2023
To g e t h e r w e c a n . . .
Together we can... Welcome to the third edition of the GSS Annual, which gives us a chance to showcase the variety of projects that our team have been working on across the UK over the last year. In addition to working on some fantastic projects throughout the year, we have also celebrated some significant achievements, including the opening of our Leeds and Harrogate studios, and our Charity Challenges. We also hosted our annual Team Summer Event in June, with teams enjoying a relaxing day at Chatsworth House to celebrate their many successes over the previous twelve months, as well as our Christmas Party in Leeds in December. We continue to work on a wide range of sustainable projects and cannot thank our clients and consultant teams enough for their continued support throughout 2023. We look forward to seeing what exciting things 2024 has in store for the Practice.
GSS Team Challenges In September, teams from across our six offices got together to take on the challenge of hiking the Kinder Scout trail in the Peak District National Park. The 13.7km circular route took the teams up Kinder Scout and past Kinder Downfall, retracing the steps of the famous Kinder Scout Mass Trespass in 1932 - an act of wilful trespass by ramblers to secure access rights to open country for all to enjoy. This is just one of a range of team events our offices have participated in this year to benefit industry and local charities.
Net Zero Industry Innovation Centre
Project:
Net Zero Industry Innovation Centre (NZIIC)
Client:
Teesside University
Location:
Teesside, Middlesborough
The NZIIC brings together expert insight, resources, and partnerships to grow net zero capabilities and opportunities, placing the region at the forefront of the clean energy agenda and helping to create hundreds more clean energy jobs. A national centre of excellence, not only is the NZIIC an area for Net Zero development, but the building itself is classed as Net Zero and was constructed using suitable techniques and materials to minimise the carbon footprint, achieving a BREEAM rating of “Outstanding”. The project was further supported by the GSS in-house Carbon Reduction and Sustainability Working Groups.
Warminster Later Living Community
We have recently obtained planning approval for a new build later living community in Warminster, Wiltshire. The new holistic development has started on site and includes a 96-bed care home,
Client:
Durmast Ltd.
two extra-care buildings, a GP surgery and pharmacy, together with
Location:
Warminster, Wiltshire
a range of retirement bungalows set in the mature landscape.
Sixth National Office for GSS
As a result of the successful opening of our Leeds Collaboration Hub in 2022, we celebrated the opening of our permanent base in Park Row in Leeds city centre this year which will help us build upon our strong relationships with clients and consultants in the Yorkshire region. The fifth-floor office space provides a modern and flexible working environment that promotes collaborative working. In addition, our Harrogate studio has relocated to a new premises in the historic town centre.
Collingwood College Music Rooms Client:
Durham University
Location:
Durham, County Durham
We were appointed as architects to design this new custom music facility for Durham University. The Music Rooms include a state-of-the-art suite of recording spaces, together with a vocal booth, a live room, and a suspended ceiling of acoustic clouds, as well as a range of other specialist acoustic treatments.
Darwin Green Sports Centre
We have received planning approval for a new sports centre which is located within the Darwin Green 1,500 home sustainable urban extension in North West Cambridge and provides facilities for outdoor sports. We have worked closely with planners and other key stakeholders to design
Client:
BDW Cambridgeshire
Location:
Darwin Green, Cambridgeshire
a robust, modern centre which enables flexible use and for a variety of events to take place for both public and club use. The sports centre includes a range of changing and WC facilities, a storage area and a kitchen within the club room, which is designed to support sports and community events.
Glenvale Park Nursery
Project:
Glenvale Park Nursery
Client:
Glenvale Park LLP
Location:
Wellingborough, Northamptonshire
We were appointed as architects to design and deliver a new 75-place nursery as the first phase of a Public Square for Glenvale Park. The new educational facilities form part of the 3,000 home sustainable urban extension to the north of Wellingborough, Northamptonshire. The nursery provides a key hub for the new community, offering purpose built facilities and external play and learning spaces. We designed the nursery to incorporate a possible community hub extension which will provide facilities for the wider community to enjoy.
Heanor Hub Client:
Amber Valley Borough Council
Location:
Heanor, Derbyshire
We are working closely with Amber Valley Borough Council who have received a grant from the Future High Streets Fund to transform and regenerate Heanor town centre. The listed former Grammar School building will be restored and repurposed as a mixed-use development with business space aimed at local start-ups, community facilities, as well as a large hall ideal for performance and creative events.
Boarding House Expansion Client:
Rugby School
Location:
Rugby, Warwickshire
This project involved extension and alteration works to a collection of Grade II listed and historically significant buildings that form Whitelaw, a boarding house at Rugby School. The new extension within the courtyard has a modern aesthetic that improves the flow and use of the building and access to external social and learning spaces. The internal works have increased room sizes and now include accessible accommodation.
The Wateredge Inn Client:
The Inn Collection Group
Location:
Lake District, Ambleside
With beautiful views of Lake Windermere, The Wateredge Inn is a Grade II listed establishment located within the English Lake District World Heritage Site. The Inn has undergone a major refurbishment that now provides a tranquil setting for visitors and guests to enjoy whilst taking in the breathtaking views.
Across the road from The Wateredge Inn, The Waterhead Inn has
The Waterhead Inn
also undergone careful refurbishments to offer a greater visitor experience. We have worked closely with The Inn Collection Group to design the remodelling of this inn which includes an improved
Client:
The Inn Collection Group
bar and restaurant area and now offers higher quality guest
Location:
Lake District, Ambleside
accommodation, together with a greater number of rooms. The works retain the character of the inn and provide it with a longterm sustainable future, whilst keeping and reinstating its original features.
The Angel Inn Client:
The Inn Collection Group
Location:
Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria
Located within the English Lake District World Heritage Site, The Angel Inn is a Grade II listed inn, which, to enhance the visitor experience, has undergone a sensitive refurbishment of works to the bar, restaurant and the internal fabric of the building throughout, together with a new terraced beer garden.
The Knaresborough Inn Client:
The Inn Collection Group
Location:
Knaresborough, North Yorkshire
The Knaresborough Inn is located in a picturesque location on the cliffs above the River Nidd, and we were appointed as Architects to lead the hotel refurbishment works, which included upgrades to the bar, restaurant and bedrooms to allow for an enhanced guest experience.
The Tynemouth Castle Inn Client:
The Inn Collection Group
Location:
Tynemouth, North Tyneside
This 1930’s Art Deco-style hotel sits within the Cullercoats Conservation Area and has been sensitively extended and upgraded. The project included the construction of a two-storey extension in order to add an additional 20 bedrooms, as well as a single storey extension that houses the new fish and chip takeaway, ice cream parlour and bar area, whilst the external façades, seating and
landscaping
have
undergone
comprehensive
refurbishment to improve the overall experience for guests.
GSSArchitecture Team Summer Event Location:
Chatsworth House, Derbyshire
Essity Unifibres Building Client:
Essity
Location:
Northumberland
Once built, the new facility will become one of the UK’s most advanced wastepaper recycling centres, and will house the latest in paper-recycling technology, which will reduce energy costs and increase the centre’s ability to make household products from recycled fibre. The project has involved extensive BIM coordination with the production line manufacturers and design team and the new buildings will be more sustainable and efficient for the process operation.
James Barber House Client:
Faithful + Gould
Location:
Durham, County Durham
James Barber House, a former residential care home that now forms part of Durham University’s Hatfield College postgraduate accommodation, has undergone extensive renovations to fully transform the existing 45 single bedrooms and shared bathrooms to create en-suite accommodation, as well as providing improved kitchen and dining space and a lively common room.
South Central Institute of Technology, Bletchley
The South Central Institute of Technology (SCIoT) Bletchley is the third and largest SCIoT that we have delivered for MK College. The institute specialises in delivering technical and digital education, focusing on the specific skills that are
Client:
Milton Keynes College
required in the local area to help bridge skills gaps to drive
Location:
Bletchley, Milton Keynes
growth in Milton Keynes.
Health Innovation Neighbourhood Client:
Genr8 Kajima
Location:
Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne
We have been working in partnership with Genr8 Kajima, Newcastle University, and local stakeholders to develop a multi-million-pound masterplan for the regeneration of the 29-acre former general hospital site in the heart of Newcastle’s West End. The development will encompass a range of multi-generational living that will bring together world-leading academics, and industry, public sector and local communities to help find solutions to the complex challenges of an ageing population.
Hub for Digitally Enabled Care Everywhere Client:
Newcastle University
Location:
Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne
The Newcastle Hub for Digitally Enabled Care Everywhere is the first scheme to be delivered as part of the wider Health Innovation Neighbourhood regeneration project. The £45m flagship research hub will serve as a gateway project in Newcastle, accommodating research excellence in ageing, rare diseases, and diagnostics.
Bewiched Coffee Drive-Thru
The Bewiched coffee drive-thu is part of the first stage to be developed in the GSS-designed commercial and residential masterplan of Station Island which, once complete, will unify the 3,750 new homes at Stanton Cross and Wellingborough, including a new arrival at the railway station.
Client:
Decorum Estates
Location:
Station Island, Wellingborough
The new drive-thru is one of fifteen Bewiched stores that have opened across the Midlands since the first opened in Northamptonshire in 2010.
Teaching & Learning Refurbishment Programme Client:
Durham University
Location:
Durham, County Durham
Durham University has identified areas of opportunity where improvements to existing faculty buildings can support overarching aims to continue to stimulate scholarship, innovation, and collaborative study. We were, therefore, appointed to provide multi-disciplinary services to design a five-year refurbishment programme to provide fresh and interactive teaching spaces, and to improve comfortability for occupants.
Bosworth’s Garden Centre Client:
Bosworth’s Nurseries & Garden Centre Ltd.
Location:
Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire
We are leading the relocation and design of a new garden centre in Irthlingborough. The new site will have increased retail and catering space, together with a café and external seating as well as sustainable features, including storage and reuse of rainwater for plant watering, a ground source heat pump for renewable energy, and a wildlife corridor which will encourage biodiversity of the site.
New Boarding House Client:
Confidential
Location:
Confidential
GSS have been appointed by a leading independent school to design a new 60-bed girls’ boarding house. The House will be surrounded by gardens and will use architectural forms and materials that draw inspiration from the neighbouring conservation area and the School itself.
SPECIALIST IN-HOUSE SKILLS Graphics As a streamlined part of our service offering, 3DLABS is our inhouse digital design studio that specialises in CGI visualisations, virtual reality, 3D printing and marketing support services.
Sustainability Our in-house Sustainability Working Group is collaborating with industry leaders to research and develop the latest technologies and sustainable processes that can be incorporated into our designs as well as our own operations.
Carbon Reduction As a Practice, GSSArchitecture place great emphasis on considering both operational energy and embodied carbon when designing buildings and advising our clients. Our Carbon Reduction Working Group focus their efforts on how we can continue to reduce our carbon footprint through sustainable designs and innovative practices.
Heritage & Conservation Led by our in-house Architect Accredited in Building Conservation, the GSS Heritage & Conservation Team has significant experience in the conservation, alteration and enhancement of historic buildings.
Health & Wellbeing The GSS Health and Wellbeing Working Group work across the Practice ensuring that all of our designers have access to the latest research in this field, resulting in designs that support health, comfort and happiness.
Modern Methods of Construction Our Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) Working Group is responsible for developing strategies and research on the most appropriate MMC solutions for our clients and developments.
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