Complete: Westbury Swimarium

Sarah Harris and Rick Johnstone, of the Swim School Ltd, came to gcp with a challenge: to design and deliver their ‘Swimarium’ in Westbury, Wiltshire. Being a retrofit of a former warehouse made the brief a little unusual.  The pool itself had already been procured, leaving the challenge of accommodating the ancillary facilities and plant in the remaining space.

The pool occupies approximately a 100m2 footprint, within a building that has a 230m2 gross internal area. Necessary accommodation also included: An entrance hallway, an accessible wc, 2 changing rooms, a viewing gallery, lockers, a plant room, a chemical store, raised teaching walkways and compliant escape routes; making the spatial tolerances are extremely fine. 

gcp undertook all the design work from the initial feasibility study through to concept, planning and technical design stage. The warehouse underwent an extensive thermal and structural upgrade, with half the roof accommodating solar pv panels. gcp also supported the construction team throughout, with the design calling for some unique detailing around the piled pool slab, teaching walkways and external walls. All credit goes to the contractor, Hill Project Management, who ran the build stage diligently and professionally, under significant time constraints.

Recently we were also pleased to be invited along to the grand opening. With a long waiting list and thousands of satisfied customers, we hope that this will be one of many more Swimariums to come!

Planning Awarded: Staunton

Planning granted by Forest of Dean District Council for a development of 20 affordable homes in Staunton!

gcp is working with Two Rivers Housing to redevelop a site currently used for sheltered housing. The existing 1960s buildings provided poor quality accommodation and did not meet the standard of homes that Two Rivers aim to provide to their tenants. Following consultation with remaining residents, it was decided to redevelop the land so that better quality homes can be created. The design proposal by gcp, which was granted planning consent last month, will provide a mix of accommodation including bungalows, flats and houses. Whilst continuing to provide homes for older tenants, the scheme will create a more mixed community that reflects the nature of surrounding homes and local housing need. The new homes will feature renewable technologies including heat pumps and solar panels to reduce carbon emissions and provide low energy costs for tenants.

Planning Submitted for Aerospace Engineering Company

gcp have recently submitted for planning consent a scheme to extend and reimagine the McBraida factory building at Bridgeyate near Bristol. McBraida plc have operated at this plant supplying precision machined parts to a domestic and an increasingly important international aviation market.

Over the last 30 years, as the business expanded, the original brick factory unit has been expanded in piecemeal fashion without any fundamental re-planning of the production space, or strategic view to the future. Consequently, the site is now operating at significantly below optimum efficiency due to the resulting cramped conditions. Likewise, the industry shift into computer aided design and manufacture requires an expansion in office area to accommodate these increasingly desk based manufacturing processes.

Driven by overseas sales success and the lack of space at the Bridgeyate plant, in 2013 the business opened a second production base in Poland. This is a purpose-built modern factory unit with an efficient layout and high levels of staff satisfaction with the workspace environment. It is equipped with all facilities expected of a modern engineering production plant including offices, laboratories, testing facilities, meeting rooms and a client presentation suite. There is a stark contrast between the highly efficient McBraida Polska plant and the somewhat dated, inefficient, sub-optimal accommodation at Bridgeyate.

The proposed extensions will envelope most of the existing factory and will give increased production area, storage, new offices and staff facilities to a high modern standard. The public image of the McBraida works will be transformed from its current anonymous appearance. The intended design aesthetic is ‘modern industrial’; appropriate for the company’s business although to a higher specification than a standard industrial unit. The public-facing façade of the building will express the forward-looking aspirations fitting for this high technology company.