“The West Street project began in 2010, as a collaboration with Knightstone Housing Association and gcp Chartered Architects. The scheme trained homeless ex-service personnel to build a community, gain new skills and qualifications and meet like-minded people. The Homes and Communities Agency provided £660,000 of funding to help kick-start the project, which features 14 homes for social rent. ”
Handing over at Cotford St Luke, Taunton; the first tenants cut the ribbon on their new homes.
Tenants cutting the ribbon to their new homes in Coltford St Luke
gcp worked with South Western Housing Society and Kier Living to design and deliver 28 affordable homes on this sensitive site. The opening was attended by Local and Parish Councillors and SWHS Board Members.
Feedback on the design was very positive. Particular features commented on were: spacious design, positive relationships to neighbouring properties and integration into the structure and character of Cotford.
AECB Silver Standard Award received for Torpoint Housing in Bristol
Our Torpoint project for Knightstone Housing has now been certified to meet the AECB Silver standard. This low energy building standard uses PassivHaus methodology and overall energy targets with a some flexibility on airtightness to make the standard more accessible. We would recommend AECB Silver to clients as a really useful first step in the learning process towards delivering PassivHaus levels of energy efficiency.
Achieving the standard on this project was particularly challenging due to the complex building section – necessary on the steeply sloping site – so congratulations should also go to Kier Living for their persistence and hard work in achieving an airtightness of 1.1 ac/hr.
More information on the project is available at the Low Energy Building Database.
Colin Powell of gcp is speaking at the following event next week !
Domestic housing presents a potential opportunity for national CO2 savings of 20% and currently accounts for 30% of all energy use, but housing stock contains almost infinite variations. What has been learnt from past measures, what is being utilised currently and where is domestic efficiency heading?
Successful pre-completion air-testing today at our Stoke Bishop low energy project; achieving 0.68 air change per hour - well below our EnerPHit target of 1.0.
Another success for the Nudura ICF construction method and the care taken installing gcp’s carefully considered air tightness detailing.
Air Testing at Church Road
Air Testing at Church Road
Architects image of Passivhaus in Dundry
gcp have obtained planning approval from North Somerset Council for a new home in the village of Dundry to the south of Bristol. Located in green-belt, the project will replace an existing house that was very cold and draughty in the exposed location, with an extra-snug and energy efficient PassivHaus.
gcp’s in-house PassivHaus designer Colin Powell, has modelled the energy performance and optimised the design to enable the client to achieve a certifiable building on completion. We are now working with the client on construction design to ensure the home will be easy and efficient for the self-build team to construct to meet the exacting PassivHaus standards.
gcp would be pleased to receive applications for minimum 4 days per week or full time employment from part 2 qualified architectural trainees or fully qualified architects.
Experience of designing multiple unit schemes in the affordable housing and open market sectors and experience of revit would be desirable.
Keenness to design and have direct client contact as well as the enthusiasm to run small teams will be important.
Rates of pay will be subject to circumstances and experience.
In the first instance, please e mail jeremy.pilling@gcparch.co.uk with a cv and examples of some recent work.
No agencies please.
gcp secure change of use planning approval to convert offices to residential for Alliance Homes in Weston-super-Mare.
Alliance Home offices
The High Rise Towerblock was reclad to improve thermal efficiency, reduce heating bills and extend the life of the building.
Before: Brandon House was experiencing problems with structural movement and suffering from poorinsulation leading to condensation, mould and water ingress.
Photo Credits to Alumasc. Read their blog on Brandon House here.
gcp director Colin Powell was among the first group of students undertaking (and passing) the new AECB CarbonLite Retrofit training course developed to deliver robust low energy retrofit solutions for existing buildings.
AECB CarbonLite includes detailed understanding of the moisture risks in existing building retrofits and the particular requirements for servicing in existing buildings. With this qualification Colin will be able to certify projects under the AECB CarbonLite scheme.
Mark Community Housing
gcp have been working closely with Mark Community Land Trust and South Western Housing Society to develop a project of 12 homes which will provide affordable housing for local people in the village of Mark in the Somerset Levels. Like many rural villages homes in Mark are unaffordable for young families and people who are in low-waged rural employment. This makes it hard for people with family or work connections to find homes and stay in the village. Following a housing need survey that showed that there was a significant number of people who wanted to live in Mark but were priced out of the housing market, a group of local volunteers set up a Community Land Trust to find a solution. After a long process of testing sites and finding a willing landowner the CLT found a site and employed gcp to develop design and planning proposals.
Following a period of community engagement and consultation gcp finalised a design that delivers an attractive contemporary appearance, with a mix of homes including bungalows, houses and apartments, that will meet a broad range of needs and will provide high quality, energy efficient homes for the village. The project was submitted to Sedgemoor District Council for Planning Approval and at a full planning committee meeting this week received the support of all councillors (with one abstention).
This is great news for the village and we look forward to starting the construction stage in the new year, working with EG Carter Construction to deliver the new homes for the beginning of 2018.
Tercon Ltd have just completed a new domestic waste transfer station for Stroud District Council at Gossington. The project involved the construction of a new 1,200m2 high bay sorting area with a single storey office facility. An existing transport workshop on the site has also been refurbished as well as the completion of an extensive external works package. gcp chartered Architects supported Tercon Ltd through the construction phase of the project which is due to be open for business in the new year.
Gossington Waste Transfer Depot
Gossington Waste Transfer Depot
If the answer is yes then gcp Chartered Architects recommend the AECB as a fantastic source of information and guidance. As members of the AECB and certified PassivHaus Designers gcp are ideally placed to assist in delivering both new and refurbished low energy buildings to the AECB Silver standard.
After: what the building looks like now works are complete
gcp Chartered Architects would like to congratulate Rydon Construction on the successful completion of Cat A+works at 155 Aztec West, Bristol. The project was managed by BNP Paribas Real Estate for the institutional owner. The project involved replacement of all windows and mechanical and electrical services as well as the introduction of a new shower area. The entrance has been greatly enhanced with the addition of a new entrance lobby extension with a new boardroom at first floor.
Before: outside 155 Aztec West, Bristol
gcp are off on a tour of the Stewart Milne Factory today! You can leave messages with reception - we will be back in the office tomorrow.
gcp Chartered Architects have secured planning permission for the conversion of offices to flats in the Banbury conservation area.
Local referendum has voted overwhelmingly in favour of the Nailsworth Community Land Trust Housing scheme. http://www.nailsworthclt.org.uk/ . Project is for the creation of 10 new affordable homes for local people. One aim of the referendum was to seek agreement of the right to remove the right to buy so that the homes would be protected as affordable homes into the future.
gcp are thrilled to be involved in one of the first successful CRTBO's!
Design for Health Task Group
gcp have been invited to be part of a body of industry experts advising the Constructing Excellence, Construction Clients Group. gcp will be working alongside organisations including Safety in Design, Mace, HSE, Land Securities, Imperial College, Jaguar Landrover, Skanska and others.
The CCG Health and Safety Group have recognised that Clients and Designers can do more to put health at the forefront of their considerations and have recommended the establishment of a task group to move this forward. The purpose of this Group is to equip clients with what they need to specify to achieve the highest standards for Health & Safety during decision making and design, by setting clear expectations to the industry.
http://ccg.constructingexcellence.org.uk/health-and-safety-group/hs-in-design/