Charles was invited by Max Kyte and the Kyte Property team onto their podcast – Losing The Plot.
The two sat down to have an honest conversation on the powers of a strong team, commerciality and using architecture to create opportunities and value.
Listen to the full episode of Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube.
GPAD receives planning approval for Pellatt Road, the transformation of an underutilised piece of land opposite Preston Road Sports Ground into a vibrant and characterful new residential development in the heart of Wembley.
The design approach is rooted around the original Metroland ethos, with homes set within abundant greenspace amenity, whilst drawing architectural inspiration from exemplar modernist buildings within the borough.
The low-carbon proposal features 13 generously proportioned dual–aspect homes that widen the offer available locally and support a community of all ages. Homes that will be environmentally responsible, with carefully selected enduring materials, super–insulated and with on-site renewables to deliver sustainable homes that are cheap to run.
The sculpted form addresses the sports ground in the spirit of the pavilion which once stood on the site. Itresponds to, and acknowledges, its proximity to neighbouring homes with articulation offering further space for planting and retention of existing trees. The proposed design strengthens connections to the sports ground through the introduction of a series of south–facing garden terraces that sensitively tier down to mediate between the building and open space to create a distinct vertical green profile that also contributes to the scheme’s 10% Biodiversity Net Gain.
The new pavilion building celebrates its prominent position as a gateway into the wider estate with its striking appearance acting as a visual landmark for the surrounding community. Externally, a soft white brick is used for its durable quality and provides a neutral backdrop for the diverse planting that will be introduced. The simplicity of the material palette, reminiscent of Wembley’s modernist architectural heritage, is elevated with playful brickwork patterning at the top of the building and at ground to distinguish the entrance.
Architects View:
A key concept at the outset of the project was to provide meaningful, high-quality amenity for the residents in-line with LB Brent’s aspirations. This ambition has directly influenced the massing approach to the building, with stepped terrace gardens not only breaking up the mass of the building and mitigating overshadowing, but also providing areas for cascading planting and a fantastic space to socialise with your neighbours overlooking the adjacent sports ground.
The challenge of retaining an existing mature tree became an opportunity for the building to sensitively respond to its geometry in harmony with the sculpted language of the proposal. The gently scooped walls allow the building to appear slender and more elegant when viewed within the townscape.
It was a pleasure to work with a brilliant team, design-led client and positively engaged local authority to transform this tricky site into a place that residents will be proud to call home, through bold but thoughtful design.
– Alex Mann, Architect at GPAD
In 2020 we received planning permission from Islington Council for the construction of a new 30,000sqft office building in the Clerkenwell Green Conservation Area on a site fronting Clerkenwell Green. Like many projects over the last few years, the economic climate meant the possibility of constructing the building looked limited.
We have worked hard with a top consultant team to optimise the scheme, targeting an efficient design and construction approach that drives down cost and a building that maximises efficiency and value through quality.
The planning approval for key changes to the original consent, which include the core location; extent of terracing and entrance sequence, unlocking value and rebalancing the viability. We are looking forward to getting into more detail and (hopefully) building this scheme.
We’ve received planning approval for the remodelling of the façade at 149 – 151 Oxford Street. The design will enhance the retail frontage and improve the street presence, while concurrently working towards decarbonising the retail space.
We’re excited to move on to the next phase of the project, testing material samples for the faience finishes where we will be using a custom mould based on the column profile with different colour combinations. Working with the same colour input, we are experimenting with the order in which they are applied, which causes different reactions between the pigments.
The first round of colour samples showed the importance of testing before ordering, we value this hands-on approach, carefully fine-tuning our designs to ensure every detail is carefully considered. Looking forward to sharing more on this process over the coming months.
Located Northwest of Hamstead Heath and adjacent to the Hampstead Garden Suburb Conservation Area in Barnet, the site is occupied by an NHS doctors’ surgery, owned by the doctors who run and work in the facility. The existing building is not inclusive or accessible, nor does it meet modern healthcare standards. Itcannot accommodate the growing patient numbers or the changing approach to providing community care.
“Quite simply, our building is no longer fit for purpose. It isn’t fit for today’s needs and most definitely is not fit for the decades ahead. The community needs a better centre.” – Dr Karen Grossmark, Temple Fortune Health Centre owner.
The scheme proposes a new tiered four-storey building with a 567 sqm medical centre that occupies the ground level. Parking and plant areas have been designed in the basement with 11 residential units on floors 1-3 and a heavily planted communal roof garden above. The site requires the flats to be developed above to help fund the new, much-needed, health centre and ensure that the building maximises the potential of the site.
“The clients wanted a highly functional building, that allows them to continue to care for the community they have worked in for a long time and generate value to pay for the works through residential space. We wanted to meet this dual-use brief, whilst providing a building that recognises the textured and leafy nature of the context and makes a positive contribution to the local community”. Charles Bettes, GPAD Managing Director.
The Architecture
Care has been taken to ensure the proposals respond to the street, setting the building away from the boundary line and introducing a sculpted ground floor façade ensures privacy internally, whilst creating curved pockets along the street. These pockets are filled with planting that greens the area between pavement and building, enhances the street, and provides spaces for the public. An element of craft is introduced at a human scale through the patterned reconstituted stone facade.
The entrance to the health centre has been located to the corner and set in from the building line to provide a legible entry to the centre. The curve on this corner softens the mass and suits the shape of the site. This form is continued on the upper floors, which are set back from the ground floor, providing another opportunity for greening at the first-floor level and further reducing the impact of the building mass. These setbacks provide south-facing amenity space that is shielded from the street and the curved forms providerhythm to the building.
Environmental Impact
The building responds to the heritage of the area, whilst being clearly contemporary. It utilises durable materials such as reconstituted stone and brick paired with robust junctions that will age and weather well, ensuring longevity. Fourteen new trees with many plants are being proposed across the site at various levels pushing biodiversity and urban greening. The combination of planting and materials was selected to ground the scheme within the context and provide interest at the upper levels of the building.
A combination of passive measures, high-efficiency services, utilisation of heat pumps and consideration ofthe fabric have been designed into the scheme and will be developed during detailed design to minimise CO2 emissions.
Project Address: 23 Temple Fortune Lane, London, NW11 7TE
Project Team:
Development Manager: ACRE
Planning Consultant: MJP Planning
Affordable Housing Statement: Turner Morum
Air Quality Assessment: Redmore
Daylight and Sunlight Assessment: Herrington
Drainage Strategy and SUDs report: The PES (EB7)
Ecological Assessment (incl. BNG): Green Shoots
Energy Assessment (incl. BREEAM): MWL
Utilities Assessment: MWL
Fire Statement: CHPK
Heritage Impact Assessment: Heritage Collective
Land Contamination Assessment: Ensafe
Landscaping Scheme (incl. UGF): John Davies Landscaping
Noise Impact Assessment: ALN Acoustics
Statement of Community Involvement: Local Dialogue
Transport Assessment and Construction Logistics Plan: EAS
Tree Survey and Report: Patrick Stileman
GPAD are pleased to share Estate Gazette’s latest video on The Future of Leeds. The half an hour video features projects across the city discusses Leeds can emerge from the pandemic and aim to be the best city in the UK.
From 21 minutes onwards the video is shot from the new roof terrace at Tailor’s Corner. In the video you can see the new terrace seating and planting as well as the views across the city. During the interview, Mark Wilson and Patrick Carter from Savills, discuss the demand for outside space in the city centre and how businesses and employees will be re-evaluating their priorities in the office space.
What was originally designed as a warehouse followed by retail for Hepworth’s clothing, the design for Tailor’s Corner includes a complete refurbishment of the façade, and the reinstatement of the traditional shop front. The interior has been refurbished with high quality office space and two new roof terraces.
Watch the full video here.
For all of us, 2020 has been a year like no other in recent memory. Since the first lockdown hit in March, we’ve all had to adapt to new ways of living and working; often, finding it hard to avoid blending the two too greatly. At the same time, changing ways of working have opened up new opportunities and experiences that may go on to become permanent fixtures in our daily routines. As the first month of 2021 draws to a close, we have had time to think and reflect on the year that has passed, and asked our team members what some of the challenges and new experiences they had that shaped their lives during 2020. Below is a compilation of their thoughts.
The sudden enforced change to our working routine was always going to present a myriad of challenges for us to adapt to. Some of these issues have impacted every working professional able to work from home during the pandemic: mundane yet frustrating internet connectivity issues; dropping out of Teams calls; interruptions from four-legged members of the family; to a general feeling of a loss of communication between team members. Yet others are intrinsically linked to our role as designers: the formerly simple ability to gather around a table with colleagues and pen and paper in hand, and drawing in a live environment, has been an experience sorely missed by many.
Perhaps the greatest challenge has come from trying to separate work and home life, eking out space to set up a desk in rooms not intended to be offices and then winding down at the end of the day; a particular challenge for members of the team studying for their Part 3 qualifications. We have also had a number of new recruits join us during the pandemic, who have had to quickly get used to new software, and meet new team members solely in the virtual realm.
Yet despite all these challenges, the change in working practices during 2020 has also opened up many new opportunities and experiences. Losing the commute has been a relief for many, giving back valuable time and flexibility; an extra half hour to take a walk, go on a run, or read a book. New ways of working have meant new learning opportunities, and has shown that the industry is able to adapt, and bring with it efficiencies; reducing travelling times has improved availability, often greatly improving progress on projects. Remote working has also given teams a greater feeling of trust and responsibility, and with it a sense of empowerment that has produced fantastic work from team members at all levels.
Ultimately, the pandemic has given us all a chance to really prove that the principles laid out in our ethos really do define who we are; that when we say to clients and consultants that we’re flexible and adaptable, we meet that challenge, centred around the amazing adaptability of our team to a different way of working, maintaining a momentum equivalent to working in the office. We are also proud of the way we have adapted as a business, using the breadth of our skills and experience to re-focus our efforts on residential work that has meant we’ve been able to continue to operate successfully in what has been a challenging time for the industry as a whole.
With our team members at the heart this success, there’s no better way to finish this piece with some of their words that really sum up how their contributions have helped pull us through during what has been an incredibly difficult year:
“As a business we’ve rebranded, improved our offering through BIM development and regular design reviews, we’ve recruited new team members, strengthened our internal understanding of our diversity and the issues facing the industry, but more than anything we’ve done it as a team – something that’s really challenging in this environment but I think we’ve worked really hard to ensure we keep moving in the same direction as one big team.”
As this year like no other in recent memory draws to a close, we look back to twelve of the key moments that took place in the world of GPAD, and how the skill and determination of our fantastic team continued to deliver despite the upheaval borne on us all by Covid. Read More
We would like to announce that GPAD’s Chairman and founder, Chris Ploutarhou, is retiring. Chris started GPAD in 2002 and has been a pioneer in the practice’s ethos of a people focused approach, responsible for many of the friendships that GPAD has established with clients and partners. Read More
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