World Architecture News is a web based international architecture magazine. It has some good stuff on it from time to time and it has awards in several categories. I was a jury member for the healthcare awards this year and think the shortlist and winners are pretty interesting. Have a look for yourself. .. Oh, and if you want to have something to pull my leg about next time you see me, also have a listen to my very first YouTube appearance! Wend
Congratulations to the team on the handover of Rivendale, a new Extra Care facility for Broadacres in Northallerton.
Photos courtesy of Doug Jackson
As part of achieving Breeam Excellent at the design stage for LINAC, the new radiotherapy centre Nottingham, a credit was gained for compliance with the 3% daylighting factor required for a typical 12 - 15sqm Consultant / Exam room. The photograph and sketch above illustrates the actual size of the window in relation to the room.
In this instance, the size and proportion of the window was governed by the fact that the room depth is greater than the room width, meaning that a large surface area of glazing is required in order to achieve 3% daylighting.
An alternative to this type of window which would still achive a 3% daylighting factor, would be to consider rotating the room by 90 degrees (so that the room depth is less than the width). This method would improve the quality of light transfer into the room and provide an opportunity for more interesting elevations in terms of external window fenestration. The down side to this however, would be the possibility of longer corridors.
We were recently short-listed for the international “36 The Calls Design Competition” run by the Architects Journal with developer Citu. After attending the final interviews on the 30th March, we have found out today we didn’t win. Entrants were asked to draw up proposals for an ‘iconic’ commercial building in Leeds, on a tight car-park plot on the north bank of the River Aire. The competition attracted around 95 anonymous submissions, including 20 from overseas.
Our idea was to keep the scheme as legible as possible with a building design that could be described conceptually as four simple elements:
The yellow skin has a dual role, acting as the superficial ‘iconic’ wrapping and contextualising the building with its form; it has been manipulated to reference the surrounding industrial roof-scape, and to dip down and connect the site with the water. The River Aire has played a defining role in the history of Leeds, and particularly The Calls. The connection is a stepped link that enables barges to moor up, creating a transport link, a summer garden or the start of a future walkway along the river.
The glass box creates a flexible space that the developer can inhabit as required. It encloses the floor plates without detracting from the strong form of the skin. The building could simply be office space, but there is potential to create a ground floor restaurant with a stunning terrace over the water and above there could be unique, luxurious apartments with balconies.
The core is a key element of the scheme: whilst the core physically links the building together, the services housed within it link the building with the surrounding site. The building draws/rejects heat from the river through a series of heat pumps to control the internal temperature. Pipes submerged in the water like roots rise up though the core, pass through heat-exchangers, and spread out under the floor screed at each level, forming a direct relationship between the building, its occupants and the water.
A new permitted development regime for non-domestic buildings came into force on 6 April 2010. Access guidance here [PDF]
This information was taken from the Planning Portal.
A new book, Primary Care Centres A Guide to Health Care Design by Geoffrey Purves is now available.
Published by The Architectural Press, this second edition does what it says on the cover and includes an outline review of the main issues in designing health buildings, international comparisons, the political framework, briefing, measuring design quality, art in health, and loads more. There are planty of floor plans and images (I know how you Architectural types love these) and of the 19 featured Case Studies, 2 are from P+HS: The Vermuyden Centre and Washington Primary Care Centre.
Anyone wanting to borrow the book, please see Diana who has an office copy.
It’s that time of year again! Here are the Leeds and London office entries for the annual egg-decorating competition. And the winner? Ryan’s lovely easter bunny, which beat off a number of less traditional entries including a whiteread-esque gelatine egg mould, a robot-spider egg, a crystal-encrusted egg, a P+HS graffiti egg, a trio of spiraling silver eggs and an intricately perforated egg-shell.
For the judges this year, conceptual art was soundly beaten by good old fashioned easter charm.
Decorated Eggs from Stokesley Office 2010
Following the P+HS tradition of showcasing our creative flair at Easter, the results are in for this year’s contest. A strong field of 13 entries (one not pictured) was judged by Director Joe Biggs who commented: ‘As ever the entries were all of an exemplary nature. Judging was an arduous but pleasant task and I consider myself to be privileged, and honoured, to have been selected for this important duty.’ Joe judged the entries against the criteria of Skill, Architectural Quality/Reference, Humour, and Effort, with consideration also being given to sustainability. Special mention was given to Kay’s skillfully knitted dog and also the best child’s entry from Sam Taylor, but the overall winner, with his detailed representation of the P+HS Phantom was James Pitchers. Congratulations to everyone.
The Winning Entry from James Pitchers
As part of BREEAM and guidance from ‘The art of good health - Using visual arts in healthcare’ document, I have created a set of A3 presentation sheets with Artists that have worked with P+HS in the past and a range of new artist have been created for future reference. It’s a starting point and one that can help for future projects.
These presentation sheets have been created following input from the LINAC arts coordinator Mr. Chris Potter and James Gordon.
Artist in this project:
Shona Kitchen
Julia Barton
Kisa Kawakami
Artist:
Shelagh Wakely
Arists:
David Harben
Blow Zone
GA Aquatic
These are just some examples of what we proposed to our client at Nottingham City Campus for the new LINAC Facility.
For those in P+HS interested in seeing all the presentation sheets please access our intranet and check out Operations / Technical page.
I’ve been wanting to look at this Urban Splash scheme for quite a while and a trip to see Michael Bourne’s Swan Lake at the Lowry enabled Mrs P and I to take in some architecture. Chimney Pot Park is a great example of how to make housing regeneration into Architecture. Very clever upside-down housing conversion of beautifully preserved streets in Salford. The rear alleys are turned into undercover and secure parking, with garden decks above. All fully occupied and the remaining streets just waiting for the end of the recession. Radical structural alterations see the roofs replaced by a steel structure, incorproating the kitchen hung inside the roof. All in all, very uplifting housing.
Some internal images from a 1:100 model showing the pedestrian entrance and main reception area of the building.
The PCT and GP receptions are located inside a suspended drum within the main atrium space, creating a dramatic space and sense of arrival for the visitor.
The scheme is currently progressing towards a full planning application date of early May this year.
Planning Minister John Healey has confirmed a package of planning system reforms saving developers time and money to help them complete building projects during the recovery have now been approved by Parliament.
Businesses that need to extend existing planning permissions to allow more time to build new developments will now pay significantly lower fees which, along with other measures to improve the flexibility of planning permissions, will help save up to £69m a year, giving a valuable cash boost for developers so they can keep investing in new projects.
New measures that enable businesses and homeowners to extend existing planning permissions without the expense and red tape of a new planning application were introduced in October 2009.
The fees for extending planning permissions are now being reduced so the fee for a major development that was previously as high as £250,000 will now be £500, the fee for smaller developments that was as high as £3,000 will now be £170, and for householder projects the previous fee of £150 will be reduced to £50.
Read the Dear Chief Planning Officer letter
Access the new Statutory Instrument
The Planning Portal’s PDF fee summary, which incorporates all the changes, and the online Fee Calculator, which incorporates changes to ‘other applications’ submitted under Schedule 1, Part 2 category 9(b), was updated on 26 February 2010.
Applications to extend the time limits for implementing planning permissions and non-material amendments are not yet included within the Portal’s online Fee Calculator, but will be incorporated when the applications can be applied for via the online service. Currently the forms can be downloaded from the Portal and are available below.
Non-material amendments form [PDF]
Time limit extension forms [PDF
The extracts above were taken from the Planning Portal News Round-Up dated 4th March 2010.
That’s how long Dave Delany has been contributing to the success of P+HS!
Dave joined the practice in 1985 joining Chris and Rowland as their first employee at 73 High Street Stokesley, and took possession of his brand new company car, a bright red Citroen 2CV! Sadly, the car didn’t survive with us as long as David has. (Irish manufacture as opposed to French perhaps!)
David was made an Associate of P+HS in January 2003 and has seen the Practice grow from just the three of them at 73 High Street to sixty of us across offices in Leeds, expanded offices at the Old Station in Stokesley, and more recently our office in London.
We wanted to take this opportunity recognize Dave’s contribution to the Practice and to simply say “Thank You” from all of us here.
P+HS are currently progressing early design development for a new medical centre in South Kirkby. Proposals include two GP practices, PCT areas, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Opticians, Gym, Cafe, and Library space (Approximately 4,200sqm of internal floor area).
The model shown has proved to be a useful tool for helping the end users and contractor understand the mass and form of the building (along side the plans) at regular user group meetings.
The sketch shown has been used for recent public consultation sessions currently in progress.
We are aiming for a Planning Application around March / Aprl this year.
