Adapt Reuse Transform

Adapt Reuse Transform

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Contents About us...

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Uplifting 6 Progressive 8 Respectful 10 Improving conditions on a post-war housing estate

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Giving new life to a Victorian icon

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A minimalist stair in a converted Victorian schoolhouse 34 A new mixed-use district in Gothenburg

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An office conversion in a historic quarter

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Flexible, adaptable, light-touch studio fit-out

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A folded stainless steel centrepiece

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About us...

Founded

2004

Located

Wapping, London

Team

35 strong

Awards Architect of the Year | Winner 2023 Architecture Today | Winner 2023 Civic Trust | Winner 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 RIBA National | Winner 2016, 2022 Housing Design | Winner 2014, 2015, 2018, 2022 New London | Winner 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021 Clients Argent, Lendlease, Peabody, 17 London Boroughs including Southwark, Westminster and Tower Hamlets, Get Living, Igloo, Backhouse, Be First, Pegasus Life, Pocket Living, British Land, The Skinners’ School, Kent College Canterbury, Dartford Grammar, Empiric Student Housing Frameworks Notting Hill Genesis, Southwark, Bloom, Clarion, Catalyst Peabody, Perfect Circle, L&Q, GLA A+U Panel

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Uplifting We create places people love We believe in the power of architecture to provide sustainable and inspiring places that everyone should thrive and benefit from.

Our strong social and moral purpose drives us to use our expertise as architects to make a tangible impact on people’s quality of life.

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Progressive We build for a positive future Our design approach is progressive, responsive to the changing world, continuously evolving but always underpinned by our commitment to create a better life for everyone in society.

We create beautifully crafted architecture that responds positively to its surroundings, that challenges convention and creates future legacy.

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Respectful Community, collaborators and the planet We pride ourselves on our proactive and enthusiastic approach to build constructive relationships with everyone we have the pleasure to meet.

We strive to make the process enjoyable and lead each project with a sensitive ear and collaborative mindset because we believe people make places.

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Improving conditions on a post-war housing estate Brooks Road Estate Following an open design competition our winning design was selected by Newham to regenerate an area of East London as part of the New Deal for Communities programme.

We worked in close consultation with residents, stakeholders and the local authority to provide a series of improvements to 230 dwellings, at a range of scales from estatewide improvements such as the redistribution of public and private space to small scale proposals such as the design of new entrance porches for individual houses. The first and second phases of the project were finalists in the Housing Design Awards 2007.

All of the homes benefitted from a package of measures to improve the living conditions for residents. These included new fixtures and finishes, low-energy lighting, new kitchens, bathrooms, new services, gas combi-boilers, double glazing and overcladding with insulated render.

Furthermore some homes were extended to provide additional bedrooms, increasing the number of family homes in the borough. The largest block comprised deck access to stacked maisonettes. To improve security and access new secure stair cores were added and the width of the deck increased. New canopies, lighting and refuse storage were also incorporated.

Our work involved extensive engagement with the community, and we came to establish a very good working relationship with many of the residents. This work was carried out while they remained in their homes and this was achieved by working closely with the contractor and residents, to agree careful sequencing and temporary works.

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Project

Brooks Road Estate

Location

Plaistow, Newham

Client

Newham Council

Project Cost Undisclosed Status Completed 2008 Awards 3R Award 2011 | Shortlisted Sustainable Housing Award 2008 | Shortlisted Housing Design Award 2007 | Shortlisted

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Giving new life to a Victorian icon Gasholder Park Gasholder No.8 is a Victorian gasholder, constructed during the 1950s from cast and wrought iron, that was once one of 23 gasometers that dominated the King’s Cross skyline as part of the Pancras Gasworks. The gasholder was decommissioned in 2000 and subsequently listed.

As part of the King’s Cross Central Masterplan, Gasholder No.8 was dismantled, refurbished, relocated and remodelled as a new pocket park on a new site adjacent to the Regent’s Canal alongside the Gasholder Triplets which have been remodelled as apartments.

In 2008 we won a design competition to remodel the Grade II listed Gasholder No. 8 as a new public space in the heart of King’s Cross. The proposal frames a central garden with a stunning mirror-polished stainless steel colonnade within the Victorian gasholder guideframe. The new structure provides a more intimate and contemporary counterpoint to the vast historic structure.

This fragile industrial icon was dismantled and removed from its site in King’s Cross and transported to Yorkshire where it underwent repairs, refurbishment and repainting. On completion it was carefully re-erected in a more prominent position adjacent to the Regent’s Canal.

In conjunction with Argent, Arup, Shepley and BAM Nuttall, we developed a detailed methodology for the dismantling, repair and re-erection of this incredible structure.

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Giving new life to a Victorian icon

Gasholder Park Within this imposing guideframe now sits the mirror-finished canopy which like a kaleidoscope, dramatically reflects the colours of adjacent planting, buildings, people and activity.

The delicate canopy is barely visible from a distance, allowing the guideframe to dominate, but from close-up takes on a kaleidoscopic quality, dramatically animated by the reflected colours, textures and activity of adjacent planting, buildings, trains and people. The new structure, encircled with planting by Dan Pearson, offers an intimate, calm and secluded space to escape the busy life of the city.

By night, the colonnade is dramatically illuminated, with vertical blades of cool white light extending up the edges of the columns. On the hour an eclipse passes from east to west across the light installation, briefly dimming the lights to total darkness before returning to full brightness.

These two structures now coexist, with the old reclaiming its place on the north London skyline while the new provides a peaceful, intimate public park within the everchanging urban context of King’s Cross.

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Project

Gasholder Park

Location

King’s Cross, London

Client

King’s Cross Central Ltd Partners / Argent

Project Cost Undisclosed Status Completed 2015 Awards Architecture Today Awards 2023 | Winner Civic Trust Awards 2019 | Commended RIBA London Award 2018 | Winner Architizer A+ Award 2017 | Special mention Lighting Design Award 2017 | Shortlisted Blueprint Award 2016 | Shortlisted New London Architecture Award 2016 | Winner FX Design Award 2016 | Winner Darc Award 2016 | Winner RICS Award 2016 | Shortlisted RIBA London Region Award 2016 | Shortlisted New London Architecture Award 2014 | Shortlisted

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“It’s simplicity at its best.

The location and the serenity of this new small park adds an invaluable asset to the growing community” RIBA Awards judging citation

A minimalist stair in a converted Victorian schoolhouse Lansdowne Drive This slimline folded staircase was designed for a private client in Hackney.

It connects the ground and mezzanine floors of a studio flat within a historic Victorian schoolhouse, with its minimal design increasing the sense of space and adding a sculpted, elegant form that forms a focal point for the space.

Alternative material coatings were exhaustively researched to identify a finish that had the depth, texture, richness of colour and tone to complement the existing building.

A 6mm steel sheet was folded and welded before being finished using the innovative process of spraying atomised brass directly on to the steel.

The brass finish compliments with the rough existing brickwork to create a dynamic meeting of old and new.

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Project

Lansdowne Drive

Location

London Fields, Hackney

Client

Private

Project Cost Undisclosed Status Completed 2016

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A new mixed-use district in Gothenburg District Bearing The site is a factory complex in the north of Gothenburg, comprising a series of beautiful industrial buildings alongside the river Savean.

It was originally built in phases during the first half of the 20th century and has been a focus for the working and cultural life of many people in the area, but the ball bearing factory has now been replaced by more modern facilities nearby. We have worked closely with Stena Fastigheter and Gothenburg City Council to develop a place-making vision for the future of the site, together with a framework to set out how this can be achieved. This work has been informed by researching the best examples of industrial regeneration projects in Europe, in parallel with a detailed assessment of the site’s history, fabric and context.

The development includes around a thousand new homes, a linear park alongside the river, and renovation of the most interesting existing buildings to provide workspace, cultural, retail and education facilities. The intention is to breathe new life into the site by revealing the history and character of the factory complex, making it an exciting new destination, and playing a pivotal role in the regeneration of northern Gothenburg.

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Project

District Bearing

Location

Gothenburg, Sweden

Client

Stena Fastigheter

Project Cost

Undisclosed

Status RIBA Stage 2

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An office conversion in a historic quarter 28 Lovat Lane 28 Lovat Lane is nestled in to a tightly grained historic urban quarter between the City of London and the River Thames in close proximity to The Monument. The building is located within the Eastcheap Conservation Area and adjacent to the Grade I listed St. Mary-at-Hill Church, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, and the Grade II listed No. 8 St. Mary-at-Hill.

The project comprised the refurbishment and extension of the existing commercial property to provide nine dwellings and commercial space retained in the basement.

The constrained site included numerous challenges including the close proximity of adjacent buildings, restricted access, a steeply sloping site, neighbouring heritage assets and low floor to ceiling heights.

By working closely with planning officers, the consultant team and stakeholders we were successful in extending the existing building with a new double mansard roof and incorporating highend apartments with excellent space and light despite the constraints of the site.

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Project

28 Lovat Lane

Location

City of London

Client

Lucrum Holdings

Project Cost

Undisclosed

Status

Completed 2015

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Flexible, adaptable, light-touch studio fit-out Metropolitan Wharf The fit-out of our new offices in Wapping was carefully undertaken to minimise the impact on the Grade II listed warehouse building. Free-standing partitions, shelving, kitchen and storage units constructed from naturally-finished plywood give a visual coherence and warmth to the open plan office space that contrasts with the white painted brick, timber and cast iron of the warehouse structure.

The plywood is complemented by other natural materials; galvanised cable trays and cork pin-up boards. The layout of the office emphasises the open, collaborative nature of the studio whilst providing different environments to work in.

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A folded stainless steel centrepiece Grove Park This dramatic stainless steel stair was designed for a private client in South London. The stair sits within a doubleheight hallway which is the centrepiece of a domestic refurbishment to an existing Victorian property that amalgamates two flats into a single duplex unit.

The stair is created from a complex geometry of folded triangular facets which appear to float effortlessly within the space. The stair has been conceived as a sculptural origami object folding up through the space. It is made of 6mm thick brushed stainless steel, pre-welded into three sections prior to being erected on site.

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Project

Grove Park

Location

Camberwell, Southwark

Client

Private

Project Cost

Undisclosed

Status

Completed 2014

Bell Phillips Architects Ltd Unit 305 Metropolitan Wharf 70 Wapping Wall London E1W 3SS 020 7234 9330 www.bellphillips.com