For the latest Supporter’s Column, Associate, Jonathan Mann, writes about the Charles Dickens’ book ‘Our Mutual Friend’ and the lesson it teaches about circularity and waste.

“For Dickens, waste is unavoidably ‘over here’. All characters are linked by exchange, defined by how they view that exchange. If this were just a tall tale about the ‘Golden Dustman’ and those at the centre of the story – rags to riches, money versus love – then it would be an 800-page one-liner. But it is a sustained meditation on value, self and how we interrelate, grappling with greed, corruption, society, class, and identity. There is plenty to think about regarding our cultural constructs of value, of what is ‘waste’ and what ‘treasure’. Circularity requires that we blur the two; in his contemporaneous magazine Household Words, Dickens did exactly that, publishing articles on reclamation, conversion and reuse, a world suddenly full of potential worth.”

You can read the article on the Architecture Foundation website.

Jonathan Mann is Sustainability and Compliance Lead and head of our Environmental Action Group.

Forest Road was awarded in the Medium Housing Development category at the Brick Awards 2024. The project was recognised by judges for its high quality and workmanship:

“Beautiful looking building, the wet cast stonework complemented the tint of the clay bricks. Excellently constructed brickwork especially the window surrounds and stone heads!” - Judges Comment

Designed for Pocket Living, Forest Road provides 90 affordable one-bedroom homes for local first-time buyers and makes excellent use of an under-utilised site, to provide 100% affordable homes. Inspired by the curved bay windows of the neighbouring William Morris Gallery, lintels are gently concave to catch soft shadows that animate with changing light. All precast elements are coloured to match the pink/red tones of Floren Vecchio brick. The material palette contains a mix of warm white, grey, plum, pink and red tones acknowledging the diverse colours of surrounding buildings, with a storey-height band of darker bricks - Floren Tartufo - forming a base to the building.

A special mention to brick manufacturer, Michelmersh Brick Holdings PLC for supplying our bricks (Floren Vecchio, Floren Tartufo).

Work at Dome House has begun on-site. Located at 48 Artillery Lane in Spitalfields, this project involves the adaptive re-use of a heritage asset to create flexible and low impact new workspace.

The building has a cranked roof with a glazed lantern atop to draw in natural light. A central circular staircase sits below the lantern and a domed ceiling. A modest rooftop extension will accommodate a new staircase leading to a plant enclosure and a roof terrace, with views over Artillery Passage Conservation Area.

A key aim of the project is to improve the building’s environmental performance. The strategy is to retain as much of the original building fabric as possible, whilst upgrading key elements to improve performance.

Director Fiona Scott will be speaking alongside Jaime Bishop in a discussion about the case for locating healthcare services on high streets and in town centres to maximise cross-cutting benefits both for the city and for peoples’ health. They will be at Healthy City Design 2024 at the Royal College of Physicians in Liverpool 15th-16th October.

Wednesday 16 October, 14:00
Session 29: ‘Locating health services in town centres: Applying urban design and data to maximise benefits’

Gort Scott’s Environmental Action Group attended the 14^th UK Passivhaus Conference, held at the University of Oxford. The team were incredibly interested in the progress the University has made on their new Passivhaus Humanities building, which is set to be certified as the largest in the UK. A Passivhaus Masterclass was headlined by a number of key speakers from the project team and set out the comprehensive technical challenges associated with the project delivery. As well as providing a practical insight into how to achieve Passivhaus at scale, the Masterclass outlined the critical role of good design team communication, effective information exchange and rigorous project reporting. It also provided an insightful record of the University’s journey, from a small aspiration to design to Passivhaus standards, to an eventual commitment to achieve certification. The conference provided critical information for Gort Scott as we commence concept design stages for a large Passivhaus Standard University building in 2024.

During the second day of the conference the team heard from several public sector bodies, who are in the process of setting out a clear strategy, to improve Local Planning Policy in the face of the climate emergency. Michael Jones from York City Council introduced their ‘Building Better Places Guide’ which commits to developing all new build housing to certified Passivhaus Standards. He provided invaluable insight into the council’s new high-quality housing developments, currently in construction at Duncombe Square, Burnholme Green and New Ordnance Lane. He was followed by Lewis Knight at Bio-Regional who set out an excellent strategy to help Local Councils improve upon National Planning Policy.

As the conference concluded, we were particularly interested in the more all-encompassing energy strategies that were presented by Paul Cross, for Oxford University Estates and Barbara Hammond for The Low Carbon Hub. Barbara talked at length on the importance of preparing at all scales for a decarbonised electrical grid. She outlined that electrical services in new builds could require 4 times as much space than current best practice, so designing from the outset to low energy Passivhaus Standards will be critical to maintain spatial efficiency and viability in the future.

The UK Passivhaus Conference provided Gort Scott’s Passivhaus Designers with an excellent opportunity for ongoing training, as well as a much broader insight into Net Zero Carbon strategies emerging across the UK.

Director, Fiona Scott was invited to London Real Estate Forum (LREF) to discuss Gort Scott’s work as masterplanning lead with the Mayor of London’s Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) and the making of a new urban district in West London: Old Oak.

Old Oak is a new canalside district of 9,000 homes and 3m sq ft of workspace, and will combine the existing industrial, culinary, and creative heartland of Park Royal, with innovative and entrepreneurial new workspace, retail, leisure and public realm, that’s fit for the future. The panel discussed the building blocks to create a lasting economic and social legacy, using core principles for inclusive growth and learning from success stories across the globe.

The panel was led by OPDC Development Director, Marianne Brook, with Fiona Scott, Michael Phillips (Jamestown), Cllr Shital Manro (LB Ealing) and Robert Gordon Clark (NLA).

Read more about Old Oak here.

Forest Road has won ‘Best First-Time Buyer Home’ at the Evening Standard New Homes Awards 2024.

“Praised by the judges for its generous shared spaces, its well-planned outside space, and high standards of architecture.”

Forest Road - located in the heart of Walthamstow - provides 90 affordable one-bedroom homes for local first-time buyers and makes excellent use of an under-utilised site, to provide 100% affordable homes.

Evening Standard New Homes Awards recognise and celebrates innovation and excellence. All entries under the category includes lower-priced yet outstanding starter homes that do not compromise on design, style or construction quality.

We are pleased to share news of our recent appointment with Girton College, University of Cambridge.

Gort Scott – working alongside J&L Gibbons and Price & Myers – has won a design competition for a major planned addition to the College. The 9,400m2 New Court project will be the most significant single building project on the College’s main site since its foundation, and will allow the College to accommodate a larger number of undergraduate and postgraduate students in the heart of the College, while improving conference and performance facilities, including an iconic auditorium. With an emphasis on sustainability, health and well-being and connections between people, buildings and landscape, Gort Scott’s successful approach draws upon the College’s inclusive ethos and rich architectural heritage.

Girton College has been a pioneering institution ever since its foundation in 1869 as Britain’s first residential institution offering university-level education for women: a bold step towards women’s full and equal participation in British political, social and economic life. Today the College is co-educational, and is one of the University of Cambridge’s largest colleges with around 550 undergraduate and 300 postgraduate students. The College’s founder, Emily Davies, sought a site with clean air within a natural setting on the edge of Cambridge. This enduring context, alongside the College’s strong sense of community and values of excellence, inclusivity and sustainability, has informed Gort Scott’s approach.

The New Court project will be the latest in a series of higher education projects by the practice including St Hilda’s College, Oxford and St Catharine’s College, Cambridge.

Gateway West has been shortlisted for the AJ Architecture Awards 2024 in the Workplace Project category (up to £50m). Gateway West is a new workspace building located on a prominent corner site in the heart of White City, West London’s new media, technology and creative industries hub. The project comprises: four storeys of office accommodation, including an internal delivery bay at ground floor to service both Gateway West and its larger sibling next door, Gateway Central.

The building is environmentally pioneering, driven by passive and long-life loose-fit design principles, aiming to reduce operational energy and whole life carbon whilst improving wellbeing. Gateway West is certified BREEAM Outstanding.

Gainsford Road in Walthamstow has been Locally Listed by London Borough of Waltham Forest. This project for Pocket Living provides 45 affordable one-bedroom homes for first-time buyers in Walthamstow, meeting the borough’s housing aspirations while making a lasting contribution to the area. With the challenge of creating a high density, cost-efficient block of flats in a low-rise area, we drew from the local context for rich design inspiration.

The ‘Local Heritage List’ is unique to Waltham Forest, and includes buildings identified by the public, local community groups, and the Council. No.47 Gainsford Road is recognised for being an example of high quality contemporary architecture, which reflects the borough’s Exemplar Design approach.

“Waltham Forest’s Local Heritage List celebrates the buildings and structures that have architectural, historical or cultural significance, which make the borough a special place with a distinctive character. The aim of the document is to highlight unique and interesting places, raising awareness about the borough’s history and the sites that are valued locally.” - London Borough of Waltham Forest.

3 Mills Studios was awarded Highly Commended at the AJ Retrofit & Reuse Awards 2024. Congratulations to the team!

3 Mills Studios is a retrofitted series of historic buildings in east London, delivering cutting-edge facilities for film and TV production. This project encourages the establishment of new business and employment opportunities onto the 3 Mills Studios site and the Bromley-by-Bow area, continuing the growth of film, TV and related industries in east London and contributing to the wider regeneration of the area.

We are pleased to share that Unity Place has been shortlisted for the RIBA Neave Brown Award for affordable housing. The four shortlisted buildings all demonstrate social housing that blends quality design, community regeneration, and meaningful social value.

Unity Place is a social housing scheme delivered in collaboration with Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios and Alison Brooks Architects, for London Borough of Brent. Our three modern mansion blocks replace two derelict 1960s towers, providing exceptionally high quality, bright and spacious homes, reintegrating the site and its communities into the wider neighbourhood grain.

Chair of this year’s jury, Astrid Smitham stated: “At a time when the UK sets out to build 1.5 million new homes, this shortlist highlights the importance of strong partnerships between clients and architects in delivering housing of the highest standard, which everyone deserves…”

Wonderful news for Unity Place, winner in the Affordable Housing Category at the British Homes Awards 2024. Unity Place marks the transformation of a derelict 1960’s tower block into 100% affordable, medium-rise development delivering 235 homes in South Kilburn, London.

Unity Place was designed in collaboration with Alison Brooks Architects and Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios (FCBStudios). Congratulations to the team, and to our client Brent Council.

We’re delighted to be part of the design team for Vestry House Museum, led by Studio Weave. The architecturally ambitious proposals are guided by a sustainable approach and care for the historic building, which aims to make as few changes as possible to allow the museum to flourish.

Appointed by Waltham Forest Council, the team has received planning approval for the proposed £4.5 million revitalisation of Vestry House Museum, having worked closely with the Council’s Culture team, local residents and community groups to develop the proposal which will transform the museum. Studio Weave has led a team including Webb Yates (Civil Engineering), Verity-Jane Keefe (Artist/Engagement), Gort Scott’s Sela-Jaymes Taylor (Conservation Architect) and Tom Massey (Horticulture).

The proposal adds new spaces including new creative workspaces and a café as well as caring for and adapting the historic buildings and gardens — increasing the museum’s capacity, expanding the displays and improving access. Read more in the Architects’ Journal.

Image courtesy: Studio Weave.

Starting on-site next month: The reuse and refurbishment of Silver Street public toilets in Cambridge City Centre.

The scheme includes providing a new above ground accessible toilet block alongside refurbishing the existing below ground facilities. The proposed public toilets take the form of a small, lightweight pavilion that sits atop a concrete base on Silver Street bridge. The filigree metalwork draws inspiration from the work of the silversmiths that historically occupied the street.

Being largely located beneath the street at river level, the existing facilities suffer from poor and congested access and are currently closed due to maintenance issues.

The proposed above ground structure occupies a smaller area than the existing toilets and contains a wheelchair-accessible toilet with baby changing facilities. A cylindrical rooflight draws natural light into the space below. The existing below ground toilets are rearranged and refurbished and a new stair enclosure provided at street level. The design is driven by inclusive values and an aspiration to support the needs of all users, from the organisation of space to signage and management systems.