Category: News

We are delighted to confirm our sponsorship of the ‘Development of the Year’ at the Insider Wales Property Awards to be held in Cardiff next month.

Austin-Smith:Lord and our guests will join co-sponsors Geldards Law Firm, Julian Hodge Bank, Principality and the RICS, at what will no doubt be a sold out event.

Partner and Cardiff Studio Principal Martin Roe commented “The reintroduction of the Property Awards is a welcome reflection of an improving property market, showcasing some of the most exciting and high quality developments in Wales. As former winners of Practice of the Year, we are thrilled to be sponsoring this key event in the property calendar once again.”

Austin-Smith:Lord’s Loudoun Square project picked up a Regeneration Award at the prestigious RICS Wales Awards, held last night at Cardiff City Hall.

The regeneration of Loudoun Square is a collaboration between Cardiff Community Housing Association, Cardiff City Council, Cardiff Local Health Board and Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust. The site, which is located between Cardiff City Centre and Cardiff Bay, was previously occupied by an existing health centre and local shops, together with a vacant area of land.

The area has been regenerated with the creation of new modern facilities to serve the local community, and include a new health centre, shops, affordable homes and community facilities.

The regeneration of Loudoun Square has helped transform one of the most deprived and ethnically diverse communities in Wales.

Cardiff Metropolitan University’s Cardiff School of Art & Design was awarded a prestigious Regional RIBA Award at a reception event hosted by the RSAW in Cardiff last Thursday evening.

Cardiff School of Art & Design follows on from the RIBA Award winning School of Management as the second major phase of work in the realisation of the University’s vision for the transformation of its Llandaff campus. The bold and striking new £10m building provides 8575m2 gross floorspace over four floors, catering for up to 1000 students.

The building accommodates the internationally recognised School, enabling the University to delivery their art and design courses  in a modern facility that brings together all of its interests in fine art, ceramics, product design, illustration, making, graphic communication and textiles.

The winning Welsh schemes will all go on to be considered at the national awards which will be held in June

Austin-Smith:Lord’s Cardiff School of Art & Design at Cardiff Metropolitan University’s Llandaff Campus is one of eight buildings that have been shortlisted for a Welsh Regional RIBA Award. The regional awards recognise an important contribution to architecture.

Austin-Smith:Lord was appointed as Lead Designer for the £10m new build Cardiff School of Art & Design, which is the second major phase of development at the campus, following the RIBA Award winning Cardiff School of Management.

The University’s aspiration was for an inherently simple to use and low energy building, delivering a high quality piece of design befitting of the School of Art & Design and raising the profile of the Llandaff campus.

The winners will be announced on 30th April.

It’s been a bumper week for RICS Award shortlistings for Austin-Smith:Lord, with three projects being shortlisted for the prestigious awards across three different regions.

Bridgegate Public Realm in Irvine has been shortlisted in the RICS Scotland Awards in the Regeneration category. This follows on from its recent BALI Award and various other award shortlistings, nominations and commendations. The project, which has helped stimulate increased footfall in the area and reduce the number of vacant retail units by 50%, is also currently shortlisted in the Scottish Property Awards.

Loudoun Square in Cardiff, a mixed use regeneration project which includes health centre, retail units, affordable housing and community facilities, has been shortlisted for an RICS Wales Regeneration Award. The regeneration of Loudoun Square has helped to transform one of the most deprived and ethnically diverse communities in Wales.

Shrewsbury Museum, the Grade II* Listed former music hall which has been sensitively restored and converted into a museum and art gallery for Shropshire Council, has been shortlisted in the RICS West Midlands Awards in the conservation category. Shrewsbury Museum is also currently shortlisted for a 2015 National Civic Trust Award.

The winners will be announced in separate awards ceremonies during April and May. We have our fingers crossed!

The £1.1m Skills Centre extension to West Lothian College has now been officially opened.

The project involved the construction of a 325sqm multi purpose workshop for the teaching of construction skills to respond to the increase in demand identified within the sector in West Lothian. The workshop is designed to be flexible to respond to market demands for courses within the industry including painting/decorating, welding, engineering and joinery work.

Feedback on the new Centre has been very positive from staff and students alike.

Photograph: Mark K Jackson Photography

Almost 300 people took part in the Brechin Design Charrette between the 4^th and 7^th February to help shape the future of their town.

Austin-Smith:Lord led the charrette team which also included Fergus Purdie (Architect), Douglas Wheeler Associates (Regeneration Consultants), Ryden (Property Market Advice) and Transport Planning Ltd.

The intensive 4-day consultation included workshops with local school children, a ‘futurewalk’ around the town, a traffic and transport walkabout, a workshop session for Brechin and Angus agencies,  a business and community workshop, and one-to-one discussions with the design team.

A range of exciting ideas came out of the charrette for key buildings and open spaces, including improved youth facilities for young Brechiners.

Public feedback sessions will be held on 19^th February in the Damacre Centre, Brechin at 3pm and 7-30pm.

The outcomes of the charrette will provide a long-term vision, action plan and framework for the future development of Brechin.

Visit the Twitter page @BrechinTalks for photos and more information.

Following on from its recent Civic Trust Award shortlisting, the Grade II* Listed Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery has been shortlisted for an RICS West Midlands Award in the conservation category.

The prestigious RICS Awards showcase the achievements of the most inspirational regional initiatives and developments in land, property, construction and the environment.

Austin-Smith:Lord was commissioned to sensitively restore and convert the Grade II* listed Music Hall, in the centre of Shrewsbury, into a Museum for Shropshire County Council. Since opening in April 2014, the Museum has proved to be increasingly popular with the local community and those visiting the area.

Still on track as one of the first BREEAM Outstanding schools in Wales, Ysgol Ffwrnes has completed ahead of schedule with staff and pupils moving in over the next few days.

Ysgol Ffwrnes is a new build 472 pupils combined nursery and primary Welsh medium school in the Furnace area of Llanelli. In addition to teaching space facilities include a badminton hall to Sport England standards and a flood lit multi use games area (MUGA).

Sustainability has been a key consideration in the design, with the aim of achieving a highly sustainable development. There are two different but connected aspects to this, a zero carbon aspiration and a BREEAM design rating of Outstanding.

All these factors create a truly sustainable school in social, economic and environmental terms. The most important part of that is the creation of a learning environment that the pupils, staff, parents and the community all enjoy using.

Every member of the team, including Austin-Smith:Lord, WRW, CB3 Consult, SABA Consult and Melin, worked collaboratively resulting in the delivery of the school ahead of schedule.

The team is delighted that the school is set to be one of the first BREEAM Outstanding primary schools  in Wales.