We are delighted to be able to announce that Adrian Evans, one of our senior Technologists and Associate of P+HS Architects has been awarded the CIAT 2011 Open Award for Technical Excellence in Architectural Technology for his work at Blaydon Leisure and Primary Care Centre for Gateshead PCT.

This prestigious annual award from the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists recognises technical achievement and has been running since 1994. It attracts international interest with previous winners including Benoy, Ferrari World, Abu Dhabi, and Nicholas Grimshaw and Partners, The Eden Project, Cornwall.

Commenting on his award, Adrian said:

‘I am delighted and immensely proud to receive the CIAT Open Award for Technical Excellence in Architectural Technology. The award recognizes the hard work, dedication and commitment of both the design and construction teams, who were instrumental in the successful delivery of this prestigious project, which has been extremely well received by the clients, building users and visitors.’

We learned on Friday that P+HS are once again named in Building Good Employers Guide as one of Constructions “good employers”!

Not only did we achieve inclusion as one of the top 50 in the country – we made the TOP FIVE….again!

Your support and commitment to P+HS is always greatly valued, as is your continued trust in the Directors,  but never more so than during the current, very difficult time for the profession.

We are delighted to be your management team and proud to be working with you.  Together,  we do make a crackin’ group of professionals!

Thank you from each of us.

The Yorkshire Post Environment Awards 2010 took place last night at the Queens Hotel in Leeds. There were a total of 89 entries, and in our category of Built Environment for Projects over £1M there were three projects shortlisted;

Morrisons Halifax, designed by Bauman Lyons
Safety Central, Bramley, a pioneering £3.5m safety education centre.
The Regional Agricultural Centre, at The Great Yorkshire Showground.

Presented by Hilary Ben MP and Julia Bradbury (of Countryfile fame) the title gives away the winner.

Along with Nigel Pulling, (YAS, Managing Director) and Heather Parry (YAS, Deputy Chief Executive) I was delighted to accept the award on behalf of P+HS Architects.
Photographs to follow (of me being hugged by Julia!)

Thanks again to all those who work on the project, not least Eamon, Mike & Dave.

A new building for one of Britain’s oldest schools, constructed off site by Portakabin subsidiary, Yorkon, has won the Building Schools for the Future Award at the Builder and Engineer Awards.

Designed by P+HS Architects, the Hubert Jones Science Centre at Christ College in Brecon provides facilities which are unrivalled in Wales, as part of a major commitment to help develop the next generation of young scientists.

The award recognised the project’s high quality design and how it applied education construction best practice to a scheme built off site.  The construction team successfully delivered an exceptional building that will inspire pupils to study science, and which is also highly sustainable and flexible.

The use of off-site construction ensured completion of the centre in just five months despite the challenging site, minimising any disturbance to staff and pupils. 16 steel-framed building modules were manufactured off site in York and craned into position during school holidays to further minimise any disruption to teaching.

Christ College was founded by Royal Charter in 1541 by King Henry VIII and has buildings on its campus, which date back to the 13^th Century.  Because of this and the building’s sensitive location in the Brecon Beacons National Park, the design incorporated local materials such as Welsh sandstone from Llangorse Quarry, together with render and timber cladding to complement the surrounding architecture.

The scheme also features a number of sustainable measures to minimise impact on the environment, such as solar water heating to reduce energy consumption, energy-efficient lighting, natural ventilation and daylight, and high levels of insulation to conserve energy.                                                                                                                    

The two-storey building expands the science facilities at this independent boarding and day school, bringing all the laboratories together under one roof and replacing an outdated 1950s block.

Two physics and two biology laboratories, a sixth form project room, and laboratory technician’s rooms are grouped around a double height central atrium that functions as an additional teaching area and exhibition space.  This central ‘street’ also allows pupils to move through the space at peak times and gather informally before and after lessons.

The building has been designed to be flexible and adaptable to change.  The internal walls are non load-bearing and there are clear internal spans of up to 12m, so the teaching spaces and laboratories can easily be reconfigured to meet the school’s changing requirements over time.

 

 

 

 

Having established that the Regional Agricultural Centre is a much loved development within local circles, it seems that national experts agree. The building has won an EG Green Award for sustainability: declared a joint winner alongside Cabot Circus (a £500m development from Land Securities and Hammerson), the Centre was highly praised by the judges for its ‘thoughtful design’. Not bad for a ‘small’ development!