Planning has now been approved for the new Dance Hub Birmingham development for the Birmingham Hippodrome campus. The New York inspired rooftop extension will enable increased access for local artists and communities developing the infrastructure for the vibrant and growing dance sector in Birmingham and the wider West Midlands region.

The Hippodrome campus, home to resident company Birmingham Royal Ballet and comprising the 1,850-seat Hippodrome Theatre and 200-seat Patrick Centre, DanceXchange and Dance Consortium, is the busiest venue for dance in the UK outside of London. The extension will create 675m² of new space for professional and community dancers including a large dance rehearsal studio, ancillary facilities and office space.

The new space will blur the traditional boundaries between public and private space between studios dedicated to artists and those accessible to communities. Initial consultation carried out by Dance Hub Birmingham has found that artists want space that welcomes people of different ages, backgrounds and ambitions, encourages them to rub shoulders and exchange ideas and experiences, and that joins up with other spaces across and beyond the City. Run by Culture Central, Dance Hub Birmingham has been working with the arts sector to put dance at the forefront of plans for the city.

Monique Deletant, Director of Dance Hub Birmingham said: “I’m delighted that the plans for the new Dance Hub facility have been approved. The plans were developed in response to wider consultation with the dance sector and demonstrate a new wave of collaborative working which will continue to deepen and develop once the building opens its doors in 2019.”

Peter Knott, Area Director, Arts Council England, said: “The architectural plans for the Dance Hub in Birmingham look very exciting. This collaborative space certainly promises to provide something special. It is great to see that the city has taken this opportunity to further accelerate the West Midlands’ reputation as an international leader in the most inclusive of art forms. This looks to be a great addition to the region’s thriving cultural offer.”

Rob Firman, Project Director Austin-Smith:Lord said: “It was exciting to engage with the enthusiastic community of stakeholders to the Dance Hub project as we devised and developed our design concept and we are extremely pleased to have received planning approval for our vision for this ambitious facility. We are looking forward now to the construction phase and making the building a reality.”

The new development is funded through strategic investment from Arts Council England. Work will commence in Spring 2018 with completion in Spring 2019.

For further information on Dance Hub Birmingham visit www.culturecentral.co.uk/dance-hub

Deafblind Scotland’s new learning and development centre in Lenzie has been officially opened by The Princess Royal.

Initially called ‘The Field of Dreams’, the £2m centre was designed by Austin-Smith:Lord and constructed by Clark Contracts. It features an arts facility, IT room and recording studio which will be a daily resource for more than 800 Deafblind Scotland members who are severely dual sensory impaired.

The 7,000 square foot building, commissioned by leading charity Deafblind Scotland, is acoustically neutral with sound and light absorbing surfaces.

Ruth Dorman, Chief Executive, Deafblind Scotland, said: “Clark Contracts and their design team have been instrumental in the delivery of the project with a hands on and approachable attitude. The team made the language of construction accessible to us all at Deafblind Scotland which in turn made the process inclusive for everyone.”

Michael Scanlan, Director, Clark Contracts, said: “We have enjoyed working with Deafblind Scotland and our Design Team to deliver this important project that we hope will provide valuable facilities for deafblind people across Scotland for many years to come.”

Andrew McCafferty, Director, Austin-Smith:Lord said: “This was an immensely satisfying project being part of Clark Contract’s team, working within the constraints of budget and demanding timescale to create a positive learning and teaching environment for Deafblind Scotland, and also achieve a significant presence within the local community.”

Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) has awarded the construction contract for the redevelopment of our recently designed Partick Bus Station to Luddon Construction Ltd, with works due for completion in summer 2018.

Serving one of Scotland’s busiest and most densely populated districts, Partick Bus Station has become part of a vital multi modal transportation hub for West Glasgow integrating bus, rail and subway with national cycle and local footpath networks. It also connects key attractions and city amenities including the Riverside Museum, Glasgow Harbour, Glasgow University, Kelvingrove Museum and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

The design solution we have created includes an increase to the number of stances required to meet the growing number of passengers using the station since the opening of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and forecast to use the service following recent and upcoming development within the area.

Fabricated with contemporary materials including curved aluminium cantilevering roofs, structural glass walls, granite plinths and automatic doors, the new bespoke bus stances and waiting space will feature integrated lighting, CCTV, seating and customer information technology and together provide a significant improvement to the customer experience.

From project outset, a significant emphasis was placed on improving safety in and around the bus station. The approved design achieves this by segregating bus movement from other vehicles, segregating pedestrians from the bus manouvering area, creating improved road crossing points and incorporating new lighting.

To assist in addressing the complex issue of designing a barrier free public place, the Glasgow Access Panel were consulted as part of the design process.  The emerging proposals and the measures being taken to provide a legible environment; where wayfinding for those with sensory impairment was at the forefront of the design, were fully supported.

The public realm linking the new bus station with the existing interchange includes the installation of new granite paving, seating, trees and lighting which will also be extended along the interchange frontage to tie in with the recently completed public realm upgrade works by Glasgow City Council.

Austin-Smith:Lord Project Director/Lead Designer Andrew McCafferty says: “We are delighted to have led the design process in collaboration with our design sub-consultants Curtins and SVM. We have enjoyed working closely with SPT and their stakeholders to develop a design solution that will improve the bus passenger experience, promote connectivity with the existing subway/rail interchange and enhance the quality of environment for those who live and work within the area. We are looking forward to working with Luddon to successfully deliver the project for opening in summer 2018.”

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The design team includes:

• Austin-Smith:Lord – Lead Design Consultant, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Principal Designer & Contract Administrator
• Curtins – Transportation + Civil & Structural Engineering
• SVM – Services Engineering
• Turner & Townsend – Principal Design Adviser
• Currie & Brown – Cost Consultants

The (Y)our City Centre project is creating ambitious plans for the core retail, business, civic and cultural heart of Scotland’s largest city. Glasgow’s city centre is a wonderful historical ensemble but it faces challenges including vacant buildings, under-utilised plots, changes in retail patterns, city centre living, public open space, safety and traffic.

A team led by MVRDV and Austin-Smith:Lord, supported by Space Syntax and a multidisciplinary team, has been commissioned by Glasgow City Council to embark on the development of District Regeneration Frameworks for four districts of Glasgow City Centre. With your help, these Regeneration Frameworks will look to create a clear urban structure that can fully realise Glasgow’s economic, cultural and social potential.

We would like your help identifying the challenges and opportunities for positive change in the next 10 years for these four districts; Broomielaw, St Enoch, Central and Blythswood. Your contributions will help shape the design of District Regeneration Frameworks for four districts of Glasgow City Centre. The Frameworks will lay out the plans and become supplementary planning guidance for Glasgow to fully realise its economic, cultural and social potential.

We want to hear the views of residents, businesses, landowners, students, visitors, those who live, work and play in the city centre. We are looking for small and big ideas and comments for the short term and long term. You can share (Y)our ideas via our online platform https://yourcitycentre.commonplace.is/

Alongside our on-street and workshop engagement we have had over 1100 contributions via the online platform, highlighting a wide range of issues and ideas. The online platform will be available until the end of August 2017, after which the comments will still be available for review. We look forward to collaborating with the Glaswegians on this exciting project, let us know (Y)our Ideas. Keep up to date with project via www.yourcitycentre.com, Facebook and Twitter.

If you have any immediate concerns about an issue in the city centre, please contact Glasgow City Council directly through the appropriate channels.

Douglas Wheeler Associates and Austin-Smith:Lord have been appointed by Midlothian Council to work with the people of Penicuik to draw up proposals for the heritage regeneration of the town.

The work, which has been made possible through a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, will include developing repair proposals to restore buildings, improve streets and potentially develop new community activities in the town centre.

The consultation will focus on creating a community-led vision for the historic core of the town centre and work will also be conducted to gather the technical information needed to submit a further funding application to the Heritage Lottery Fund to carry out the proposed plan.

If the second funding application is successful, it will mean an award of up to £1.69 million over 5 years to implement the project from April 2018.  It will also release £725,000 of funding from Historic Environment Scotland.

In coming weeks, the consultation team will be launching an online questionnaire for local people, businesses and visitors as the first step in engaging with the community.

David Millar, Director and Head of Conservation at Austin-Smith:Lord commented: It’s great to be working alongside Douglas Wheeler on this project, getting to know the community in Penicuik and also the Council team who have successfully steered the project through the first stage of the Lottery funding process. The HLF funded Townscape Heritage Initiative has the real potential to improve the quality of the building stock but to also make town centres more vibrant and active and can encourage people in the community to learn about their heritage and even develop new skills. We are looking forward to starting the work immediately.”

Austin-Smith:Lord were appointed by The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh to refurbish the four upper storeys of their category B listed property at 21 Hill Place in Edinburgh.  Prominently positioned on the corner of Nicolson Street, facing Nicolson Square, 21 Hill Place is one of the key buildings on this major thoroughfare.

Designed by Thomas P Marwick in 1897-8, the building was one of many the leading architect and past president of the RIAS worked on for the National Bank of Scotland, although the building at 21 Hill Place is one of the few surviving buildings that he was responsible for designing in its entirety.

The Bank occupied the basement and ground floor of the building while the upper floors contained the Edinburgh premises of Skerry’s College, which played a major role in the first half of the 20th Century in training people for the Civil Service, Post Office and Custom and Excise service.

The ground and basement of the building are now occupied by the Royal Bank of Scotland and the conservation accredited architects at Austin-Smith:Lord have refurbished the upper top floors for use as administration offices by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

Catherine Cosgrove, Associate in our Glasgow studio commented: “It is an interesting building for a number of reasons not least the fact that it was home to Skerry’s College.

“Founded by George Edward Skerry in 1878, Skerry’s College was established to help candidates for the Civil Service, Post Office or Custom and Excise prepare for the entrance exam and was the first of its type in the country.

“Overall, 21 Hill Place was in good condition, with many original features such as ornate fireplace surrounds and panelled doors surviving internally. We retained these features within the room reconfigurations and carefully routed new services into the building to provide modern office interior finishes fit for its new purpose. The external red sandstone masonry was carefully inspected and selective indenting undertaken together with decorative finials refixed using stainless steel dowels and lime mortar bedding”.

Our conservation architects carefully considered the integration of services within the existing fabric of the building, selecting routes carefully to minimise the levels of interventions to avoid any major loss of historic fabric. A new lift was also incorporated into the design set out and positioned to slot between existing steel beams within the floors identified on archive drawings by the team. The overall effect has been very well received by the RCSEd staff who are now using their modern working environment skilfully set within the listed building.

Prof. Winy Maas, a founding Director of MVRDV, Rotterdam based architects and urbanists, gave a public lecture in Glasgow on Tuesday 7th February 2016.

Over 400 people attended the event in the St. Vincent Street Church; a masterpiece designed by Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson.

MVRDV and Austin-Smith:Lord, supported by a multidisciplinary team, have recently been commissioned by Glasgow City Council to develop with stakeholders and local communities, Regeneration Frameworks for four districts within the City Centre. Entitled (Y)our City Centre this project is progressing throughout 2017.

In this lecture, organised and introduced by Graham Ross and David Millar of Austin-Smith:Lord, Winy Maas outlines MVRDV’s design philosophy. He outlines how to create an intimate city, how to build a boutique made of glass bricks, how to stack Dutch landscapes and how to advance research in nano-technology that might one day replace concrete as a construction material. In conclusion parallels are drawn with Glasgow and the (Y)our City Centre project.

 

Click here to view video

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Thanks to:

Glasgow City Council (https://www.glasgowcitycentrestrategy.com/)

Glasgow City Free Church (https://www.glasgowcityfreechurch.org/)

MVRDV & Winy Maas (https://www.mvrdv.nl/)

(Y)our City Centre consultant team (www.yourcitycentre.com)

Austin-Smith:Lord colleagues (https://www.austinsmithlord.com/)

 

Filming & Edit

Michael Rea (https://www.michaelrea.co.uk/)

A public exhibition, featuring the initial design concepts for the transformation of Perth City Hall, is now on display. The exhibition features the designs created by Austin-Smith:Lord and MVRDV, one of the five teams shortlisted to revitalise the City Hall.

The concepts can be viewed in the Civic Hall within the Council buildings at 2 High Street, Perth from 12 noon on 12 June. The exhibition will then be open 10am-7pm on weekdays and 10am – 4pm at weekends until 24 June. Images from the exhibition will also be displayed at the back of City Hall opposite St John’s Kirk, and can be viewed online. Members of the public will have the opportunity to comment on the designs.

Following the successful architect being confirmed, the development of the detailed plans and applications for planning consent and listed building consent will take place, with construction works due to begin in 2019.

The project forms part of Perth’s bid to become UK City of Culture 2021. Perth and Kinross Council are looking to bring the building back into public use and create an international cultural destination for permanent and temporary exhibits. The revitalised building will deliver accessible community and creative learning spaces for locals, and serve as a new cultural destination for visitors to the city.

Graham Ross, Partner and Glasgow Studio Principal at Austin-Smith:Lord said “Perth City Hall should become Perth’s Living Room. A place for culture and community to congregate; where Perth extends a welcome to all and showcases itself to the world, and visa versa. We keep the best of the original building and redefine it as a dynamic Art Mixer. And we create a panoramic civic roof garden to give the city an incredible public space like no other”

Winy Maas, Founding Partner and Director at MVRDV said “We love the historic old building of Perth City Hall and our design proposal, together with Austin-Smith:Lord, will create a hall of mirrors that reflects the panoramic routes around the Art Mixer within the main hall. We will also add a public roof garden with panoramic views of the city. The building becomes a welcoming, new central hub for Perth. Perth City Hall is brought back to life!”

Click here to view public exhibition boards

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The Austin-Smith:Lord and MVRDV team also includes:

Fergus Purdie Architects (Local Adviser)

dpa lighting consultants

New Acoustics

Blue Peter has launched an exciting design competition inviting viewers to design a dragon for the Great Pagoda at Kew, one of the most important conservation projects within the UK, if not Europe.

Conservation architects at Austin-Smith:Lord have been working with Historic Royal Palaces on the fascinating two year project to restore the famous Great Pagoda in the Royal Botanic Gardens to its 18^th century splendour.

A major element of the project is the reintroduction of the eighty decorative dragons missing from the 50 metre high structure for over two hundred years.

Designed at the height of the eighteenth century craze for Chinoiserie, the eye-catching dragons festooning each of the ten storeys of the Pagoda were the talk of the town for twenty years before disappearing, some say in payment for the Prince Regent’s gambling debts.

All of the new dragons will be based on a similar design with one very special exception: one dragon will be designed by a lucky Blue Peter viewer.

Viewers aged between 6 and 15 years have between now and Thursday 25 May to enter the competition by creating a brand new dragon design for the Great Pagoda.

Entrants will have to think creatively to design a dragon, give it a name and a super power.

The winning design will then be fabricated into a full scale dragon which will be on show on the Great Pagoda for all to see for a full year after the iconic attraction reopens in Spring 2018.

John Barnes, Conservation and Learning Director, Historic Royal Palaces says: “We’re hoping that lots of budding designers will get involved with the restoration of the Great Pagoda because of this exciting competition. As the people who look after some of the most important buildings in Britain we hope that it will inspire the next generation, who will be the ones caring for the Palaces in the future.”

David Millar, Director and Head of Conservation at Austin-Smith:Lord, adds: “This is a wonderful, once in a lifetime opportunity for young people aspiring to become an architect or pursue a career in design. The Great Pagoda is an exceptionally important building, which is today recognised as a masterpiece of 18^th century English architecture and one of the jewels in the crown of Georgian London. It also promises to be a lot of fun and we’re looking forward to seeing some amazing mythical creatures as the young people fire their imagination!”

Cressida Cowell, judge and author “How To Train Your Dragon” says: “I’m delighted to be a judge for this competition. When I was nine I won a national writing competition and it made me realise for the first time that I could be a writer. It was incredibly inspiring! I can’t wait to see the dragon designs with the aim of inspiring a new generation into the design and creative industries.”

Ewan Vinnicombe, Editor of Blue Peter concludes: “Blue Peter is excited to be part of this landmark restoration giving viewers the once in a lifetime opportunity to design a feature on an historic royal building. I know the viewers will be very creative as always.”

Application to the Blue Peter competition, which closes on Thursday 25^th May at 12noon, can be made online at https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/joinin/blue-peter-design-a-dragon-competition where full terms and conditions are also available.

 

 

The (Y)our City Centre project team has launched the (Y)our Ideas map. This allows anyone with an interest in Glasgow to help map the challenges and opportunities for positive change in the next 10 years for the Broomielaw, St Enoch, Central and Blythswood districts of Glasgow. We ask you to visit
https://yourcitycentre.commonplace.is/ and have your say on what needs to be done and why.

This mapping forms part of the ongoing (Y)our City Centre project. A team led by MVRDV and Austin-Smith:Lord, supported by Space Syntax and a multidisciplinary team, has been commissioned by Glasgow City Council to embark on the development of District Regeneration Frameworks for the four districts of Glasgow City Centre. With your help, these Regeneration Frameworks will look to create a clear urban structure that can fully realise Glasgow’s economic, cultural and social potential.

You can also take part and attend a number of  events which provide a platform for you to discuss, debate and help set the priorities for each District. You can book to attend these events here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/glasgow-city-centre-districts-regeneration-frameworks-consultants-10960498156