GSSArchitecture is a national, award-winning architectural practice with a dynamic and forward-thinking approach. Operating across the whole of the UK, with offices located in Kettering, Gloucester, Harrogate, Leeds, London, Milton Keynes and Newcastle, we specialise in projects where a collaborative approach is required.
We design tailored architectural solutions and place sustainability and inclusivity at the heart of our design ethos. Our project experience includes a diverse range of public and private sectors from inception through to completion, all of which are supported by inhouse specialist divisions, including Graphics and Conservation and Heritage.
Together, we can bring your vision to life.
hospitality
Over the years, GSSArchitecture has established a robust presence in the hospitality sector, with a portfolio that demonstrates creative, efficient and inviting environments for the guest.
Our work spans a wide range of project types, from state-of-the-art new build facilities to challenging refurbishment and remodelling schemes within listed buildings, conservation areas and national parks.
Our projects within the hospitality sector have been delivered for a number of different clients and operators. We understand each client has unique requirements, briefs and branding, as well as their own aspirations for their guests’ experience. These can range from a contemporary wellness retreat, woodland lodges, or modern business hotel to an Inn with rooms.
The Tynemouth Castle Inn
The Tynemouth Castle Inn is an iconic structure in the North East and now benefits from a refurbishment and extension.
The designs pay homage to the original architect by restoring the hotel’s Art Deco heritage and include uncompromised views of the seafront with Juliet balconies to the new bedrooms. The flagship hotel sits within the Cullercoats Conservation Area and has been sensitively extended and upgraded to bring the venue back to its former glory whilst offering more varied and higher quality hospitality.
A two-storey extension allows the site to now offer over 70 bedrooms, together with extensions to house Oswin’s a new fish and chip takeaway, and Cones ice cream parlour fronting onto Grand Parade.
There is now a fully refurbished and extended kitchen which serves the enhanced bar and restaurant areas, as well as improved external facades, seating, and landscaping to enhance the overall appearance and experience for guests of the bar and hotel.
GSSArchitecture are working closely with hotel operator, Kymel, to transform the former Country House Hotel site in Kirklevington into a prestigious five-star hotel and spa.
The proposals detail a number of new additions to the site, one of which is a luxury spa building located to the east of the main hotel which will house a relaxation area, treatment rooms, a swimming pool, steam rooms, saunas, exercise studio and a restaurant. The introduction of eight walled garden lodges and twenty woodland lodges rounds-off the plans - these are proposed to sit in the western woodland area of the site providing a unique experience and discreet privacy for guests.
Mercure Bridgwater Hotel, Somerset
GSS have been appointed to design the five-storey extension to the existing Mercure Bridgwater Hotel in Somerset to create 36 additional guest bedrooms located on the four upper floors. The extension will also house ground floor commercial space, including a 200-seater function room with associated facilities.
The 4-star hotel is conveniently set in the heart of the historic town and is in close proximity to the M5. The extension will create a similar aesthetic to the existing building, but will incorporate the upgraded external materials required to meet current building standards.
Estelle Manor Luxury Accommodation
We were appointed to design and deliver new guest woodland cottages and English style country houses set in the 85-acre Oxfordshire estate of Estelle Manor. The luxury accommodation has been designed to ensure the architecture integrates well into the natural surroundings of the historic estate and woodland areas.
The project involved a high level of coordination at all levels to execute the project to an extremely high standard both internally and externally, including interior design services. A well considered and thought-out array of high quality materials and antique furnishings was carefully selected to create warm and comfortable spaces that cater to all guests.
The Ullswater Inn
The Ullswater Inn, acquired by The Inn Collection Group in 2022 as the former Glenridding Hotel, sits within the English Lake District World Heritage Site, and local conservation area. With parts of the building dating back to the 1860s, the renovations have been carefully designed and completed to sensitively upgrade and improve the historic building and provide it with a sustainable long-term future.
The inn now includes a new canopied entrance as well as improvements to the external facades, including sympathetic window and roof replacements and new signage to improve the overall appearance and experience for guests. In addition, the existing bedrooms have undergone refurbishments, and the spa area has been removed to create further bedspaces. Upgrades to the Inn’s hospitality services including the restaurant and bar have further improved the offering for guests and visitors alike.
Ideally placed on the Lytham St Annes seafront, Offshore, a stunning redevelopment of the old Lindum and Carlton hotels, has undergone an extensive refurbishment.
Now boasting 98 bedrooms which include premium sea-view rooms, dog-friendly suites, and accessible accommodation, Offshore is a venue offering a fantastic guest experience for those wishing to enjoy this part of Lancashire. The new single storey extension has created extra bedrooms, together with a new bar and restaurant area, as well as additional seating outside with a canopied terrace for guests to enjoy.
This complex project involved the consolidation and combination of two existing properties, resulting in an increased number of rooms and cover spaces in their food and beverage offer, which The Inn Collection Group are known for.
The Waterhead Inn, Ambleside
Located within the English Lake District World Heritage Site, The Waterhead Inn has undergone careful refurbishments to offer a greater visitor experience. Guests can now benefit from a much larger bar and restaurant, and higher quality guest accommodation with new additional bedrooms.
We have been leading the designs with The Inn Collection Group, who acquired the hotel in 2022, to create a well-positioned future for the Inn, whilst retaining its character and keeping and reinstating its original features.
Opposite Waterhead Pier, the Inn is an easy stroll from Ambleside centre and ideally placed in the stunning Lake District and, with the new and improved renovations now complete, is set to attract many people.
The Wateredge Inn, Ambleside
Located within the English Lake District World Heritage Site, The Wateredge Inn has undergone careful renovations to offer a greater visitor experience. Guests can now benefit from a refurbished bar and restaurant, and higher quality guest accommodation with new additional bedrooms.
We have been leading the designs with The Inn Collection Group, who acquired the hotel in 2022, to create a well-positioned future for the Inn, whilst retaining its character and keeping and reinstating its original features.
Only a short stroll away from The Waterhead Inn, the hotel is an easy walk from Ambleside centre and ideally placed in the stunning Lake District and, with the new and improved renovations now complete, is set to attract many people.
The Knaresborough Inn
The Knaresborough Inn is located in a picturesque location on the cliffs above the River Nidd. We were appointed as Architects to lead the refurbishment works to the hotel, which included upgrades to the bar, restaurant and bedrooms to allow for a greater guest experience.
The works have retained the character of the Inn and are sympathetic to its surroundings, providing the building with a sustainable long term future whilst keeping and reinstating its original features.
services, specialist teams & procurement
Our work includes the full range of services covering architectural design, feasibilities, 3D graphics and animation, interior design, estate strategies, conservation and heritage, principal designer and one-stop-shop.
Our specialist in-house teams are collaborating with industry leaders to research and develop the latest technologies and processes that can be incorporated into our designs.
Professional services frameworks have become increasingly important over recent years as a method to engage construction professionals in a way that ensures compliance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and that promote a more streamlined way of partnering in the longer term.
As a practice, we have secured positions on a range of established, Find a Tender (OJEU replacement) compliant formal frameworks, which enables easier, quicker and cheaper procurement routes for our clients.
3D Graphics / Animation
As a streamlined part of our service offering, 3DLABS is our in-house digital design studio that specialises in CGI visualisations, 3D printing and marketing support services. They offer these services to communicate our clients designs, concepts, products or services to a wider audience, allowing them to be represented in the most visually appealing medium.
3DLABS have been offering these services for nearly a decade, gathering a diverse client base with their own unique needs and requirements.
The studio is made of a highly skilled team, led by their Studio Manager who has over 15 years of industry experience. He is supported by a team who each bring their own passions and specialisms, with photorealistic renders, interior design, graphic design to name a few.
Interior Design
In recent years, there has been an increased awareness of how the built environment can impact health and productivity, and its added benefits to help institutions flourish. Organisations are now focusing their efforts on how to use the built environment for mental health and wellbeing by encouraging choice, movement and relaxation, controlling temperature, noise levels and air quality, ergonomic furniture, plants, and adding breakout areas. These are all fundamental components of good interior design.
Our interior design services include interior layouts and drawings, internal elevations, room data sheets, space planning and interior architecture, furniture selection and accessories, custom furniture and textile design and colour palette consultation.
Estate Strategies
Estate Strategies are critically important documents to have in place to provide a framework and direction for how an estate needs to grow and evolve to support you in delivering your strategic objectives. Estate strategies are important to a number of our higher education clients for example, and we have worked with a number of UK based universities to help them define their strategies.
Good strategies can add value to other large estates such as landed estates or multi-academy trusts. Our teams have the depth of skills and experience in-house to work with you and your estates teams to consider whole estate strategies and how individual projects might fit into the ‘bigger picture.’
Heritage
If you are an owner or custodian of buildings with historical significance, we can help to understand your properties, advise on the best techniques to care for them and make sensitive changes that will mean your heritage assets are both successful and sustainable.
Whether a simple Grade II* listed house or a complex World Heritage Site, all heritage assets have their own story and unique value, and getting the right advice from a well-qualified, specialist team can really make the difference.
Principal Designer - CDM
The importance of the Principal Designer - Construction Design and Management (CDM) role should not be underestimated and the skills that make a good Principal Designer should never be omitted from a development project. Fundamentally, a good Principal Designer helps to ensure that everyone involved in construction stays safe during the course of their work and complies with the statutory duties, and we often provide this service on schemes where we have also been appointed as Architect and/or Lead Consultant.
GSS can give you the confidence of knowing that our organisational approach to Health and Safety is led from partner level, ensuring that all our teams receive regular training, making certain that processes are in place to plan and manage health and safety throughout the project and helping to protect everyone’s health and safety.
Principal Designer - BR
The appointment of a Principal Designer – Building Regulations (BR) is required for all construction projects, from small domestic extensions to complex multimillion-pound developments. If your project is classed as a ‘Higher-Risk Building’ under the Building Safety Act 2022, then additional requirements apply.
Our Principal Designers have undergone competency assessments in line with PAS 8671 requirements and will be able to assist and guide you in navigating your legal duties under the Building Safety Act 2022. They will ensure that you fully understand your duties before any design work commences.
One Stop Shop
Successful construction projects rely on the right balance between design and project control, including project and cost management. We can offer you a streamlined consulting service bringing together all of the design team partners that you need from across our network of approved supply chain partners.
Using a one stop shop service is not right for everyone, but it can mean that you benefit from a single point of contact for your integrated design team. Our teams will use their construction knowledge and cost planning experience to offer expert advice on construction approaches and procurement options. This begins from the very initial feasibility testing of a project, right through until the handover of the completed building.
All successful partnerships are founded on taking a truly collaborative approach to achieving common aims and objectives. Clear communication is therefore an essential part of collaboration, alongside developing and nurturing a culture of working together as one team. GSS have a successful track record of achieving excellent outcomes through working collaboratively and we can draw on our experience and lessons learned over the years to encourage and drive collaboration.
Net Zero Carbon
Many of our clients have set Net Zero Carbon or Carbon Neutral targets for their buildings and estates through either decarbonisation of their current estate or through targeting Net Zero Carbon in new buildings or investments.
We are also on our own route to becoming Carbon Neutral by 2030, a target which, although complex and challenging, we believe to be realistic and genuine.
Health and Wellbeing
There is an increasing awareness of how our environment can affect our physical and mental health and the impact that this has on our productivity and wellbeing. The Covid pandemic has reinforced the importance of good mental and physical health for everyone in society and there is an increased focus on the need for more human-centred, sustainable environments that support the people who work and live in them.
We understand that good design is at the centre of this and has real power to improve peoples’ lives and support organisations, delivering places that support health, comfort, and happiness. The quality of environment can help to reduce staff turnover, improve outputs, and attract new people to an organisation.
Our designers are trained to look at how new and existing buildings, and external spaces, can deliver high quality places that is not only functional, adaptable, and efficient but is also welcoming, inclusive and supportive.
Architects Lead Consultants Masterplanners KETTERING GLOUCESTER LEEDS HARROGATE
