SLS 3D printing to achieve this end result ”

Craig Hatto, Project Sponsor, Historic Royal Palaces, said,

‘It has been fascinating to piece together the story of the elusive dragons, missing from this remarkable building for over two centuries. Using tantalising contemporary accounts and drawings, and taking inspiration from surviving eighteenth century dragons in houses and museums across Europe, we’ve pulled together a team of specialist craftsmen to ensure the new dragons are as faithful to the original design as possible.’

Adrian Phillips, Palaces and Collections Director, Historic Royal Palaces, said,

‘We’re excited to be restoring The Great Pagoda at Kew to its former glory, and are working with Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew towards opening this wonderful building for the public to enjoy from the 13 July 2018. The Pagoda forms an important part of Kew’s fascinating royal history, which we already explore at Kew Palace, the Royal Kitchens and Queen Charlotte’s Cottage.’

To book your visit to the Great Pagoda at Kew Gardens, visit The Great Pagoda at Kew

We are delighted to announce that Coleg y Cymoedd’s Aberdare Campus has been named ‘Development of the Year’ at Insider’s Wales Property Awards 2018.

Austin-Smith:Lord worked on this exciting project from inception to completion, initially in close collaboration with the College and their stakeholders, and latterly with the main contractor, Kier Construction. The timber and metal clad form responds to the context, including an historic old railway building refurbished as part of the project. The project achieved a BREEAM Excellent rating and featured as a CEW Exemplar Project.

The innovative design for the Aberdare campus had to overcome a series of challenges associated with the brownfield site, including flooding. The building is elevated above ground level so as to permit flood water to flow unimpeded across the site, with steel mesh panels offering a barrier to flood debris as well as security of the undercroft. A grand ramp leads up to the south facing main entrance, which give access into a dynamic three storey atrium space, around which all of the college facilities are arranged.

The College are delighted with the new building, and have already seen an increase in learner applications, and a greater level of student retention.

Congratulations to the whole team. The project is an excellent example of how collaborative working and innovation can deliver outstanding results.

1,329 paper people creating a paper chain of ideas for A Town Hall for All will go on display in Penicuik Town Hall on Wednesday 13 June. As part of The Happenstance project for Scotland + Venice and the Year of Young People, every primary school pupil in Penicuik has been invited to share their ideas for A Town Hall for All.

Penicuik Town Hall has been identified as a priority for the Penicuik Heritage Regeneration Project; a partnership with Midlothian Council, Penicuik Community Development Trust and Penicuik First. Applications have recently been made to Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic Environment Scotland for a Townscape Initiative (TI) and Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS) for Penicuik town centre.

Given Penicuik’s heritage as a Papermaking Town ideas have been captured on 1,329 Paper People – one for every pupil in the town. Pupils from all six primary schools in Penicuik participated; Cornbank, Cuiken, Glencorse, Mauricewood, Sacred Heart and Strathesk primary schools. Their Paper Chain of Ideas will be exhibited in the Town Hall on Wednesday 13 June (from 11.30am to 5.30pm), to start a whole-town debate about what A Town Hall for All ages should be like. It is hoped to inform future plans for Penicuik Town Hall.

Whilst Scotland + Venice : The Happenstance opened on Saturday 26 May at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia (Venice), Graham Ross of Austin-Smith:Lord participated in Penicuik’s annual Hunter and Lass gala to celebrate the work of the town’s school pupils, and raise awareness of the A Town Hall for All project and invite wider participation. A stall at Penicuik in the Park showcased the work to date.

The A Town Hall for All project is featured as one of seven projects from across Scotland showcased at this year’s Biennale. The Happenstance has created a community garden space in the heart of Palazzo Zenobio in the Dorsuduro district of Venice. It has been getting critical acclaim and has been very well received by local communities in Venice.

Graham Ross of Austin-Smith:Lord was at The Happenstance garden last week to undertake a workshop with class 5 of the Cinnasio Luceo Marco Polo school, to share with them the work from Penicuik and invite them to share their ideas for Un Municipio per Tutti (A Town Hall for All).

The work of Venetian school pupils will be on display in Penicuik alongside the work of young Penicuikers. In addition the film of the project and images from across Penicuik and Venice will be on show. School groups will be coming along to Penicuik Town Hall throughout the day and the installation will be open to the public, who are invited to share their own ideas for A Town Hall for All.

Graham Ross of Austin-Smith:Lord said; “It will be exciting to show off the great work by young people in Penicuik and Venice. The installation will demonstrate how many primary aged young folk there are in the local community. But, most importantly, it will show the ideas and ambition of young people to have a welcoming and lively place for the local community, of all ages, to gather and enjoy. It’s been a privilege to have Penicuik featured in The Happenstance at the Biennale and it is hoped that the work of young Penicuikers can inspire positive action to help transform Penicuik Town Hall for all for a sustainable and vibrant long term future.”

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Scotland + Venice: The Happenstance – Collateral Event at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia (Venice) –establishes a Freespace in the garden at the heart of Palazzo Zenobio in Venice.

To celebrate Scotland’s Year of Young People (YOYP), The Happenstance brings together artists and architects to work with young people in Scotland to discover what Freespace (the Biennale theme) means to them and their communities, before bringing a ‘living library of ideas’ to Venice in May, 2018. The Happenstance activities will be based at Palazzo Zenobio from 26 May – 25 November 2018 (Collegio Armeno Moorat Raphael, Dorsoduro 2596, Venezia 30123).

Promoted by the Scotland and Venice Partnership and curated by Glasgow-based artists/curators WAVEparticle (who regularly collaborate with Austin-Smith:Lord) a team of artists and architects are encouraging everyone into a vital relationship with the built environment, using play as an active agent within the process of rethinking and reclaiming Freespace.

In the garden of Palazzo Zenobio in Venice, visitors can explore the previous work of the artists and architects of The Happenstance, make their mark on the Armature built by Baxendale Architects, make a costume or sit back in our deckchairs to watch a film from Scotland or Venice.

Come and play!

Take a chance, make a stance…see what happens

– This is the art of The Happenstance

Congratulations to Jonathan Jones who has been shortlisted in the inaugural G4C Wales Awards in the ‘New Professional of the Year’ category. These ‘Generation for Change’ awards are for young professionals, and are designed to recognise future leaders of the industry.

In the BIM-focused environment of the construction industry, Jonathan fulfils a vital role as a key member of our pan-practice BIM Leadership Group, honing our collective competency in the delivery of Level 2 projects, and driving our capability beyond. Jonathan performs a ‘Revit Champion’ role and has also been instrumental in our research into capturing the potential of VR to the benefit of our clients and their projects.

A qualified architect as of October 2017, he has already helped to deliver projects in the further education sector, most recently the National College for Nuclear (South) for Bridgwater & Taunton College which, fittingly, is a building designed for the widespread use of VR as a teaching and learning tool.

The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on Thursday 12th July. We wish Jonathan the very best of luck!

Venice image credit – Bash Khan

Penicuik + Venice

Scotland + Venice: The Happenstance – Collateral Event at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia (Venice) –establishes a Freespace in the garden at the heart of Palazzo Zenobio in Venice and opens to the public this week.

Promoted by the Scotland and Venice Partnership and curated by Glasgow-based artists/curators WAVEparticle (who regularly collaborate with Austin-Smith:Lord) a team of artists and architects are encouraging everyone into a vital relationship with the built environment, using play as an active agent within the process of rethinking and reclaiming Freespace.

Austin-Smith:Lord are contributing to the Happenstance, which features their A Town Hall for All project in Penicuik, Midlothian.

Penicuik Town Hall has been identified as a priority for the Penicuik Heritage Regeneration Project; a partnership with Midlothian Council, Penicuik Community Development Trust and Penicuik First. Applications have recently been made to Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic Environment Scotland for a Townscape Initiative (TI) and Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS) for Penicuik town centre.

As part of the Happenstance project for Scotland + Venice and the Year of Young People, every primary school pupil in Penicuik has been invited to share their ideas for A Town Hall for All.

Given Penicuik’s heritage as a Papermaking Town ideas have been captured on 1,329 Paper People – one for every pupil in the town. Their Paper Chain of Ideas will be exhibited in the Town Hall on 13 June (from 11.30am to 6pm), to start a whole-town debate about what A Town Hall for All ages should be like. It is intended to inform future plans for Penicuik Town Hall, to create a Freespace for Penicuik.

Whilst Scotland + Venice : The Happenstance opens this weekend at the Venice Biennale, Austin-Smith:Lord are participating in Penicuik’s annual Hunter and Lass gala to celebrate the work of the town’s school pupils, and raise awareness of the A Town Hall for All project and invite wider participation. A stall at Penicuik in the Park on Saturday 26 May will showcase the work to date.

Meanwhile, in the garden of Palazzo Zenobio in Venice, visitors can explore the previous work of the artists and architects of The Happenstance, make their mark on the Armature built by Baxendale Architects, make a costume or sit back in our deckchairs to watch a film from Scotland or Venice.

Come and play!

Take a chance, make a stance…see what happens
– This is the art of The Happenstance

To celebrate Scotland’s Year of Young People (YOYP), The Happenstance brings together artists and architects to work with young people in Scotland to discover what Freespace means to them and their communities, before bringing a ‘living library of ideas’ to Venice in May, 2018. The Happenstance activities will be based at Palazzo Zenobio from 26 May – 25 November 2018 (Collegio Armeno Moorat Raphael, Dorsoduro 2596, Venezia 30123).

Their proposal is supported and promoted by the Scotland + Venice partnership: Scottish Government, Architecture and Design Scotland, Creative Scotland, British Council and the Year of Young People/Young Scot.

Graham Ross, Partner at Austin-Smith:Lord said:
“We’re relishing the prospect of participating in Penicuik’s annual Hunter and Lass festivities whilst, simultaneously, the A Town Hall for All project is showcased at the internationally prestigious Venice Biennale. We’ve been inspired by the energy and ideas coming through from Penicuik’s primary school pupils and hope that this kick starts a whole-town debate about the Town Hall. Having grown up in Penicuik is been a privilege to work with young people in the town to help them shape their future place and Freespace in Penicuik. We look forward to sharing their ideas with young Venetians in the coming weeks.”

Peter McCaughey of WAVEparticle, said, “Scotland +Venice offers a fantastic opportunity to share ideas and tools from Scottish culture around open space and Freespace, both in the format of an exhibition but, more importantly, in the format of live workshops and discussions. The Happenstance will be focussed on the event nature of live situations where things happen – like the tradition of Speakers’ Corner, it is a place to take a stance, to present a proposition, to articulate an idea on the theme of Freespace.”

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs said:
“The Scottish Government is pleased to support Scotland’s participation as a Collateral Event in the Biennale Architettura 2018. Our presence at this year’s Biennale Architettura offers a special opportunity during Scotland’s Year of Young People to demonstrate how our country’s young people can contribute to ideas at the most prestigious architecture event in the world.
The Happenstance project will present fine examples of creativity in Scotland’s built environment and how the public has benefited. It will also show the value that Scotland places upon the ideas of our children and young people to an international audience.”

The V&A has appointed Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R), with Austin-Smith:Lord, to lead the design of a pioneering new Collection and Research Centre planned for Here East in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

This new centre will transform access to thousands of objects from the V&A’s unparalleled collections of art, design and performance not currently on display, and forms part of the expanded V&A East project alongside a new museum planned for Stratford Waterfront, designed by the Dublin-based practice O’Donnell + Tuomey.

The international design competition drew an excellent response from a wide range of practices, with five shortlisted. DS+R’s proposal was selected for its clarity, ambition and originality, communicating a vision that will transform engagement with, and access to, the V&A’s collections. Their proposals will give visitors, researchers and staff new ways to interact with the richness and potential the V&A’s national collections and archives.

V&A Deputy Director and COO Tim Reeve said:

“The field for this design competition was incredibly strong, featuring many of the best architecture practices from the UK, Europe and around the world. The five shortlisted teams were all outstanding, presenting an exciting and high-quality range of proposals that tackled the brief with ingenuity, imagination and vision. We are delighted to announce Diller Scofidio + Renfro as the lead designers for the V&A’s proposed new Collection and Research Centre at Here East. They clearly demonstrated their creativity and skill not only as transformative designers in the arts and museums world, but also as thought leaders in how audiences engage with objects and how collections can be made more publicly accessible. We are all looking forward to working closely with DS+R in the months ahead, to develop their winning concept in to a place that will provide creative inspiration and opportunity for generations to come.”

 DS+R Partner Elizabeth Diller said:

“It is thrilling to contribute to a new wave of rethinking how London’s cultural institutions can reconnect to the city – from the Cultural Mile to the developments emerging in Queen Elizabeth Park. We’re excited to start experimenting with the V&A on this new model for collection storage and public display at Here East. Planned from the inside-out, V&A East will be like stepping into an immersive cabinet of curiosities—a three-dimensional sampling of the eclectic collection of artefacts, programmed with diverse spaces for research, object study, workshops, and back-of-house functions. We aspire to design an institution that invites the public to unpack and explore the depths of an otherwise hidden collection of remarkable things.”

Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) is a New York-based design studio whose practice spans the fields of architecture, urban design, installation, and multimedia art. Founded in 1981, DS+R is led by four partners—Elizabeth Diller, Ricardo Scofidio, Charles Renfro and Benjamin Gilmartin. DS+R is responsible for two of the largest recent architecture and planning initiatives in New York City:the High Line and the transformation of Lincoln Center’s performing arts campus. Recently completed projects include Zaryadye Park in Moscow and The Broad in Los Angeles. DS+R is currently engaged in two more projects significant to New York: The Shed, the first multi-arts center designed to commission, produce, and present all types of performing arts, visual arts, and popular culture, and the renovation and expansion of MoMA. DS+R was also selected to design the Centre for Music, a permanent home for the London Symphony Orchestra and conductor Simon Rattle.

The other shortlisted practices were:

• 6a
• Gareth Hoskins Architects
• Haworth Tompkins and AOC
• Robbrecht en Daem and DRDH

The V&A’s new Collection and Research Centre will be part of the museum’s expanded V&A East project, where it is set to complement the new museum planned for Stratford Waterfront – ten minutes’ walk across the Park. The creation of the centre follows the government’s 2015 decision to sell Blythe House, where a vast array of objects from the V&A’s world-leading collections of art, design, and performance are currently held. Both sites will be open to the public, and united through their displays, research and learning activities, and public programmes, and form part of an Olympic legacy collaboration with other world-leading institutions across culture and education.

Delancey Managing Director, Paul Goswell, said:

“We have been excited to watch the V&A’s plans unfold over the past few years, and we are delighted to have Diller Scofidio + Renfro on board for this next chapter in Here East’s development. Here East, which is designed to spark collaboration and innovation, provides the perfect place for the V&A’s expansion, and having such an icon for UK culture on site will be an exciting addition to the campus. The new Collection and Research Centre will bring the very best of culture, design, and technology to the exciting community of innovators at Here East and we’re looking forward to seeing how the designs take shape.”

 Graham Ross, Partner at Austin-Smith:Lord, said;

“We were delighted to accept the invitation to collaborate with Diller Scofidio + Renfro on this extremely exciting project for the V&A. We look forward to working with the V&A and supporting DS+R’s internationally acclaimed design team, drawing upon Austin-Smith:Lord’s experience in delivering high profile UK arts and culture projects.”

Rob Firman, Project Director at Austin-Smith:Lord, said;

“The V&A’s vision for the V&A East is ambitious and pioneering. DS+R’s design concept is a stunning architectural response. Working through the design competition has demonstrated a very positive team collaboration which we look forward to extending through the design and construction of this international cultural landmark.”

Design work will begin immediately, with the new centre expected to open in 2023.

To view Austin-Smith:Lord’s arts and culture projects, click here.

To visit DS+R’s website, click here.

We are delighted to be selected by Coastal Housing Group for inclusion on their Architectural Framework Panel.

2018 marks Coastal’s 10th anniversary having been formed in 2008 after a merger between Swansea Housing Association and Dewi Sant Housing Association with the objective of regenerating older stock and building new houses to improve the local community and provide good quality affordable homes.  They have over 5000 properties for rent and for sale with expertise in supporting older people, those who require adapted homes and people who need help managing their tenancy. To meet the challenges of sustainable growth Coastal has also developed a commercial portfolio through a programme of city/town centre mixed-use regeneration which includes pubs and restaurants to hi-tech office space for startup enterprise.

Austin-Smith:Lord’s inclusion on the Coastal Framework reflects our own expanding portfolio of housing-led regeneration projects and our approach to mixed use urban regeneration.

Places which are successful are durable and adaptable. Our holistic approach to urban regeneration is one which seeks to build upon the positive aspects of a place and enhance these characteristics, whilst addressing its shortcomings to create a vision which will sustain itself socially, economically and environmentally. If the fundamentals of sustainable urban planning are applied then the benefits of this approach can far exceed the value of technical fixes to building construction addressing solely environmental issues. Urban regeneration enables sustainable place-making and we champion a common sense approach which learns lessons from what works and when it should be applied, based on observation, evidence and experience.

Places that are cherished, easy to manage and maintain, flexible and adaptable to change are sustainable. Places which provide a mix of functions as a place to live, work and visit will sustain urban living. Districts and neighbourhoods which enable access to an array of services and activities with ease and without reliance on the car will endure and promote healthy places which are animated and activated by people in the spaces between buildings. Through careful planning and design, resource efficiency can be promoted by creating places with good micro-climates which capture the sun and shelter from the prevailing weather, and minimise energy consumption and running costs whilst supporting ecology and bio-diversity.

We look forward to collaborating with Coastal in the delivery of their vision to provide homes and services that enable their tenants to thrive and the communities they serve to prosper.

We are delighted to announce our recently completed University of the West of England Digital Media Building at the Bower Ashton campus has been chosen as the winner of the LABC Bristol Excellence Awards in 2 categories:

Best Public Service Building 
& 
Best Educational Building

As a result of winning the local award the project has been entered into the regional West of England LABC awards being held in Bristol on the 13th July. Best of luck to all others shortlisted!

We are delighted to see two of our projects shortlisted across a number of categories in the 2018 Constructing Excellence South West Built Environment Awards.

Contractor Midas has been shortlisted in the Digital Construction Project category for the recently completed National College for Nuclear. This new £9.3m ‘BREEAM ’ rated facility in Cannington revolutionises the way in which higher level professional and technical training for the nuclear sector is delivered, utilising innovative technology and virtual reality simulators to replicate a nuclear working environment, whether in nuclear new build/operation/decommissioning, defence or medicine. Our Client for this project, Bridgwater & Taunton College, has also been shortlisted in the Client of the Year category

Willmott Dixon has been shortlisted in three categories (Project of the Year, Sustainability, and Health & Safety) for the University of the West of England Digital Media Building. The new building, located in Bristol, provides a modern, fit-for purpose, digitally-connected environment that will attract and retain students and retain the University’s reputation as a sector leader. This project forms the first phase of the Bower Ashton Masterplan redevelopment, and comprises a specialist film production studio, control rooms, photographic studios, workshops, student hub, animation suites and sound recording and colour grading spaces, as well as a series of edit suites and staff spaces. We are currently working on the next phase of this masterplan, The Physical Making Building, which is due for completion later in the year. The project was delivered to BIM Level 2 and our client, UWE, is also shortlisted in the Innovation category for their development of BIM within the university.

We are privileged to work with clients who value quality and who purposefully pursue excellence and innovation in design to create aspirational buildings. These shortlistings reflect the successful collaboration of the whole client/design/construction team. Congratulations to everyone involved with these projects – we look forward to the awards ceremony in June!