Team trip to visit St Hilda’s College
Today, we’re at St Hilda’s College! This is the first time some members of the practice have seen the project on site, and it’s looking fantastic in the August sunshine.
Today, we’re at St Hilda’s College! This is the first time some members of the practice have seen the project on site, and it’s looking fantastic in the August sunshine.
What does ‘normal’ look like anyway for London’s diverse and ever-evolving high streets? Fiona writes for the NLA, speculating on the future of high streets and the opportunities and challenges that may come in defending urban life.
Reflecting on our recent High Streets Adaptive Strategies research project in partnership with the GLA, Fiona observes how strategies explored in the research have incidentally been catalysed in the unprecedented circumstances of 2020. It is important to use this period to reflect on the consequences of the pandemic – to identify where we have and can continue to make changes in relation to home working, transport and healthier streets. It is vital not to forget the value that comes from community, physical proximity and inhabiting public spaces – it is more important than ever to defend models of urban life when looking towards a sustainable future.
‘More flexibility and moving more easily between use classes, as well as mixing use classes and incorporating multiple uses within the same property will be crucial.’ Read Fiona’s contribution to the Architect’s Journal feature on high streets adaptability.
Our Architectural Assistant Olly Carter and Studio 7, London Met School of Architecture have won the Sustainable Project award, AJ Small Projects 2020, for the CASS Studio at Margent Farm, an industrial hemp farm outside Huntingdon practising regenerative farming methods.
Congratulations Studio 7 and to studio leaders David Grandorge and Paloma Gormley!
Photography credit to David Grandorge.
Following the launch of our High Streets and Town Centres - Adaptive Strategies publication, part of the GLA’s Good Growth By Design programme, Fiona writes in Building Design about how the most successful high streets are those that look beyond a narrow retail focus and move towards a diverse range of social, economic and cultural uses.
Today we launched our latest research document for the Mayor of London: High Streets and Town Centres - Adaptive Strategies, part of the Good Growth by Design programme.
The document has been a collaboration between Gort Scott, Hatch Regeneris and We Made That, and a number of London’s boroughs and partners across the capital.
It gives guidance that emphasises the public value of high streets and town centres, showcases the innovative work taking place to adapt them, and provides the necessary support for boroughs, developers, landowners and civic society groups across the capital to engage in London’s high streets and respond to the many local and global challenges they face. It makes clear that the future lies in collaboration and mission-orientated innovation.
As champions of retrofitting in architecture we are proud to demonstrate what can be achieved through creative reuse. Today more than ever it is crucial we approach construction differently and reuse where we can. As a result, we have an inspiring studio space that is both forward-thinking and deeply embedded in the industrial history of the area.
Watch Jim Stephenson’s film or read the AJ In Practice feature about our project 55 Leroy Street.