COMMUNITY HUB, ARCHIVE + LIBRARY, SWANSEA

Transformation of two vacant department stores in the heart of Swansea.

Community Hub, Archive + Library, Swansea

Austin-Smith:Lord has been appointed as Architect for the transformation of two vacant department stores in the heart of Swansea.

With the current decline of high streets across the country, the project will be an exemplar for the sustainable and creative re-use of large department stores, and will create a community hub that will be a destination, increasing footfall and activity throughout the city centre.

The project will involve the relocation of Swansea Central Library, West Glamorgan and Neath Port Talbot Archives, South Wales Miners Library, and other council and third party services to a central, easily accessible location. A hub will be created, greatly increasing inter-connectivity and collaboration between organisations, members of staff, and the Swansea public as a whole.

Extensive and detailed consultation with numerous stakeholders have taken place, entailing the careful coordination of often competing requirements in the development of the scheme.

Planning Approval was successfully granted early 2022. The project is set to complete in 2023.

LOCATION: SWANSEA

CLIENT: CYNGOR ABERTAWE SWANSEA COUNCIL

VALUE: £12M

COMPLETION: 2023
SERVICE: ARCHITECTURE, INTERIORS
SECTOR: CIVIC, ARTS + CULTURE
CONTRACTOR: KIER

STRUCTURES: JUBB
SERVICES: SDS
COST CONSULTANT: COREUS

CARMARTHEN HWB

Re-purposing of the redundant Debenhams department store building in the centre of Carmarthen into a new Hwb facility

Carmarthen Hwb

Austin-Smith:Lord was appointed by Bouygues UK to develop design proposals for the adaptation and re-purposing of the redundant Debenhams department store building in the centre of Carmarthen into a new Hwb facility.

Containing facilities for Hywel Dda University Health Board, Carmarthenshire Museum Service, University of Wales Trinity St David and Carmarthenshire County Council Leisure and Advice Services, the new Hwb will be a significant destination within the town, providing essential community services.

The ground floor will be dedicated to health and well-being with a major clinic and healthcare centre working with a 24 hour Gym operated by the Council’s Leisure Services team and the Advice Hwb providing client facing Council services.

The first floor will feature a publicly accessible Carmarthenshire Museum collection store, workshops and group activity rooms for community engagement. In addition, it will offer spaces for training and conference that will be operated by the University of Wales Trinity Saint David

The Hwb is an innovative and creative intervention by the Local Authority aimed at arresting the decline of retail activity in the town centre and generating new visitor numbers. It will be a catalyst for the regeneration and sustainable future of the retail heart of the town.

LOCATION: CARMARTHEN

CLIENT: BOUYGUES / CARMARTHENSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

VALUE: £20M

COMPLETION: 2024
SERVICE: ARCHITECTURE, INTERIORS
SECTOR: CIVIC
CONTRACTOR: BOUYGUES

STRUCTURES: JUBB
SERVICES: HOARE LEE PARTNERSHIP

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NISSI BEACH VILLAS, CYPRUS

Nissi Beach Villas Cyprus

Austin-Smith:Lord designed a number of high specification villas for Fastro Developments and SolTerra on the last beach-fronted site in Ayia Napa. Located to the East end of Nissi Beach the site has stunning views of the Mediterranean Sea. As the brief called for exclusive properties, privacy was central to the development of the designs.

The decision was made at the start of the project to organise each plot around a pool and sheltered gardens, with an essentially L-shaped floor plan, the orientation of which was established through solar studies to achieve maximum daylight for the private external spaces as well as the main outlook from the principal reception and bedrooms. The villa forms a protective barrier for the private external space, with its external façade evolving into a thick curved concrete wall, reflecting traditional local structures and forming a distinctive street presence.

LOCATION: CYPRUS

CLIENT: FASTRO DEVELOPMENTS

VALUE: NOT DISCLOSED

SERVICE: ARCHITECTURE, INTERIORS, LANDSCAPE
SECTOR: RESIDENTIAL

LANDSCAPE: AUSTIN-SMITH:LORD

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WHITEHAVEN HARBOUR CUMBRIA

41 care-ready flats, providing fully accessible one and two bedroom homes and a range of communal facilities

Whitehaven Harbour Cumbria

The Whitehaven Harbour development is a pivotal project in the implementation of ‘Britain’s Energy Coast’, providing improved business accommodation and high quality housing on a prominent site along Cumbria’s Coastline.

The development offers an opportunity to continue the regeneration of this former working port which has been transformed into a thriving leisure marina over the past decade. Austin-Smith:Lord was awarded second place in this RIBA Open International Design Competition which attracted 139 entries.

LOCATION: WHITEHAVEN

CLIENT: MAGNUS HOMES

VALUE: £10M

COMPLETION: COMPETITION 2011
SERVICE: ARCHITECTURE
SECTOR: RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL

STRUCTURES: CURTINS 
SERVICES: CUNDALL
COST CONSULTANT: GARDINER & THEOBALD

AWARDS: 2011 RIBA COMPETITION, PLACED 2ND

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MILKWOOD ROAD LONDON

Milkwood Road London

Austin-Smith:Lord worked with Pocket Living to design contemporary, stylish, intermediate-affordable homes for Londoners to buy on a number of different sites. For this long, narrow brownfield site that backs directly onto Network Rail land in Lambeth, South London, Austin-Smith:Lord proposed 48 units in a mix of modular one-bedroom Pocket units, socially rented and private-sale housing types, broken into three distinct building volumes.

Each block establishes its own geometry and landscaped spaces in response to the changing conditions along the triangular strip of land, but the three share a common material treatment of dark, semi-glazed brick and full-height bronze anodised windows. Together, the group will connect the derelict site with the local community, possibly for the first time in its history.

LOCATION: LONDON

CLIENT: POCKET LIVING

VALUE: £4.8M

COMPLETION: PLANNING 2011
SERVICE: ARCHITECTURE, INTERIORS
SECTOR: RESIDENTIAL

COST CONSULTANT: POCKET LIVING

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STORE STREET MANCHESTER

Store Street Manchester

Construction of this elegant, crystalline 35-storey tower and its companion seven-storey block would make a dramatic statement about Manchester’s economic and environmental renewal.

We achieved planning permission for the development, which will create 384 apartments and 2,000m2 of commercial space in the former industrial hinterland around Piccadilly Station.

Both buildings will be wrapped in sheer glass skins that allow each apartment to enjoy a fully glazed timber-clad balcony. This buffer space provides tempered natural ventilation and reduces heat gains and losses – simple, low-technology, passive measures that reduce the carbon footprint of the development.

LOCATION: MANCHESTER

CLIENT: TIME AND TIDE LTD

VALUE: £50M

COMPLETION: PLANNING 2007
SERVICE: ARCHITECTURE, LANDSCAPE
SECTOR: RESIDENTIAL

LANDSCAPE: AUSTIN-SMITH:LORD
STRUCTURES: WSP
SERVICES: FABER MAUNSELL (AECOM)
COST CONSULTANT: THOMAS & ADAMSON

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BANANA ISLAND VILLAS

Banana Island Villas

We were commissioned to design three villas in the affluent Banana Island neighbourhood of Lagos, Nigeria. Our design drew inspiration from the traditional forms of housing in South West Nigeria which are typically organised around courtyards which are the communal heart of the dwellings.

We introduced passive solar design measures in the design to minimise heat gain and reduce energy demand for cooling. Swimming pools are included in the design and have been located in the courtyards to help provide evaporative cooling.

LOCATION: BANANA ISLAND, NIGERIA

CLIENT: PRIVATE DEVELOPER

VALUE: CONFIDENTIAL

COMPLETION: 2019
SERVICE: ARCHITECTURE, INTERIOR DESIGN
SECTOR: RESIDENTIAL

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MANOR HALL GARDENS, LONDON

Manor Hall Gardens, London

This development of an old garage site will provide a 3-storey apartment block with 10 affordable dwellings designed to the highly energy-efficient Passivhaus Standard.

Existing buildings in the immediate context are residential and are predominantly 2-3 storey, albeit with a taller, 5 storey apartment block to the north of the site.

LOCATION: LEYTON, LONDON

CLIENT: L&Q

VALUE: TBC

COMPLETION: ONGOING
SERVICE: ARCHITECTURE
SECTOR: RESIDENTIAL
CONTRACTOR: TBC

STRUCTURES: TBC
SERVICES: TBC
COST CONSULTANT: TBC

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PEARL HOUSE ADAMSDOWN SUPPORTED LIVING, CARDIFF

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Pearl House Adamsdown Supported Living, Cardiff

An urban infill development, by Cardiff Council, to provide accommodation and support for young adults with complex needs. The £1.8m scheme will provide new homes for young people between the ages of 16 and 21.

The key objective is that through the combination of high quality housing, and dedicated round the clock support, the scheme will help residents to progress to live independent lives in permanent accommodation.

LOCATION: CARDIFF

CLIENT: CARDIFF COUNCIL HOUSING DEVELOPMENT

VALUE: £1.8M

COMPLETION: ONGOING
SERVICE: ARCHITECTURE, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
SECTOR: RESIDENTIAL
CONTRACTOR: TBC

LANDSCAPE: AUSTIN-SMITH:LORD
STRUCTURES: QUAD CONSULT
SERVICES: DRAC CONSULTING
PLANNING CONSULTANT: LRM

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TROWBRIDGE MAWR RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT, CARDIFF

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Trowbridge Mawr Residential Development, Cardiff

We were appointed by Cardiff Community Housing Association to develop a design for 34 new-build social rented homes at land off Trowbridge Road in Cardiff. Located alongside the unique context of Gwent Levels’ Site of Specific Scientific Interest, the scheme design creates a place with a strong sense of identity defined by its positive and sensitive relationship to its natural setting.

The layout of the development will provide most homes with views over the pleasant greenery of the preserved and enhanced wooded areas and hedgerows as well as the newly created green open space featuring a pond and stretches with native species of reeds and grasses.

LOCATION: CARDIFF

CLIENT: CARDIFF COMMUNITY HOUSING ASSOCIATION

VALUE: £6.5M

COMPLETION: ONGOING
SERVICE: ARCHITECTURE, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
SECTOR: RESIDENTIAL
CONTRACTOR: TBC

LANDSCAPE: AUSTIN-SMITH:LORD
STRUCTURES: SMART ASSOCIATES
SERVICES: DRAC CONSULTING
COST CONSULTANT: BLAKE MORGAN

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