We are delighted to announce that our client Historic England has been shortlisted in the AJ100 Client of the Year Award 2023.

Having recently completed the Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings project with them, a flagship heritage regeneration project for Historic England, we commend them for delivering the rescue and creative reuse of the oldest iron-framed buildings in the world, with a sustained commitment to the highest standards of achievement, learning, and engagement throughout a fifteen-year project journey.

The project demonstrates how historic buildings can be sustainably reused and restored after many decades in decline, through understanding, innovation, and a gentle touch to repair the fabric, which has resulted in it being brought back to life as an adaptable workspace, leisure destination and social enterprise hub for ‘the next 100 years’.

The formation of the project stakeholders, the development of understanding, and the technical delivery of the repair demanded the highest level of commitment from all Historic England staff.

The winners of all the AJ100 awards will be announced in June.

The Part Z initiative,  a cross-industry call for the regulation of embodied carbon, has demonstrated the power of collective professional advocacy to raise the profile of an urgent issue and make government take notice, and action.

In two years, the idea of regulating embodied carbon has gone from a marginal topic to one being debated in parliament – twice over – and recognised as being vital to the UK’s efforts to combat climate change.

The work is not finished, and the Part Z Authors, including FCBStudios Associate Tim den Dekker, are currently providing ad-hoc inputs to UK government. They trust that their progress will inspire others, and would be pleased to speak with like-minded individuals, whether in the UK or globally, who want to assist their governments affect similar change.

The Award winners will be announced at the AJ100 Awards on 21 June.

The University of Bristol Senate House and Roman Baths Clore Learning Centre were last night awarded South West RIBA Awards.

On Senate House the judges described the building as: “..a fine example of how an existing building can be successfully repurposed and reused, with cleverly integrated new elements opening up the potential of unloved and underused spaces. The extensive retrofit has been handled with skill and ingenuity, ensuring that the building provides a welcoming and inspiring backdrop for current students to socialise, study and collaborate, while allowing for future flexibility and modification.”

On the Roman Bath Learning Centre the judges said: “Tectonically and materially rich, the Roman Baths Clore Learning Centre is a triumph of thoughtful and inventive thinking that has created a series of dramatic and unexpected spaces that both celebrate and highlight the layered history of these wonderful buildings. It is a clear testament to the productive and successful collaboration between architect, client, archaeologist, contractor and wider design team.”

These awards recognise our creative response to two very different briefs for two very different buildings, to bring them back to their full potential. 

Read the full citations from the RIBA Awards Jury on RIBA Journal here:
Senate House
Roman Baths Clore Learning Centre

Blenheim Car Park Rooftop Gallery, in collaboration with Hadley Property Group, has been shortlisted for an AJ100 Community Impact Project of the Year Award.

FCBStudios is currently working on proposals for the regeneration of the Blenheim Centre on Penge High Street for Hadley Property Group. Prior to the submission of the planning application, we have been working with local artists, businesses and schools to ensure that the culture and character that's unique to the area is celebrated, resulting in the currently unused multistorey car park being turned into a hive of activity for the local community.

The space has delivered a program of high-quality sports coaching for local school children, a cycle repair station as well as hosting weekly yoga classes and community open days with music and food.

The project has been an important tool to encourage people, young and old, to feel part of the community, enjoy the artwork and activities and experience the views of the surrounding town they live in.

Find out more and watch a film of the project here.

Seven practices have been shortlisted, and the winners of all the AJ100 awards will be announced in June.

Our clients YTL Developments have submitted a planning application for 239 one and two-bedroom properties within the Brabazon development, specifically designed for later living. 

Rachel Sayers, Partner at FCB Studios said: “The driving aspiration behind our design for the later living properties at Brabazon was to bring the whole community together, creating homes that are both practical and a pleasure to live in.

“This landscape-led proposal features mansion blocks arranged around a central, communal garden and is designed to sit within a wider context of new parks and green spaces that are a feature of the new neighbourhood at Brabazon.

The proposal has communal facilities - a restaurant, and wellbeing suite - that strike a balance between fostering a community and facilitating independent living, while the sustainability principles baked into the design should reduce energy minimising running costs for those on a defined income, as well as helping to address the climate crisis."

Construction work on the latest commercial building at Paradise Birmingham, Three Chamberlain Square, has begun.

Activity to prepare the site for work has already been taking place throughout 2023 and direct work will now be visible upon the site situated next to The Town Hall and fronting Paradise Street as the main construction period begins.

Scheduled to open in 2025, Three Chamberlain Square was awarded planning permission by Birmingham City Council in June 2022, and forms an integral part of the overall Paradise masterplan.

Alina White, Partner at FCBStudios said ‘Our vision for Three Chamberlain Square is a building centred around the three principles of sustainability, wellbeing and place. With a main contractor now on site, we look forward to this vision coming to life over the coming years.

‘Three Chamberlain Square has a prominent city centre location adjacent to the Town Hall and we have worked hard to pay homage to the past while setting new standards of modern design for the city."

Three Chamberlain Square is a radical statement of sustainability for the city and aims to be one of the greenest commercial buildings built in the UK post-Covid.

Targeting a BREEAM Outstanding rating, the 189,000 sq ft space will be a first for Birmingham in terms of environmental standards and is being built by construction and engineering contractor Sir Robert McAlpine.

FCBStudios are excited to have been shortlisted in the AJ100 Practice of the Year.

Over the past year, we have completed work on projects ranging from Ulster University, embedding university education into the heart of social change in Belfast, Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings, the first iron-framed building and forerunner of skyscrapers, to ready it for its next chapter of work, and the Aga Khan Academy in Dhaka, a school in Dhaka designed with environmental principles for the best education for all and 

FCBSCarbon has come of age, as the first projects designed with its input are now completing. It proves what the impact of talking about embodied and operational carbon from the very early stages can be on projects like Stephen Taylor Court for King’s College Cambridge and the Woodlands Nursery at Staffordshire University.

For our employees, the past year has been a return to practice and office-wide social events, including our first post-pandemic away day – to Cambridge in September 2022. Our EDI group continues to present a meaningful and thoughtful programme of awareness and action. Our hybrid working policy has now been formalised, with all staff balancing WFH with office life.

Six practices have been shortlisted, and the winners of all the AJ100 awards will be announced in June.

The Faculty of Arts Building for the University of Warwick was awarded an RIBA West Midlands award and named RIBA West Midlands’ Building of the Year.

The Judges described the building: "The impressive new Faculty of Arts building for the University of Warwick brings together the departments and schools of the faculty under a single roof for the first time.

It is evident that this simple mission became the driving principle behind the entire scheme, to create a vehicle for collaboration and cross-pollination of the arts, while drawing inspiration from the site’s unique parkland context. The architect has woven these two agendas into one cohesive design concept that has been executed with skill and craft.

The building itself is shaped by the surrounding trees that define the site’s parkland character. This is achieved through four pavilion buildings connected by a lightweight atrium and sculptural timber larch stair. The fragmented relationship between the individual pavilion buildings opens up axial views from the main atrium space onto the mature trees that surround the site. This connection with nature is reinforced by the atrium’s natural ventilation system and the terracotta cladding that references the earthy tones of the local geology.

Furthermore, the site’s parkland character is woven into the building’s fabric, fulfilling the client’s desire for a multidisciplinary space that encourages collaboration. The feature staircase, inspired by the structure of a tree, organically grows through the central atrium space, each branch helping to demarcate various communal spaces to encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration. At the base of the stair, it splays like a tree’s root ball to form an amphitheatre that activates the ground floor and addresses the main entrance.

The combination of the client’s ambitions to create a new model of working for the faculty, and the architect’s creativity in articulating this ambition through a holistic design approach, has resulted in a delightful building with a series of engaging spaces that are both inviting and flexible, enabling collaboration, creativity and innovation."

Manchester Metropolitan University’s School of Digital Arts was awarded an RIBA North West award.

The judges said “Situated within the Manchester Metropolitan University’s campus, the School of Digital Arts (SODA) designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, creates a cross-disciplinary learning environment within a new building which houses a large number of flexible studio spaces, a digital innovation lab, open workspaces, edit suites, sound and music studios and production studios.

The building is clad in a huge, four-storey video light wall that takes up the entire front facade and can display designs created in-house by the students to all those passing by. The facade pixel screens were reverse-engineered to use only the power available from the PV cells on the roof. The effect is striking.

While the school provides traditional ideas that offer flexibility, such as custom furniture that can be arranged ad-hoc within key spaces, there is also hidden digital technology which allows real-time connections between spaces in completely different parts of the building. This offers a vast array of configurations that students can use to link spaces throughout the school. The building is unique in the way it embodies and promotes modern methods of teaching, learning and collaboration. Its varied functions called for high-tech solutions, which have been delivered with clear vision and to a high standard.   

The internal material selection throughout is a reduced palette of simple, raw finishes, allowing the digital media to be at the forefront. The building itself is future-proofed so it can respond to changes in technology. Circulation spaces have been supersized to become ‘village greens’ where open learning, events, exhibitions and community activities can take place. The flexible floorplates cater for various uses to be planned in future. 

A building of this function will always demand a higher-than-average power supply but this has been offset from the outset by the architect taking advantage of those spaces that do not require facade openings, locating these to the south and so reducing overall solar gain.”

The Academy at the heart of The Britannia Project  - the City of London Academy Shoreditch Park - has been named as one of 52 RIBA London Award winners in 2023.

The judges citation describes the school:

"Designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, this new academy is a key element of a [FCBStudios] Hackney masterplan project started in 2017. Located at the heart of a dense residential area in the throes of regeneration and expansion, the new four- to five-storey-tall school sits on the edge of the popular Shoreditch Park, directly opposite the new Britannia Leisure Centre. Despite being surrounded by greenery, this is in every way an urban school on a tight site.

Its restrained and quite formal brick and prefabricated concrete panels are an appropriate architectural expression for a quality civic facility. The student entrance is via a covered colonnade that continues from the front down the side of the building, a place for the children to meet friends and socialise when arriving or leaving.  

Internally the school is well-ordered, light and airy, with a three-storey atrium at its centre, where the main student arrival point occurs and a grand timber staircase connects to the upper floors.

Other features include a rooftop playground on the top floor, a sports hall on the first floor, and a flexible dining hall on the ground floor. 

The City of London Academy is a good example of a building that is low-energy in operation, demonstrated through a high-performance facade, passive ventilation strategies, and a BREEAM Outstanding certification.

It has already proved a success story for Hackney, with the borough proudly stating that the academy is witnessing a ‘steady increase of enhanced student behaviour and higher GCSE grades’. "

Unity Place is a 100% affordable housing development for Brent Council, that is part of the ongoing South Kilburn Estate Regeneration.

Our Masterplan for the estate puts historic street patterns back into the area, to create a high density, but low – medium rise development that replaces the former postwar estate.  

FCBStudios developed a vision for this part of the estate, within which we,  Alison Brooks Architects and Gort Scott used a unified approach to deliver individual buildings. The development draws on terrace, mansion block and villa typologies, typical of the area, to create 235 high-quality, social rented homes for Brent residents that reinforce the strong sense of local community along with a community hub, high quality landscape amenity, publicly accessible playspace, carparking and an energy centre serving the wider South Kilburn Estate.

Extensive consultation was held with existing South Kilburn Estate residents to understand what they wanted from their new homes, new amenity spaces and new residential community. The inclusive workshops created a tailored approach to the delivery of culturally appropriate homes, with internal corridors and separate kitchens favoured over the ubiquitous open plan flat model, ensuring suitable accommodation was available for all residents.

We are delighted to have received this recognition in the inaugural Brent Design Awards.

We are thrilled to welcome Marcus Rothnie, Alice Laws, Joe Jack Williams, Alina White, Kossy Nnachetta and Chris Allen to the FCBStudios partnership.

Keith Bradley said “Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios is a uniquely broad, shared-equity partnership. We are delighted to announce six new Partners, who will add to, and extend our range of talents and views,  for the future of our practice “. 

About our new partners

Dr Joe Jack Williams is a researcher and environmental lead at the practice. He led the development of FCBS Carbon. Embedded in a number of industry sustainability groups, he plays a key role in guiding the practice, and the wider industry, towards carbon zero.

Kossy Nnachetta is an architect who brings experience, technical excellence and deep understanding of sustainable design to her broad range of projects. She played a key role on Central Quad for TU Dublin and is currently leading a regenerative workplace for the Wellcome Trust. She is passionate about bringing fresh voices to the design table.

Chris Allen is an architect with a passion for delivering social value within projects. He led work on the Southbank Skatespace and the Hayward Gallery, and is currently leading a mixed-use masterplan for Camley Street in Camden, putting the community at the heart of the neighbourhood.

Alice Laws is fundamental to the management of the partnership and its finances, focussed on project analysis, fees and resourcing across the practice.

Alina White has an excellent track record of delivering healthy, sustainable homes and workplaces for FCBStudios. She lead work on the Battersea Exchange Masterplan and is currently leading the construction of Three Chamberlain Square for Paradise Birmingham and the Author Building in London’s Kings Cross.

Marcus Rothnie is a talented architect and designer, with a passion for landscape, regenerative design and sustainable education. He played a key role on Warwick University’s Faculty of Arts Building and is currently leading work at Bristol Zoo Project.  

FCBstudios has been appointed by PJ Livesey to work alongside their in-house architectural team on initial designs for the 3.2acre shopping centre site which will also include high-quality retail aimed at independent operators, together with extensive landscaping.

PJ Livesey development director, James Woodmansee, said: “The site presents a huge opportunity to create something very special that not only provides a wide mix of new housing but serves the mix of retail operators that make Chorlton so special. We will be working with the best architects and consultants to make this happen and we want to take the residents of Chorlton on this journey with us.”

Ernst ter Horst, who will be leading the project from our Manchester studio, said: “This is a truly exciting opportunity for us to collaborate with PJ Livesey on one of Manchester’s exciting and thriving suburban centres.  A number of our team are local – adding to our understanding of the place and also our commitment to making this a great success.”

FCBStudios’ Partner Helen Roberts, and Associate Jo Gimenez, are taking part in this year’s pedElle 2023 charity cycle ride, which sets off in six weeks’ time.

Now in its 10th anniversary year, this year the three-day adventure for women in property entails cycling a hilly 400km distance, with 6000m of elevation, in Slovenia.

Starting from the capital city of Ljubljana, the riders will make their way into the beautiful Slovenian mountains to test their climbing legs, before heading west towards the Adriatic coast, and finishing in the medieval town of Piran.

Helen Roberts said, “This is the first time I have taken part in pedElle - or done any long-distance cycling at all, so it is a huge personal challenge, but one which offers great camaraderie and the opportunity to support Club Peloton’s children’s and young people’s charities.”

Jo Gimenez, said “This is my third year taking part, and first time as Ride Captain. I am excited to share my experience to encourage others to challenge themselves.  The event has provided me with the opportunity to meet like-minded people and make long lasting contacts and friendships. “

You can show your support by sponsoring Helen and Jo here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jo-helen-fcbstudios

PedElle is the ultimate charity challenge - raising money for Club Peloton projects transforming the lives of vulnerable young people whilst providing a unique networking opportunity.

FCBStudios are pleased to support this event as Ride Sponsor, to show our commitment to supporting women in the industry.

https://clubpeloton.org/events/98834

FCBStudios Architect Michael Lewis has been Commended for the Drawing of the Year Award in the Archisource Drawing of the Year 2022 Awards.

Michael said “In March 2020 the United Kingdom went into lockdown in an effort to control the spread of the infectious Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). 

As we were isolated in our homes, the dining table became the centrepiece of lockdown living, playing host to multiple facets of family life. The humble four-legged piece of furniture became a place of work, study, making, craft, eating, feeding, sleeping, playing, chatting, reading and much more. 

As we emerge from this isolated existence and life slowly returns to normal, this two-dimensional CAD drawing composed in microstation serves as a reminder of this unique period in history and celebrates the role the dining table played throughout this challenging and unprecedented time. “

The Archisource Drawing of the Year, currently in its fourth year, has become the ultimate accolade for recognising the best visual representations from architecture, design and the creative industries. All the award-winning drawings are also being displayed through an immersive virtual Winners Exhibition in the Metaverse where the imagery can be viewed up close at archisource.org

It was such a shock and so sad to hear that Elain Harwood, the leading authority on post-war English architecture has died this week, at the age of 64.

As everyone that met her will know, she was a true rock-goddess in the world of Modern heritage championship. She had a shining energy, a generous heart, an encyclopaedic knowledge, and an unstoppable energy. And she had a total dedication to encouraging others to appreciate what they may be missing in their appreciation of Modern architecture with humour and passion.

I first met Elain in 2004 in our London Studio when she generously offered to help me plan my Churchill Fellowship in the Conservation of Modern Architecture. I’d never met her before but she bowled into our office and bowled me over with her charisma, knowledge and generosity of spirit. She helped me enormously and gave me a sense of what could be achieved.

She subsequently helped us out as a practice regularly, making intelligent and direct contributions as we learned how to ‘Make More of Modernism’ in our creative reuse work, including at the Southbank Centre, where she contributed a brilliant chapter to our book on ‘The History of the South Bank’.

Her passionate contributions combined a love of design with deep scholarship, and they were conveyed with a clear sense of pragmatism and realism. Her views enabled countless C20th buildings to stand a better chance of being appreciated in our rapidly changing world - something we all perhaps need now more than ever.

I last saw Elain in February this year at a Historic England Historic Places Panel visit to Portsmouth. On a bitterly cold day she arrived in her bright orange coat and DMs and informed, amused, delighted and inspired us all. Everywhere seemed brighter and warmer in her company that day, as ever.

RIP Elain; you will live on as a lasting inspiration to us.

Geoff Rich, Managing Partner and Creative Reuse Lead

The President of the United States, Joseph R. Biden Jr, delivered his historic keynote address at Ulster University’s Belfast Campus, designed by FCBStudios, on 12 April 2023 to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

Joe Biden reflected on the impact it has had on him to see the new Ulster University building: “Thank you for hosting us today at this beautiful new Campus of Ulster University. It is good to see Belfast city alive with commerce, art, and inspiration, the dividends of peace are all around us. Where barbed wire once sliced up the city, today we find glass letting the light shine in and out, it has profound impact. Testament to powers and possibilities of peace“. 

Sam Tyler, Partner at FCBStudios said: “FCBStudios’ design for Ulster University’s Belfast Campus delivers innovative education space for the 21st century and connects the heart of the city to the surrounding communities.

The 75,000 m2 campus is designed with publicly accessible lower floors to create a community asset and act as an engine for improving access to Higher Education. The buildings house four faculties, administration, high-tech labs, art studios, library, offices, catering and teaching space connected by a web of social learning environments. The sculptural architecture, clad in brick and glass, is inspired by the city’s industrial heritage and connects the occupants to the surrounding townscape, mountains and lough.

This grand civic building is designed to encourage connections between academics, students, industry, communities and Belfast’s spectacular natural setting.”

This new campus is one of the great success stories of peace in Northern Ireland and prompts the city to look forward to openness, and investment in people and growth.

Click here to rewatch the President's keynote address

Work on the University of Bristol’s new Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus – a total investment of around £500 million - will get underway next month after the University signed contracts with construction company Sir Robert McAlpine.

Opening in 2026, the campus at Cattle Market Road, next to Temple Meads Station, will enhance the University of Bristol’s reputation as a global destination for world-leading research, education and innovation.

The site will be home to 4,600 students and 650 university staff who will come together with business and community partners to tackle some of the world’s greatest challenges. Residential accommodation on Temple Island will provide living space for around 900 students.  

At the heart of the campus, on the site of the former Royal Mail sorting office, a 38,000 sqm academic building will be home to the University’s Business School, digital engineering research groups, Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, the Quantum Technologies Innovation Centre and provide dedicated facilities for enterprise and community partners.

Mike Keys, Partner at FCBStudios said" Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus is the most significant development in the recent history of the University of Bristol, and is set to begin on site. It represents a major engagement in the city, redeveloping a prominent, but long-derelict, brownfield site by Temple Meads Train Station, the chief arrivals point of the city. Through ecologically sensitive public realm, community engagement, and new city connections, the campus will become an integral part of Bristol and the significant regeneration to the east of the city.

The 38,000 sqm building will be home to three schools and three research institutes, and used by 4,600 students and 650 University staff. A rich variety of teaching and learning spaces, research laboratories, offices, hackspaces and workshops are enhanced by atria and winter gardens, social, dining, community and enterprise spaces. The building will welcome and actively engage local communities and partners.

Sited on a car-free campus and designed for long life and future adaptability, the building is rated BREEAM ‘Excellent’. The demolition spoil of the former building was reused to raise the ground level above flooding, while 50% of the building’s materials will be sourced from a 30 mile radius. Sensitive planting and habitat will support and nurture the ecology of the Floating Harbour. Approximately 22% of the building’s regulated energy consumption will be generated on-site from renewable sources, and a further 1,400 MWh will be exported annually to a new District Heating Network.”

Bath Abbey and the Roman Baths Clore Learning Centre have been named as winners in the 2023 Civic Trust Awards. The awards recognises work that has not only enriched our physical environment but has also helped to create a better sense of place and identity for our communities.

The judges described the Roman Baths as “…a showcase of interior design principles: sensitive, light touch insertions using a well-mannered palette of timber, glass, brick and plasterwork, beautiful shadow gap details and adroit juxtapositions with barely tamed existing fabric.”

Bath Abbey was simply “… a triumph of understated enhancement of a prime city centre asset.”

Unity Place – part of the regeneration of the South Kilburn Estate - was also highly commended, with the comment that “This development provides comfortable and affordable homes and makes a strong contribution neighbourhood regeneration. It is well-detailed, well-built, and well-mannered.“

The masterplan for the 10-acre site proposes a people-focused scheme that will conserve and integrate the heritage buildings within a mixed-use scheme.

Located on the northern bank of the River Shannon the site includes the historic Cleeves factory, the Shipyard site and the Salesian’s site and the Flaxmill and chimney, which is an icon on the city skyline. 

The vision for the site is an open and green development that will very much be part of the emerging city centre. A mix of residential, commercial, and education will be combined with a strong cultural offering and vibrant public realm linking to the city and the river. The redevelopment of this vacant site will retain the historic buildings and industrial heritage, and encourage new business investment.

Simon Carter, Partner FCBStudios said “A sustainable development starts with the community, creating a neighbourhood that encourages and enables a low-impact lifestyle. A resilient and phased design approach underpins our masterplan. It will bring a complementary mix of working, living and learning within a public realm that promotes community. “

The project is a collaboration between FCBStudios and Bucholz McEvoy Architects, with Mitchell + Associates and Arup. Comments are open via Limerick2030.ie until 14 April. For more information visit https://limerick2030.ie/news/

See Through News has announced FCBStudios Researcher Daniel Zepeda Rivas as the fourth winner of their See Through Carbon US$500K supercomputing giveaway to support sustainability for the Global South.

Daniel specialises in the impact of climate change on the built environment. He is currently undergoing a Knowledge Transfer Partnership placement between FCBStudios and UCL, focussing on design tools for zero-carbon buildings in everywhere around the globe.

The outcome of the KTP will be a freely accessible international resource to inform the design and construction of safe, comfortable, low energy, sustainable buildings.

He’s gathered a huge volume of data from around the world and is planning to analyse it through this cloud computing resource.

Daniel hopes “This data will yield specific, actionable outcomes that will enable designers to adapt buildings to our rapidly-changing environment, but without exacerbating the problem by adding even more carbon into the atmosphere in the process.”

 “The possibility to use cloud computing changes the whole timing of the project. Instead of thinking about carrying out a downscaled version of the analysis over the next months now, we are thinking about a much bigger and more ambitious experimental campaign that can be carried out in weeks.”

The expert panel awarding the prize said “Now Daniel’s project demonstrates the transformative impact this supercomputer-grade processing can have for Global South researchers working in a Global North environment. It could accelerate, broaden and deepen real-world impact in measurably reducing carbon not just in the Global South, but everywhere.”

Proposals for our £210m Cultural Heart development, which is set to transform the heart of Huddersfield town centre, have been approved by the Local Planning Authority.

Alex Whitbread, Partner, said “The Cultural Heart will replace a dated 1960s shopping centre with a unique collection of cultural facilities, reflecting the town’s cultural riches, set around a new town park."

The Cultural Heart is the centrepiece of the wider Huddersfield Blueprint – the council’s ambitious ten-year vision to create a thriving, modern-day town centre.  Our project will see the refurbishment of the historic  Grade II Listed Queensgate Market and Huddersfield Library buildings, with the aim to house a vibrant food hall and a dedicated museum space respectively. These new offers will sit alongside a new community-focused library, modern art gallery, multi-purpose live entertainment venue and a 350-space car park – all of which will be connected by a series of world-class public spaces and green parks.

Construction of the first phase of the scheme is set to get underway in Spring 2024. Initial works will concentrate on the major refurbishments of the historic Queensgate Market, as well as the creation of a brand-new outdoor public square.

Councillors of South Somerset District Council have voted to approve planning permission for the redevelopment of The Octagon Theatre.

The redeveloped theatre will bring world-class artists to the Somerst as well as spark economic regeneration for the area and be a source of joy, entertainment and inspiration for generations to come.

Colin Cobb, Partner at FCBStudios said “Our reimagining of Yeovil Octagon theatre will give a dramatic new identity to this vibrant cultural facility, positively impacting on the arts in Somerset. With a larger auditorium, new studio spaces and an open and welcoming foyer it will provide spaces for people to meet, engage, and enjoy the arts.”

The redeveloped Octagon Theatre will include an increased seating capacity in the main auditorium from 622 to 900, two new smaller cinema/studio spaces for film screenings and spoken word, a dance studio which will become the new home for the Octagon Academy, a community studio as well as a greatly improved café bar area open throughout the day, improved front of house and customer facilities, improved backstage accessibility and the construction of a fly tower, enabling larger visiting companies to use the venue which would bring a new range of shows. A Changing Places Toilet will also be provided for those with additional needs.

FCBStudios are working with Theatreplan, E3, Momentum and Arup Acoustics to deliver the plans for the theatre. 

We are thrilled that seven of our projects have been shortlisted in this years RIBA Regional Awards.

In London we have three shortlisted projects: Unity Place – affordable and social housing for Brent Council’s South Kilburn Regeneration, Battersea Exchange masterplan in Nine Elms and City of London Academy Shoreditch Park in Hackney. Two in the Southwest region: the retrofit and extension of University of Bristol’s Senate House as a student hub and focus for the university’s Clifton Campus and the Roman Baths Clore Learning Centre and World Heritage Centre in Bath. In the Northwest, Manchester Metropolitan University’s School of Digital Arts has been shortlisted, and in the West Midlands. University of Warwick Faculty of Arts, bringing the whole faculty together in one building.

The message from all the regional jury chairs was that the quality of architecture has been extremely high, emphasising its role in enhancing people’s lives and the urban environment.

The buildings are now being assessed by regional juries, and the winning projects will be announced in the spring.  

We are pleased to share that two of our projects have been shortlisted in the AJ Retrofit Awards this week in the Cultural and Religious building £5 million and over category.

Both at the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the city of Bath, they are Bath Abbey and Roman Baths Clore Learning Centre.

The AJ Retrofit Awards recognise and celebrate the design expertise behind the vital renewal and repurposing of existing buildings, setting a precedent for ways to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint in the process.

Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in March.

Click here to read the full shortlist

The vision for a sustainable and contemporary Town Hall for Watford, at the heart of its civic, commercial, creative and social centre has been granted listed buildings and planning consent.

Plans submitted by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, on behalf of the Watford Borough Council, will intensify the use of the Grade II Listed Town Hall by providing cultural, heritage and community facilities, alongside enterprise and creative industry. The new Town Hall will incorporate Watford Museum, a cafe and lettable workspaces for SMEs, alongside reimagined council offices, renovated council chamber, and a new state-of-the-art committee room, as well as enhanced cultural connections with the Colosseum.

The proposed interventions to the Art Deco Charles Cowles-Voysey building will transform its use while retaining and protecting its original features.  The plans for a sustainable renews will optimise its operation to ensure the long-term preservation of one of Watford’s most important historic buildings.   

Tim Greensmith, heritage specialist at FCBStudios said “This ambitious civic project to renew Watford’s Town Hall has the potential to be transformational for Watford’s civic centre. Our plans reinvigorate the building with new workspaces and cultural facilities, alongside the renewal of the civic spaces and their historic interiors, bringing people to the civic centre of Watford and preserving the town’s architectural heritage.

“Our ambition is to reimagine the civic building as a heritage asset open to all, and an exemplar of sustainable retrofit, through bringing in new uses, culture and workspaces, upgrading the facilities to meet the challenges of the 21st century. “

We first started recording the carbon footprint of our practice in 2006. Fast forward 16 years, and this year’s footprint – for 187 people, across four offices, was 127  tCO₂e. That’s equivalent to going from 1.6t to or 0.7t per person – a 64% reduction since 2006.

We break down our footprint into its main constituents: energy – electricity and gas; travel - trains, planes, cars; and paper, amongst other things.  What this allows us to do is see trends, and act on them.

This year’s footprint marks a slight rebound compared to our 2021 figures, as we have returned to offices, and to normal preCOVID behaviours. However, we see trends that include a reduction in travel since pre covid times, showing that while in person meetups are valuable, online meetings are also here to stay. One by-product of our hybrid working tech solutions has been an increase our electricity-use. Measuring our usage has alerted us to this, and we have found strategies to reduce it that are already having an impact.

Having this overview, and the agency to make change is empowering.  This also applies to the projects we work on. We measure the carbon impact of all of our projects, from concept stage onwards. 

Since we started using FCBS Carbon in all our projects and reporting on both the embodied and operational energy use of all of our completing buildings, we have extended our carbon literacy to whole-life carbon.  We can compare our proposals with best practices to ensure we will reach our low carbon targets. Through carbon-conscious design, we are also able to reduce the embodied carbon in each new building we design by many times the carbon that we emit as a practice. 

The Civic Trust Awards is not just about rewarding architecture or design excellence. Like FCBStudios, the awards strongly believe that successful projects should also exhibit strong sustainability credentials and a high level of accessible and universal design, and also demonstrate how the project has provided a positive civic contribution.

For these reasons, we are particularly pleased that three of our projects have been successful in the 2023 Civic Trust Awards: Unity Place, 100% affordable housing within the South Kilburn Estate Regeneration; The Roman Baths Clore Learning Centre, which gives Bath’s most visited attraction high-quality spaces for education within a group of historic buildings; and The Bath Abbey Footprint project which focussed on the repair and conservation the memorial floor, as well as providing new facilities for education, administration and the song school. The winners will be announced at a ceremony on 31 March.

Bath Abbey’s Footprint project was also a regional finalist for the Civic Trust AABC Conservation award, recognising projects which demonstrate the highest standards of historic building conservation. 

One of six FCBStudios projects to be shared at the World Architectural Festival in Lisbon, our work at the medieval Bath Abbey in the UNESCO World Heritage City of Bath, has been Highly commended in the Completed Building: Religion category. The World Architecture Festival celebrates and shares architectural excellence from across the globe through live. It is where the architecture community meets to share expertise and learn from each other.

Hugo Marrack, Partner, presented the history and significance of Bath Abbey to a live audience and judging panel.

Our brief was to prepare the building for its future as both a spiritual and cultural centre in Bath; and in doing so, to create the ‘front-of-house’ spaces that this ancient building needs to prosper, with a low-carbon heating solution to create a comfortable setting for all.

Read more about our work at Bath Abbey here.

Over the past decade, our collaborations with Forest of Imagination have brought nature and creativity to the city of Bath. Each year, we, alongside Grant Associates, House of Imagination, Bath Spa University and a host of artists reimagine a familiar space in the city to inspire and connect children of all ages.

It is with great pride that we can share the news that The Living Tree Mirror Maze has been named the winner of an Inspire Future Generations Award for ‘activities or events for younger children that explore architecture as a creative learning tool in an informal setting’. In 2022, we worked with mathematician Alf Coles to bring his mirror maze concept to life within the installation The Living Tree at The Egg Theatre as a multi-sensory participation event, helping children and young people to engage in and advocate for a better built environment.  

Read more about our past work with Forest of Imagination in Explore Designing in the field and White Room. 

The new on-campus nursery for Staffordshire University puts play, development, wellbeing, and nature at the heart of early years education, in a net zero carbon building. 

Designed as a natural learning environment, the timber structure connects to the adjacent trees and woodland. The garden encourages curiosity, adventure and child-led learning, through planting, textures and natural materials. Inside, low windows, recessed seating and external benches encourage the children to explore and connect with the outside.

Simon Branson, Partner, FCBStudios said “The nursery has a seamless connection with its woodland setting, supporting an adaptable and holistic learning environment that can encourage education through nature, play and adventure. Using a highly insulated pre-fabricated timber structure for the construction, plentiful north and west light from the rooflights and natural ventilation, it not only has a low impact on the environment but a connection to it, allowing its users to benefit to the utmost.“

The nursery achieves net zero carbon and was awarded the Insider West Midlands Property Sustainability Award. 

Read more here

The University of Plymouth’s ambition of creating a space that will inspire and educate future generations of engineers and designers has reached a significant milestone.

Work has been ongoing to transform the Babbage Building into a state-of-the-art engineering and design building. Once complete, it will provide an innovative and sustainable new home for the School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics and additional space for the School of Art, Design and Architecture.

A topping out ceremony, attended by representatives from the University and project team, was held on site as the project continues to progress.

Professor Judith Petts CBE, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Plymouth, said: “Engineers and designers are a critical element of our efforts to address the planet’s most pressing challenges. They are the innovators behind some of our most impressive achievements, in fields as diverse as offshore renewable energy and digital fabrication. This new building will provide our staff, students and industry partners with the latest technological advances to inspire their creativity and ingenuity now and in the future.”

The scheme has been designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, and project managed by AECOM, the contractor is BAM Construct UK.

Jerome Mayhew’s Carbon Emissions (Buildings) Bill is to have its Second Reading in the House of Commons on 25 November.

The Private Members Bill tackles the construction industry’s embodied carbon emissions, by requiring the reporting of carbon on significant building work from 2023 (2025 for housing) and setting limits on the embodied carbon emitted through construction from 2027.

Mr Mayhew said “Buildings and construction contribute 25% of UK carbon emissions.  We spend lots of effort trying to reduce emissions from building use but largely ignore the huge emissions caused by construction.  My Carbon Emissions (Buildings) Bill takes the first step in requiring the reporting of the amount of carbon embodied in constructing or altering large buildings from 2023, and housing developments from 2025.

“Once you measure you can start to reduce allowable emissions (from 2027), stimulating growth in the production of lower carbon products, from steel and concrete to timber and biomaterials.”

The Private Members Bill - available to read here - represents the proposed Part Z Embodied Carbon Building Regulations that have been drafted by the Part Z group, which includes FCBStudios Associate Tim den Dekker. We are proud to be raising awareness of embodied carbon and a route to reducing the emissions of our industry. 

Bath Abbey has been awarded the prize for community and faith buildings in the AJ Architecture Awards.

The judges said “This decade-long project to repair and future-proof the Grade I-listed Bath Abbey wowed the judges with its exceptional craft, thoughtfulness and ingenuity in how to reduce the energy use of an historic building.

Led by a dedicated Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios team, the £19.3 million in total programme focused on the conservation and re-laying of the historic floor, with its roughly 3,000 stones. Below this, the practice introduced a low-carbon underfloor heating system using waste heat from the city’s natural thermal springs. According to the architect, the main objectives of the project were to open up the abbey and give the building ‘a further 100 years of life, before the next major repair work will be required’.

As well as re-modelling the interior of the abbey, the practice also created new learning and music spaces, such as a bespoke rehearsal studio for the 60-strong choir, in the once-damp Georgian and Victorian basement beneath the pavements of Kingston Parade.

The judges described the scheme as ‘simply knockout’ and an exemplar of ‘how a 1,000-year-old building can become a pioneer for a new, sustainable future, both in this century and the next.’

They added: ‘It is a highly successful labour of love, carried out over 10 years, which has made this historic listed building truly accessible and sustainable.

A technically complex scheme, with meticulous attention paid to every detail, the quality of work is outstanding. There is no ego here. It is a flexible and inventive solution, literally tapping into Bath’s natural hot spring water, which will undoubtedly stand the test of time.’ 

The University of Warwick Faculty of Art was also Highly Commended in the Higher Education category.

"We’re collecting words for a celebration of local language, to be part of an exhibition called ‘Of Time and Place’, in early 2023. 

These might be dialect words used in the local area, or family words that just have a meaning in your house, or words you’ve had to invent because they weren’t in the dictionary!  Do send us any examples you have, along with their definitions." Simon Armitage. 

Entries will be selected and curated by National Poet Laureate and local resident Simon Armitage. They will then be turned into an art installation as part of the wider exhibition which opens at the beginning of February 2023.

The exhibition is being produced by FCBStudios as part of our work on the Kirklees Cultural Heart, in collaboration with Kirklees Council and Huddersfield University. This immersive exhibition will be a celebration and exploration of the changing culture of the area as explored through different pieces of work. 

Do you have a word or phrase to share? Please send your entries alongside a brief translation of what they mean to you to: oftimeandplacehudds@gmail.com by 31st December 2022 stating which postcode area you live in.

The Woodlands Nursery and Forest School at the University of Staffordshire has been awarded the prize for sustainability at the Insider West Midlands Property Awards. 

The new on-campus nursery for Staffordshire University puts play, development, wellbeing and nature at the heart of early years education, in a net zero carbon building, recently completed by FCBStudios.

The judges said “This Net Zero carbon scheme is both a great example of what can be achieved with educational facilities and a fantastic tool in which to inspire the next generation to think more sustainably in their daily lives”

The Insider Property Awards, West Midlands, recognise the outstanding achievements of the people, businesses and organisations which have designed, developed, funded, built and managed the built environment in the region. University of Warwick Faculty of Arts Building, also by FCBStudios, was also on the shortlist for the sustainability award. 

Plans for a thriving High Street for Stretford have been approved unanimously by Trafford Council.

Stretford King Street retrofits the existing 1970s mall into a mixed use high street and improves transport links, pedestrianised streets, more greenery and open spaces, and a reconfigured town centre.

The development will also create a home for retailers, eateries and bar areas to boost the local evening economy, spilling out into a new south-facing community space, with a covered shopping area aimed at local independent businesses, boosting collaboration and community across Stretford.

Widespread landscaping, tree-planting and leafy seating areas will improve air quality and biodiversity while supporting wellbeing for residents and visitors. Significant investment to create a new King Street Square will provide outdoor seating areas, market stalls and spaces to host events, along with transforming the existing multi-storey car park to make it safer and more secure.

Andrea George, town centre and consumer brands director at Bruntwood, said: “The high street is an integral part of any town and we want to revitalise King Street to give the people of Stretford a town centre that provides for their needs while also creating a dynamic and inspiring environment.”

Work is due to start on site in early 2023, with completion set for summer 2024.

FCBStudios’ film about Warwick University Faculty of Arts Building has been awarded the Archiboo prize for the Best Use of Video.

This film takes you on a journey around the light-filled, timber-lined space, up and down the large internal stair which draws you in and connects different learning and teaching environments, social learning zones, rehearsal studios and screening rooms. The journey is intercut with a performance by Poet, Raymond Antrobus, whose poem frames the space within the wider context on site.

The judges said it “portrayed the spatial complexity of the space but it also has a strong narrative thread which gives it structure and mood.”

The Archiboo awards recognise the value of how architects communicate, including websites, social media, film and social value. 

Watch the film. 

The Georgian Group Awards reward those who have shown the vision and commitment to restore Georgian buildings and landscapes.  Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings has been awarded the Diaphoros Prize.

Constructed in 1797 as a spinning mill, producing linen thread from flax, Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings, Shropshire is a very remarkable survivor from the early part of the Industrial Revolution. Its construction was, quite simply, revolutionary, being not only the first iron-framed building in the world, but also the first fireproof building and the first fully prefabricated sectional building that was bolted together. Astonishingly, the wider mill site also includes the 3rd and 8th oldest iron-framed buildings.

The complexity and cost associated with taking on such a fragile Grade I listed building has meant that a succession of developers failed in their respective regeneration plans, and in 2005, in partnership with the local authority, Historic England acquired the site as purchasers of last resort. Temporary structural support was installed, and the site made weatherproof. Happily, in 2017 the site was awarded a £20.7m NLHF grant enabling the start of a 5-year programme of repair and regeneration works to the Main Mill. 

The winning schemes were chosen from over thirty entries, with shortlisted projects encompassing a broad range of building types. John Goodall, Architecture Critic at Country Life, who awarded the prize, said: “In moments of crisis what we have seems more important than ever. So too does the process of cherishing it and handing it on to future generations as an expression of our history, identity and values.”

The award is given for the best example of new design in re-ordering, alterations, extensions or new buildings which are specifically for liturgical use.

Bath Abbey has been the centre for Christian faith in the UNESCO City of Bath for more than 1300 years. The Bath Abbey Footprint Project ensures that it remains so for future generations, through repair and conservation work and much-needed new facilities. Initiated to conserve and stabilise the failing Abbey floor, the city’s natural hot spring water has also been utilised as a renewable heat source, significantly reducing the carbon emissions associated with the operation of the Abbey.

Transformational improvements to accessibility, sustainability and hospitality have been made, for everyone using and visiting the building. In addition, new flexibility for worship and events, help ensure the Abbey remains relevant to contemporary life and secures its future.

The church architecture awards are run in partnership with the Ecclesiastical Architects & Surveyors Association (EASA). They honour excellence and creativity in church architecture.

FCBStudios have been named Refurbishment Architect of the Year at the Building Design Architect of the Year Awards 2022, where we were also distinguished by being shortlisted in the Education and Higher Education categories.

The award is a real acknowledgment of our skill and expertise in conservation, heritage and retrofit, working with existing buildings, including, in recent years Bath Abbey, Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings, Roman Baths Clore Learning Centre and Brighton Dome Corn Exchange and Theatre which were the highlighted schemes in our submission this year. 

Chair of the judging panel Thomas Lane said: "the refurbishment category was particularly hotly contested which is good to see as reusing decent existing buildings needs to become the norm rather than an exception.”

Retaining, retro-fitting and intensifying the use of existing buildings is a key means to tackle the climate emergency, whilst enhancing historical character and social and economic capital. We consider that conservation and design are inseparable and that the re-use of buildings is an integral part of creating sustainable architecture.

"Constructed from CLT, this ambitious and sustainable building moves the healthcare agenda forward."

The Dyson Centre Neonatal Unit at Bath RUH, now over 10 years old, is a finalist in the inaugural Architecture Today Awards 2022, launched to celebrate buildings that have stood the test of time.

The Dyson Centre presented the rare opportunity to quantify the impact of a new building by collecting data sets in the old facility and repeating the exercise upon completion of the new building. Data collected from families and staff in the old unit and in the new unit has delivered compelling evidence that the quality of the environment has a direct impact on clinical outcomes. Findings included: 

Nursing staff spent up to 20% more time in clinical rooms in the new unit.
Parents reported feeling less cramped with a greater sense of privacy and less interference from noise and light.
In the old unit parental anxiety increased over time; in the new unit it reduces.
Parents are more actively involved in their baby’s care in the new unit with greater physical contact.
In the new unit 90% of babies go home breastfeeding, compared with 64% in the old unit.
Babies spend 20% more time asleep in the new unit - and while they are resting they are recovering and growing.

Winners will be announced in February 2023.

Our recent film about the Faculty of Arts Building at Warwick University has been shortlisted for the Archiboo awards in the 'Best use of video' category. 

The new Faculty of Arts Building at the University of Warwick brings together the Arts and Humanities Faculties in one space for the first time, fostering new collaborations and provoking and enabling interaction. This film takes you on a journey around the light-filled, timber-lined space, up and down the large internal stair which draws you in and connects different learning and teaching environments, social learning zones, rehearsal studios and screening rooms. The journey is intercut with a performance by Poet, Raymond Antrobus, whose poem frames the space within the wider context on site.

The intention of this film was to try and portray the spatial complexity of a large building to people who may never visit it in person but with an emphasis on connectivity, materiality and creativity. We wanted the viewer to feel as though they were moving around from level to level, glancing in to rooms, around corners, taking in views across from one side to the other and out to the trees and countryside around. The addition of the powerful performance by Raymond Antrobus serves to add another layer to the film and moves it beyond straight architectural communications.

Watch the film here

A planning application for the next phase of housing within the Brabazon development has been submitted to South Gloucestershire Council.

This builds on the success of The Hangar District and will add 339 new homes, continuing the transformation of the former Filton Airfield site into a thriving new neighbourhood. The homes will be set amongst peaceful, tree-lined streets across a south-facing hillside and will include a mix of 107 two, three and four-bedroom houses, alongside 232 studio, one and two-bedroom apartments.

The FCBStudios designed plans have the same neighbourhood character as The Hangar District, set within a network of green spaces. The homes exceed the national space standards by 25% and their generous floor-to-ceiling heights and large windows bring in an abundance of natural light.

More flexible layouts meet the needs of modern family life and include more dedicated space for working from home. 

FCBStudios have completed a flagship heritage regeneration project to bring to life the listed Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings as an adaptable workspace, leisure destination and social enterprise hub for ‘the next 100 years’.

Situated on the northern edge of Shrewsbury, the site reflects a time when Shropshire led the way in engineering. Its remarkable story is one of revolution, innovation, and evolution.

Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings has been referred to as the ‘grandparent of skyscrapers’. When built in 1797, it was the world’s first iron-framed building, a new technology developed to give better fire protection, that paved the way for the tall steel-framed buildings around the world.

Derelict for many years and on the point of collapse, the big challenge has been to identify a future for the site that would protect and conserve the historic buildings. The £28 million repair and adaptive re-use of the site, for Historic England, has revitalised one of the most important buildings of the industrial revolution as a low-carbon, mixed-use development and a catalyst for the economic regeneration of this area of the town

It has provided a new space for learning on the ground floor which tells the story of the Mill's role in the industrial revolution and in world architecture, along with a public café. Above, four floors of flexible office space will provide accommodation for around 300 people, circulation and meeting space within the Kiln for commercial tenants, as well as access for tour visitors to the restored Jubilee Tower.

Read more about Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings

Unity Place is a social housing scheme for Brent Council – part of the South Kilburn Estate Regeneration. It replaces the Gloucester House and Durham Court high-rise blocks with 235 new homes for social rent in a medium-rise development with lively streets, gardens and accessible play space.  

Within a masterplan by FCBStudios, the development was designed by FCBStudios, Gort Scott, Alison Brooks Architects and Grant Associates. Each practice designed a part of the site, with individual buildings taking a unified approach that draws on the local terrace, mansion house and villas.  

The buildings range from 4-8 storeys, have doors on the street and have a sense of urban domesticity, which restores the character and scale of this part of London.

The winner of the award will be announced in November.  

The Aga Khan Academy Dhaka, an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), opened its doors for the first time to 575 students. The long-awaited moment was met with anticipation, excitement and joy as students explored their new 17-acre, state-of-the-art, award-winning campus. 

Located in Bashundhara, the Academy was designed by FCBStudios and Shatotto, and is the fourth in an integrated global network of non-profit, non-denominational, residential schools. The Aga Khan Academies is dedicated to expanding access to education of an international standard of excellence to exceptional girls and boys regardless of their ability to pay. Currently, 50 per cent of students across the Academies receive some level of financial aid through scholarship funding. 

For the teachers at the Academy, not only are they looking forward to beginning this academic year at a new campus with state-of-the-art facilities, but also to the professional development opportunities they will be exposed to through the Academy’s Professional Development Centre.  

English teacher Tahmina Begum said "I’m excited to be here at the Aga Khan Academy Dhaka because we’re making history here – we have a wonderful campus that caters to our student's needs and we have an incredible curriculum.” 

Globe Point is a 37,800 sq ft seven-storey office development in Leeds’ Temple area the first new build office to be completed in the city this year.

The flat iron style building provides next-generation workspace for over 400 people and offers spectacular views across the city from the roof terrace gardens.

Designed to BREEAM Excellent, the workspace maximises natural daylight to deliver healthy, flexible workspaces. The ground floor café kitchen and business lounge will open in autumn creating a vibrant use at this site which lies just a few minutes’ walk from Leeds City Station’s southern entrance.

Amanda Whittington, Partner, FCBStudios said: “The workplace and what tenants want is changing and this building has pre-empted this. Globe Point is part of a wider masterplan that is really going to revitalise and lift the area, and as one of the first buildings within the masterplan, its position at the head of the site creates a new landmark for the area.  The detailing of the brickwork, crown and curved glazing come together with the informal and natural materials of the interior design to create an exciting new destination for Leeds.”

The building has been delivered for CEG and the interiors have been designed by Ekho Studio. 

The Rwanda Green Fund has announced this week that FCBStudios has been selected to develop Green City Kigali Master Plan and detailed designs for the pilot phase. The selection was done in partnership with the Royal Institute of British Architects.

FCBStudios will head up an international team of consultants to develop a new pattern of settlement to build homes for low and middle income residents, as well as providing communities and livelihoods to accommodate the sustainable expansion of urban Kigali, a first of its kind in Africa..

Peter Clegg said: “This is a truly extraordinary opportunity to address one of the major global environmental challenges we face in the next 50 years – the projected mass urbanisation and population growth across the African continent.  The bringing together of innovative, sustainable, viable, affordable, and culturally relevant solutions has been at the heart of our approach as it has to be realistically replicable. We are excited to bring together a team of experts to address these challenges, as well as bringing forward our long-term commitment to East Africa with our research and charity work through the Feilden Foundation."

FCBStudios are collaborating with regional architects Light Earth Designs, A Studio Space and Studio FH Architects and with multidisciplinary Rwanda-based consultants FBW and Turner and Townsend as cost consultants.  Our international team includes Grant Associates, AKTII and Atelier Ten.

Click here to read the full press release

FCBStudios have been shortlisted for six projects in five categories in this year’s AJ Architecture Awards. In total, more 140 projects have been shortlisted across 19 categories for this year’s AJ Architecture Awards, the annual showcase of the very best built projects in the UK.

The Footprint project at Bath Abbey, restores the floor and prepares the Abbey for the next generations of use is on the shortlist in the Community and Faith category.

Two Higher Education projects have been shortlisted: The School of Digital Arts for Manchester Metropolitan University, creating a future-facing facility that will provide the next generation of digital artists for Manchester and a new building for the Faculty of Arts at Warwick University, bringing the whole faculty together for collaboration and innovation.

The City of London Academy Shoreditch Park is a new school in Hackney, part of the Britannia Masterplan, is one of eight projects on the Schools shortlist.

Unity Place, part of the South Kilburn Estate Regeneration Programme, delivers a new high-quality residential-led development of 235 new homes for social rent is shortlisted in the residential category

The Battersea Exchange masterplan turns a divided site into a well-connected community for people to live learn and work it, and has been shortlisted in the mixed-use category.

In addition to stand-out design, the judges will consider how each project has met or exceeded its brief, how it has promoted client or community engagement and how it has excelled in the use of space or sense of place. They will also analyse what sustainability measures have been put in place.

The winners will be announced at a gala event at the Hilton Metropole, London, on 23 November.

Last week, Buy to Rent at Kings Cross topped out, with the final precast slab sliding into place on the highest floor level.

The development for Argent Related is their first BTR scheme in the UK and features residential buildings by FCBStudios and David Morley Architects as well as leisure space and a managed ecology garden by Haptic Architects and Jan Kattein.

FCBStudios’ building, W1, is located at the north of the triangular site and is made up of connected blocks that step up in scale from 11 to 16 storeys at the northeast corner. The building provides 140 rental homes that sit above a generous communal amenity floor which spills out onto the central public garden.

The project is due to complete next year. 

FCBStudios has been shortlisted for three BD Architect of the Year Awards:  Higher Education Architect, Education Architect (nursery - sixth form)  and Refurbishment Architect of the Year.

Higher Education buildings have evolved post-pandemic. As the digital world makes it easier to collaborate, the physical environment must keep up – there has to be a reason to go there. It is more important than ever to ensure that our HE buildings are designed for internal and external collaboration, providing flexible space fit for future change and with student wellbeing in mind. 

This is the second year running FCBStudios has been shortlisted in this category, showing our experience of evolving themes in learning, teaching and student life which continues to drive our design decisions in this sector, adding to our already strong portfolio with projects including the University of Warwick Faculty of Arts, Central Quad for TU Dublin, SODA and Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus, Bristol University.

Schools reflect our social, environmental, and architectural values. We design our schools as civic buildings to enrich the lives of those who use them and the communities they serve. Our most recent portfolio of school buildings, including Royal Wharf Primary School, City of London Academy Shoreditch Park, Aga Khan Academy Dhaka, and a net zero nursery for the University of Staffordshire.

Retaining, retro-fitting and intensifying the use of existing buildings is a key means to tackle the climate emergency, whilst enhancing historical character and social and economic capital. We consider that conservation and design are inseparable and that the re-use of buildings is an integral part of creating sustainable architecture.

Life has been reinjected into recent projects such as Bath Abbey, Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings, the ongoing renovation of Brighton Dome and the Roman Baths Clore Learning Centre in Bath, ensuring their physical futures, and providing significant improvements in accessibility, sustainability and hospitality. Each building reaffirming its position as a key cultural destination.

Awards will be announced on 18 October. 

The World Architecture Festival has shortlisted five FCBStudios projects, in four categories, for its 2022 awards, as well as one project in the accompanying World Festival of Interiors Awards.

In the completed buildings section, Bath Abbey has been shortlisted in the Religion category, Unity Place Housing (in collaboration with Alison Brooks Architects, Gort Scott and Landscape Architects - Grant Associates and Delivery Architects - RM_A Architects.) and Battersea Exchange in the mixed-use category.  

In the Higher Education and Research category both Central Quad for TU Dublin, and The University of Warwick’s Faculty of Arts building are shortlisted.

The refurbishment and extension of Yeovil Octagon Theatre is shortlisted in the Future Projects Culture section and the University of Warwick Faculty of Arts is also shortlisted in the World Festival of Interiors awards in the Completed Buildings – Education category. 

FCBStudios Partner, Keith Bradley will participate on the judging panels at the Festival.

Educational buildings have evolved post-pandemic. As the digital world makes it easier to collaborate, the physical environment must keep up – there must be a reason to go there. Internal and external collaboration should be encouraged along with flexibility of space and the importance of student wellbeing. Our most recent portfolio of educational buildings responds to these issues providing adaptable, high-value spaces.

The Education Estates Awards celebrate excellence and achievement in Education. FCBStudios have been shortlisted for Architectural Practice of the Year,  City of London Academy has been shortlisted for School Project of the Year and The Faculty of Arts for University of Warwick has been shortlisted for University Project of the Year.

The University of Warwick is also shortlisted for Client of the Year, following the launch of the Faculty of Arts Building.

All the shortlists can be seen here and the winners will be announced at an event in October.  

Central Quad is a 35,000m2 interdisciplinary teaching building for TU Dublin where Science, research and innovation are supported by a range of general and specialist learning facilities.

The Building was shortlisted for the RIAI Learning Environment award, and was highly commended by the jury.

Our aim was to deliver in social, cultural and economic terms to the entire Grangegorman area.  Our vision for Central Quad was to create an open and easily accessible building at the heart of the Campus that is knitted back into the community and the city. The collaborative spaces of Central Quad are designed to bring together cross-disciplinary groups from across the campus, both formally and informally to promote new synergies and interdisciplinary research projects. 

“The Central Quad has been a game-changer for TU Dublin, bringing together over 6,500 students from different parts of the city into a very coherent single building.  With a core of well-designed labs and classrooms, FCBStudios organised the building around some very fine informal learning spaces that have proven very popular with the students. The courtyard and south-facing seating have also become firm favourites, while the balconies offer the staff workspaces provide some of the best views in the city. “ Dr. Paul Horan, Head of Campus Planning, TU Dublin.

The thermal spring-powered underfloor heating at Bath Abbey Footprint Project has been highly commended in the Renewable Energy Project of the Year category in the Business Green Leaders Awards 2022.

The awards celebrate the best of the UK's green economy and burgeoning net-zero transition. This particular category recognises projects that have demonstrated a wide range of environmental and economic benefits associated with clean energy deployment and development.

The revolutionary underfloor heating system harnesses energy from Bath’s hot springs, as the water flows to the river Avon through the Great Drain which runs alongside the Abbey. The heat source is free and available and has been in operation for over a year, providing clean energy and saving the Abbey money heating the building.

Alex Morris, Asssociate said "Thanks to the inspired vision and commitment of Bath Abbey to creating an Abbey fit for the future, we were able to seek a way to operate more sustainably, whilst protecting their internationally significant buildings. Technical innovation from Buro Happold,  and Mann Williams  helped fulfill the vision for a low carbon heating system."

The £10 million Footprint Project provided a programme of repair and restoration including 2,400 floor stones, conserved and re-laid, and a series of new spaces that allow the Abbey to cater to its parishioners and the City of Bath for the future. Read more about the heating in  ‘Just add water…!’

In a unanimous decision from the planning committee, permission was granted for Three Chamberlain Square, a new 10-storey, 185,000 sq ft commercial building, a key part of the second phase of the Paradise masterplan.

Grounded in sustainability and with a unique ‘inside-outside’ ethos to the workplace, Three Chamberlain Square will be one of the most sustainable commercial buildings located in the city centre. It will be a first for Birmingham in terms of environmental standards, while offering a unique working setting for occupiers.

George Wilson, Partner at architects Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, said: ‘Three Chamberlain Square will be a new type of commercial building for the city, one that has sustainability and post-Covid requirements at its core. It will be a welcoming environment, with active uses on the ground floor.’

‘There will be an abundance of natural light and ventilation, with the building design unique in its pioneering approach to reduce both embodied and operational carbon, creating a low-energy, low-carbon workplace for the future. It will be a special addition to the city, with a real sense of arrival for both visitors and the public.’ 

The Roman Baths Clore Learning Centre ­– a new, state-of-the-art Learning Centre at the Roman Baths – will open on 16 June.

The Clore Learning Centre is part of the Archway Project, which also includes a brand-new Bath World Heritage Centre and a new Roman Gym at the Roman Baths.

The scheme brings a lease of life for a suite of historic spa buildings, providing spaces for education and engagement with the Roman City of Bath. The renovation unlocks the historic spaces by navigating changes in level between three different buildings and across a complex archaeological site. Its industrial character has been revealed, to sit alongside that of the Roman Baths as an important part of the City’s history.

Two generous learning spaces are recovered from the shells of the nineteenth-century fabric, and supported by the essential ancillary functions previously lacking: a spacious cloakroom, dedicated WCs, offices and a lunchroom.

Lindsey Braidley, Learning and Participation Manager at the Roman Baths, added: “Learning outside the classroom is an essential part of children’s education. Studies have shown that cultural trips significantly improve the health and wellbeing of students – something that, after successive lockdowns and reduced access to trips, is more essential than ever.”

The School of Digital Arts at Manchester Metropolitan University was formally opened by Oscar-winning film director Danny Boyle.

SODA is a £35m investment into the next generation of creative content. Offering industry-informed courses and state-of-the-art spaces designed by FCBStudios and equipped with the latest technologies, SODA provides a unique teaching and research environment that supports Manchester’s ambition to be a leading powerhouse of the UK’s digital economy.

Though SODA welcomed its first students in September, Monday (June 13) was the first opportunity for business leaders, policymakers and creative practitioners to see the new building, and to take part in interactive demonstrations and installations that showcase SODA’s fantastic work to date and its ambitions for the future. They were also able to explore the Degree Show exhibition of undergraduate animation, filmmaking and photography students’ work, as well as a film showcase in the SODA cinema space. 

Speaking at the launch event, Boyle said: “Every city in the world will have one of these. There must be a place where the digital storytellers can gather and can share their skills and their need for knowledge with each other. And it’s in Manchester, which of course is the city I owe everything to, and it’s also a place that produces brilliant, independent minds.”

SODA promises a revolution in how we conceive the future of storytelling.

Read more about the building here. 

FCBStudios are working directly for Kirklees Council on ambitious plans to revitalise part of Huddersfield town centre, which are currently open for public consultation.

The council’s vision for the Cultural Heart, in the Queensgate and Piazza area of the town centre, includes the refurbishment of the 1930s Grade II listed Library and Art Gallery, to create a new museum for the town, and refurbishment of the 1970s Grade II listed Queensgate Market, to create a new food hall and public library. The scheme also includes a new purpose-built art gallery on Queen Street, to display the town’s important collection, and a multipurpose 2,200 seat entertainment venue and multi-storey car park.

The new and repurposed historic buildings will sit within a significant new family-friendly and accessible park, which will include an outdoor event space as well as landscaped gardens. The masterplan will allow better connections between the town and the university, create more active street frontages, and improve the safety and appeal of this part of the town centre to residents and visitors.

Helen Roberts, Partner at FCBStudios, said “The ambitious vision for the Cultural Heart will breathe new life into this tired part of the town through arts, culture and leisure; celebrate the social and architectural heritage of two listed buildings; provide a vibrant new park, and reinforce Huddersfield’s identity. The consultation is an important part of the process in giving the council and design team the opportunity to directly learn from the local community, and respond to their comments, as the design evolves. “

Have your say here: https://www.kirkleesculturalheart.co.uk/

FCBStudios are delighted to sponsor a new award for sustainability at New Blades 2022 – the annual modelmaking exhibition and recruitment fair.

The award recognises excellence in sustainable architectural modelmaking. Celebrating the role of modelmaking in architecture and its ability to communicate many aspects of design, the winning model could describe low impact or climate responsive design, and be mindful of sustainable practice in modelmaking through material choice and technique.

Judged by Cassidy Wingrove, Associate and Modelmaker at FCBStudios, the award was given to Elliott Ellis. A recent graduate from Arts University Bournemouth, the work embraces low tech, sustainable materials such as card, wood, cork and clay.

Cassidy said “In a strong show of modelmaking talent this year, Elliott’s work caught our eye for not only showing interesting schemes which connect with their environmental context, but also for their clear aptitude and ability to craft detailed models which play to the strengths of the range of materials used. Elliott brings their own ethos and style to their practice, while putting the architecture firmly at centre.”

We are delighted to announce that ‘Central Quad’ a new interdisciplinary teaching building for TU Dublin Grangegorman Campus has been shortlisted for an RIAI Award.

Science, research, and innovation-focussed, Central Quad accommodates ten schools from the College of Sciences & Health, College of Engineering & Built Environment and College of Arts & Tourism as well as general learning space and support services.

The building is a contemporary and dynamic interpretation of the classic university quadrangle, designed to provide an open and easily accessible building at the heart of the Campus, announcing its role as a teaching and social centre for the university.

Everyone is invited to vote online for the RIAI Public Choice Award, where you can select your favourite project of the year. The winner will be announced on RTE Radio 1, Morning Ireland, on the morning of Thursday 23 June, with the full awards ceremony taking place later that day.

Click here to view the full shortlist and vote for Central Quad