London to Paris 2010 Earthquake sponsered cycle ride

London to Paris 2010 Earthquake sponsored cycle ride

Update: the cycle ride was completed successfully, within the target time, and the total raised was a tremendous £9,114.60 for Article25. Photos of the ride are available on TwitPic here.

The earthquakes that devastated both Haiti and Chile earlier this year prompted two staff at gcp Chartered Architects to act and raise funds for Article 25, a UK registered charity that designs and delivers buildings and structures for those in greatest need worldwide. Having set a target of raising £10,000, Jonathan Carter and Rob Mckillop of gcp both graduates of University of West of England UWE, enlisted the support of ten friends to cycle 296 miles from Trafalgar Square (London) to the Eiffel Tower (Paris) over the August 2010 bank holiday. None of the 12 cyclists had ever done any distance cycling before, but they all work within the construction industry. 

All the money raised goes to the charity. All transport costs, accommodation etc is being met by the cyclist out of their own pocket. To meet this target the team are looking for financial or in kind support ranging from individual donations, through to securing a team kit sponsor. An online individual donation site has been set up at http://www.justgiving.com/article25bikeride and aleaflet summarising the cycle ride can be downloaded here (PDF, 134kB).

Supported by gcp and CIAT. For details of the charity see http://www.article-25.org.

Malcolm X Community Centre Users Consulted on Asset Transfer

gcp have been appointed to undertake a feasibility study as part of a major review of the centre by the management team. The results of the stuidy will help inform a decision on Asset Transfer from Bristol City Council to the community as outlined in the government's Quick Report. See gcp's blog and consultation questionaires at http://malcolmxcentre.wordpress.com.

If you would like to learn more about the prinicple of Asset Transfer please contact Jonathan Platt at gcp on 0117 932 8888.

Planning success for Junction 3

gcp Chartered Architects has gained detailed planning approval for a major mixed use brownfield regeneration project next to the M32 in Easton, Bristol. The scheme has been designed for Bristol City Council and Knightstone Housing Association and includes a library, crèche and community meeting rooms, 53 apartments, 6 family homes and 7 small scale work units. The learning centre is designed to BREEAM excellent environmental standard and the homes to Code level 3. The £8.2m development is due to go onsite in Spring 2010 and will be completed by Autumn 2011. The scheme is funded by the Big Lottery Community Libraries fund and the Homes & Communities Agency.

Renewables technology research provides invaluable guidance

We have been working on an interesting project for a client evaluating the relative benefits of a number of low and zero carbon technologies to satisfy Code for Sustainable Homes requirements and to meet the objective of developing low or zero carbon projects in the future. With an aim to avoid "green bling"  this exercise has highlighted the most suitable applications for common technologies such as solar thermal and photovoltaics as well as ground sourced heat pumps, biomass and combined heat and power. The study coordinates capital and lifecycle costing data to provide broad decision criteria for selecting technologies.

If you would like to discuss this project or how we can support your development to attain your sustainability goals, or to understand more about these technologies, please speak to Colin Powell at gcp on 0117 932 8888.

Renewables technology research provides invaluable guidance