I’m an award-winning BA (Hons) Architecture (International) graduate currently working as a Part 1 Architectural Assistant. I have a strong interest in contemporary, innovative architecture that utilises progressive modern methods of construction, reimagines traditional building techniques and responds to environmental, social, and ethical concerns, all while remaining firmly rooted in its context.
Website Portfolio
billygower.wixsite.com/architecture
Information
Contact
Email - billytgower@gmail.com
Mob - 07725 130124
Tel - 01462 815627
Social Media
Instagram - @billygowerarchitecture
Pinterest - @billygowerarchitecture
LinkedIn - Billy Gower
Skills
Software Rhino
Grasshopper SketchUp
Revit
AutoCAD
Adobe Creative Cloud
V-Ray
Enscape
Work Experience
Sep 2023 - Present
Part 1 Architectural Assistant Michael Collins Architects
Education
2019 - 2022
University of Huddersfield School of Architecture
BA (Hons) Architecture (International) (RIBA Part 1) First Class Honours (78%)
2017 - 2019
Samuel Whitbread Academy Sixth Form A-Levels / Product Design (A*) Physics (B) Maths (B)
2014 - 2017
Samuel Whitbread Academy GCSEs / 10 GCSEs (4 A* & 6 A)
Located in West Yorkshire’s picturesque Holme Valley, this residential project overcomes a challenging site to form a home suited to a retired couple and their social lifestyle whilst facilitating their passion for music and cooking.
The restrictive nature of the site, a lengthy schedule of accommodation, and potential client mobility issues significantly dictated the design of the Holme Valley House. With the site measuring just 6.5m wide with a 5m change in level from the northwest down to the southeast corner, massing models indicated the only feasible way to fit every client requirement was to utilize the slope and spread the programme over three levels. The relationship between social spaces - such as the kitchen, dining, and living areas - was considered throughout the design process to ensure parts of the house did not become isolated when spread across the elongated floor plan and multiple storeys.
A portal steel frame structure provides stability against lateral wind loads from the valley and reflects the pitched roofs of neighbouring houses. The steel frame also enables the placement of large glazed openings throughout the building’s facade - offering views of the surrounding landscape, and supports cantilever and mezzanine floors that establish a vertical connection between living spaces on different levels.
A prefabricated modular Yorkstone curtain wall system and Douglas fir cladding integrate with the steel structure to envelop the building, resonating with the existing character of Holmfirth.
Project Typology Residential
Project Location
Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, UK
Date Completed 2021
02 / Living Room
/ Office
01
Aluminium flashing
Gutter
Steel beam
Douglas Fir cladding
Timber counter batten
Timber batten
Breather membrane
OSB
Insulation
Vapour control layer
Plasterboard with skim finish
02
Floor finish
Concrete
Composite metal decking
Open-web steel joist
Plasterboard with skim finish
Yorkstone cladding panel
Cavity
Steel beam
Stainless steel angle
Breather membrane
OSB
Insulation
Vapour control layer
03
Yorkstone cladding panel
Cavity
Breather membrane
OSB
Insulation
Plasterboard with skim finish
Floor screed finish
Stainless steel angle
Yorkstone
DPC
Rigid insulation
Blinding concrete
Compacted hardcore
Concrete raft foundation
Foundation blocks
Reinforced concrete footing
The Kampung.
University of Huddersfield
The Kampung is a homeless rehabilitation centre for the troubled district of Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur aiming to break the cycle of homelessness and overcome the social stigma towards the homeless community in the area.
The Kampung, named after a traditional Malay house that promotes community values and a deep connection with nature, strives to become a long-term solution to homelessness in Chow Kit rather than the short-term solutions offered by the city’s dehumanising shelters. The architectural programme of the building is divided into functions, each seeking to address the five main issues relating to homelessness - lack of affordable housing, poor mental and physical health, difficulty securing employment, sense of disconnection from society, and negative social stigmas.
The ground floor of the rehabilitation centre, built with locally sourced recycled brick, supports the primary structure - a bamboo glulam structural frame, a material abundant in the area. Inspired by traditional Malay houses, which display some of the earliest examples of modular construction and prefabrication through flexible construction techniques, The Kampung’s structural frame follows a regular 4.5m x 4.5m grid assembled using interlocking joints rather than permanent fasteners. This modular design offers flexibility in the shortterm with the ability to switch interchangeable prefabricated wall panels depending on the space requirements, and also in the long-term as the building can be extended easily or reconfigured to meet future demands - ensuring longevity.
Project Typology Rehabilitation Centre
Project Location
Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Date Completed 2022
[Re]home
Short-term emergency accommodation for the especially vulnerable, and medium-term accommodation to support those transitioning back into society.
[Re]habilitate
Sufficiently equipped healthcare facilities to provide homeless individuals essential support for both physical and mental conditions.
[Re]develop
Flexible/multifunctional workshop spaces and access to educational resources to aid homeless individuals in becoming more employable.
[Re]connect
Flexible social spaces that bring together disconnected individuals - giving them control over their own space and creating a sense of ownership.
[Re]inform
Multifunctional spaces for hosting public events to raise awareness of the injustices and struggles the homeless community face - with the ultimate aim of legal reform.
The Confluence.
University of Huddersfield
Located in the historic heart of York, this conceptual project explores the notion of an event by generating an architectural form derived from a physical site attribute - the confluence of the River Ouse and River Foss - creating a multifunctional exhibition space that engages the local community and creates a new node in the city.
Not only does the confluence of the River Ouse and River Foss have great historical significance, as it was the point at which York was founded, it also relates to the notion of an event - the convergence of multiple entities at a single point. To obtain graphical data used to generate the architectural form, a physical model simulating the confluence was created to map the movement that occurs at the event. Inspired by the design philosophy of Peter Eisenman and the Deconstructivist movement, a diagrammatic approach to form-finding was adopted and the graphical data collected from the confluence model was manipulated from two dimensions to three dimensions through a series of transformations. The resultant structure reflects the hydrodynamic characteristics of the confluence, creating an immersive visitor experience that is an event in itself.
A space frame was selected as the primary structure to bring the complex and organic nature of the architectural form from concept to reality. Ball joint nodes connect linear structural members at multiple angles in a double-layer triangular grid arrangement to resist the project’s unsymmetrical design and lateral wind loads whilst maintaining its unique shape. Prefabricated aluminium-zinc cladding panels are attached to the space frame via plates screwed into the ball joint nodes to seal the facade, and spider joints fixed to the steel tubes of the frame secure large areas of glazing to the structureallowing natural light to flood the interior space.
Project Typology Community Pavilion
Project Location York, North Yorkshire, UK
Date Completed 2022
Confluence Mapping
00:00:00:18
00:00:00:09
00:00:00:00
00:00:00:45
00:00:00:36
00:00:00:27
00:00:01:11
00:00:01:02
00:00:00:54
00:00:01:38
00:00:01:29
00:00:01:20
00:00:02:04
00:00:01:56
00:00:01:47
External Diagram
Generated from confluence mapping
Uniform Grid
Connects external diagram and site
Distorted Grid
Manipulated from 2D to 3D
Confluence of Ouse and Foss Site
Norton Road.
Michael Collins Architects
Designed in 1906 by Albert Randall Wells, a notable architect of the Arts and Crafts movement, the residential property on Norton Road is one of the early houses constructed in Letchworth Garden City. Originally designed for the sculptor and teacher Onslow Whiting, the property features an expansive studio space to facilitate his work - primarily cast bronze war memorials. In the early 21st century, following subsequent unsympathetic internal renovation works and the addition of a single-storey extension, the property was subdivided into two dwellings - detracting from its original character.
The proposals aim to reinstate the property as a single dwelling by reconnecting both wings of the house and garden through a simple architectural intervention. A new curved glazed extension carefully inserted between the original dwelling and later additions restores a sense of balance by introducing a new circulation space - allowing the property to function efficiently as one. Referencing Whiting’s sculptures, the contemporary addition utilises a bronze material palette that avoids imitating the building’s existing character and improves its legibility by creating a distinction between the successive phases of the building.
I have played a role throughout the project - including developing early design proposals, liaising with officers from the local heritage foundation, and preparing planning documents and construction packages.
Project Typology Residential
Project Location
Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire, UK
Status In Progress
Existing Proposed
Gracemount Mansion.
Michael Collins Architects
Once part of a larger agricultural estate in South Edinburgh, the land encompassing the Grade II listed Gracemount Mansion and its walled garden was subsequently developed during the 20th century into a large area of affordable housing - now accommodating the city’s most vulnerable communities. Prior to its closure in 2019, the mansion had served the community as a youth club, providing facilities for local events and acting as a hub for local residents. Since the pandemic, with years of neglect and vandalism, the mansion has fallen into a state of disrepair.
Through several sympathetic interventions, the proposals aim to carefully restore and celebrate the distinctive qualities of the building whilst making it a multifunctional space that serves the community and responds to its strong identity and spirit. Circulation and accessibility will be made more efficient by opening the basement area to the landscape via a new foyer. Meanwhile, maker spaces in a new roof extension, a gallery and events area, and a glazed winter garden create lettable spaces for local artists’ creative enterprises and community facilities. Alongside the masterplan and design development of the building and its grounds, funding from various heritage bodies has been secured following community and stakeholder engagement activities, business plan development, and funding applications.
My involvement in the project has included the development of the proposal in 3D and the preparation of various drawings and documents for planning submission.
Project Typology Community Masterplan
Project Location
South Edinburgh, Scotland, UK Status In Progress
Churchfields.
Michael Collins Architects
Situated in Hertford, Churchfields is a residential project comprising a three-storey apartment building and two affordable houses. The development is part of a design strategy to utilise the under-used former glebe land surrounding St John’s Hall, built in 1939 to serve the nearby All Saints Church, to ensure its future viability as a community facility. In addition to the church, several notable heritage assets are adjacent to the site, including the listed Harrison Almshouses featuring Dutch gables and intricate stone and brick detailing.
The proposals seek to avoid a pastiche approach that may harm the legibility of the relationship to the surrounding context. Instead, the development makes use of traditional materials and contemporary techniques that relate to the existing Victorian and Edwardian character of the area and celebrates its craftsmanship with decorative brick, highquality metalwork and tiled roofs. Referencing the appearance and massing of the large brick institutional buildings that define the southeast area of Hertford, the apartment building presents a simple formal presence at the front and is stepped in plan to break down the width of the building and reduce its visual impact on neighbouring properties. The pitched roofs and articulated chimneys create a sense of rhythm and vertical articulation in the manner of the adjacent listed Almshouses. Meanwhile, the housing is similar in scale to the adjacent mews houses, with each property defined through its gables.
My contribution to the project includes developing the design proposal in 3D and preparing various drawings and documents for planning submission.
