Works Commenced: Headingley Stadium

in ,

Works have commenced on site at Headingley Stadium to upgrade their indoor practice facility ahead of the England v India test match this summer. gcp Chartered Architects were recommended to Yorkshire County Cricket Club (YCCC) by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to design and co-ordinate the refurbishment works. gcp were appointed at the start of February 2025, prepared the tender pack by the start of March with a view to getting on site at the start of April, and completing the works by mid-June.

The proposals will greatly improve the health and safety strategy for the facility by complying as far as reasonably possible with ECB technical guidance. Learnings have also been taken from our recent technical guidance note for the ECB on Covered Outdoor Cricket Facilities, particularly around the use of tensioned net environments and a considered method of entry and escape through a potential risk zone for inclusive and safe access.

Construction North Group (CNG) have made great progress with the strip out and demolition works. We look forward to seeing progress on site over the coming weeks.

Masterplan: Sheffield Caribbean Sports Club

in ,

gcp have recently submitted a pre-planning application for the redevelopment of Sheffield Caribbean Sports Club. Over the last year gcp have undertaken several rounds of consultation with club members, national governing bodies, local residents and other stakeholders to identify the most appropriate development to ensure the long-term sustainability of SCSC. These plans have public and private sector backing which should enable swift delivery subject to planning approval.

The proposals include:

  • The creation of an artificial 7-a-side football pitch would allow the club to train year-round on-site. The artificial pitch would double as an improved hockey training surface for Chapeltown Hockey Club.

  • The introduction of two netball courts would allow the SCSC netball team to return to The Common and reduce club costs for facility hire in the city centre. These courts would also double as tennis courts, a basketball court, and a 5-a-side football pitch.

  • Four padel courts, funded through private investment, would provide a home for the fastest growing sport in the UK. Revenue from these courts should help to fund the other improvements.

  • A three-lane outdoor covered cricket facility would provide state-of-the-art practice lanes which maintain their performance year-round without the capital expenditure associated with a traditional sports hall.

  • Rationalised parking to increase the number of vehicle spaces on site and improve safety for pedestrians and vehicles moving through the site.

  • Landscaping features to improve the ecology and biodiversity on site, as well as create natural terraces to improve viewing opportunities for the cricket pitch.

This masterplan pre-app will run in tandem with the clubhouse planning application which is expected to receive a decision this summer.

ECB Design Guidance Note

in ,

Over the last 18 months, gcp Chartered Architects have led an extensive team of consultants, alongside the England & Wales Cricket Board, to produce a design guidance note for ‘Covered Outdoor Cricket Facilities’. The process involved a significant amount of technical rigour and research, including: consultation across ECB departments, conversations with various other national governing bodies and manufacturer and supplier meetings. All of this to achieve an ‘inside out’ approach offering a valuable new opportunity for those wanting to provide cricket training and playing facilities year-round.

Materplan: Example Urban Scenario

The project began with a team meeting at the ECB’s Covered Outdoor Cricket Facility pilot scheme, Bradford Park Avenue. The meeting allowed the team to analyse the pilot facility in depth, established what was working well and what might need clarification as a part of the technical design guidance. gcp were also commissioned to undertake a photographic study of the facility as a part of the research phase.

Following the Bradford meeting, gcp embarked upon the wider research phase, initially meeting with:

  • Manufacturers, and suppliers of netting, surfacing, structures, canvasses and even bowling machines!

  • National governing bodies for other sports

  • Regional cricket clubs

  • A team of specialist subconsultants which included a civil and structural engineer, an MEP consultant, an accessibility consultant, an acoustician and a building regulations consultant.

Single Lane General Arrangement Plan

Through close collaboration with the ECB Facilities Services team, gcp proceeded to the design and written phase of the project, with each consultant feeding in their own contributions, comments, and expertise along the way.  

The evolved document underwent extensive in-house review from both gcp and the ECB before being released as a culmination of approximately 18-months’ work, including input from dozens of different experts and professionals.

Net configurations

This project is the latest in an ongoing 15-year working relationship between gcp and the ECB, where we have provided architectural and wide ranging consultancy services. We’re extremely proud of the continued relationship with such a prestigious sporting national governing body. We’re also very grateful to the ECB for their continued support. Projects like this are only ever made possible with mutual trust, collaboration, and dedication.

Finally, we are thrilled to announce that the documents are now available to download on the ECB website, here: https://www.ecb.co.uk/news/4263505 .

Bradford Park Avenue (ECB Pilot Scheme)

Planning for the Future Q&A

in ,

Our Planning For The Future events were a huge success! We tackled the upcoming Local Plan changes and what they mean to sustainability in construction. Our team shared key insights on achieving sustainability targets, with a special focus on Passivhaus and energy-efficient design. 

The live Q&A was buzzing with great questions and we have addressed some of the key questions raised below that we believe are worth sharing.

Thank you to everyone who joined and contributed!

Can you please explain the difference between BREEAM outstanding compared with Passivhaus and which is better value?

Whilst BREEAM and Passivhaus both sit below the umbrella of sustainability, fundamentally they measure different things.

BREEAM is a wider reaching assessment methodology which picks up issues like health & wellbeing, waste, and energy. Passivhaus just focusses on energy. To achieve BREEAM outstanding you would need to receive a BREEAM score of over 85% across all categories. This could be achieved by prioritising other categories to energy, so whilst BREEAM outstanding is a good indicator of a very sustainable building, it does not guarantee the building is low energy.

Passivhaus however has clear pass/fail metrics for energy including Heating Load, Space Heating Demand, and Primary Energy Demand. Achieving Passivhaus guarantees that the building is low energy.

The concept of carbon ‘offsetting’ was introduced in 1992 at the Kyoto Protocol. How do you foresee that offsetting can be eliminated in excellent design?

Carbon offsetting is certainly necessary in the short term. Currently we can achieve net zero in operation without the need for offsets, especially on low rise residential. Issues arise when we consider embodied carbon due to the construction sector’s reliance on virgin materials, particularly concrete and metals.

Moving from our current linear economy to a circular economy will greatly help to reduce carbon emissions in construction, but this will be decades in the making. LETI and the Net Zero Carbon Building Standard set out targets for embodied carbon which reduce towards 2050 as the industry moves towards circularity.

In the current market, the best way to achieve net zero whole life carbon without offsets is first and foremost to design efficient and simple forms which avoid tricky junctions, as these typically require less material.

The next step is to use natural materials which sequester carbon during the building’s lifecycle. This is not a silver bullet however as the natural materials must be sustainably sourced and ideally have a re-use strategy for end of life to avoid the products being sent to landfill or burnt which would see the sequestered carbon return to the atmosphere.

Have you conducted costing studies for achieving EPC A, considering sequencing, build programme implications and the potential need for mechanical ventilation?

There are some useful industry reports which discuss cost uplifts for sustainable buildings. These reports are not always linked to EPC A as a metric, but they can be used as a rule of thumb.

AECOM undertook a study alongside UCL in 2021 which demonstrated that the cost uplift of moving to Passivhaus can be as low as 0.9% if you use experienced designers and contractors.

For more information on this topic, please see the following article: HERE

WSP undertook a study for BCC in 2021 to inform the council’s new Local Plan in which they measured the cost uplift of achieving RIBA climate challenge 2025. This target includes not only Net Zero in use but also embodied carbon reductions. For a semi-detached house, the cost uplift was 15%.

For more information on this topic, please see the following Policy from the West of England Combined Authority:

Santander published a report in 2022 which identified that homeowners are willing to pay between 9.4-15.5% more to buy an energy efficient home.

Read the full ‘Buying into the Green Homes Revolution’ report by Santander.

The figures suggest that capital investment in sustainable development will either return similar profits to current practice, or improved profits if using consultants and contractors who are used to the practices and design from first principles.

The key here is using experienced consultants and being open to a new design methodology to eliminate sequencing and programme issues.

Are there any enforced requirements on future homeowners to use specific products e.g. recycled material carpets, high spec windows etc?

Currently there is no requirement for homeowners to install low embodied carbon materials although this could change in the future.

The Net Zero Carbon Building Standard requires a building to be re-assessed at any time in its life if the owner wishes to claim the building as Net Zero. This would pick up on homeowner material changes and could impact the outcome. The NZCBS is currently an opt-in target and thus this will not be enforced.

I think realistically this will never be enforced on homeowners, however as we move to a circular economy it is likely that there will no longer be high carbon products on the market because they cannot be installed in new buildings. This will mean that naturally homeowners will be persuaded to install low carbon materials.

How does the panel feel about the proposed expansion of Heathrow Airport when considering the current climate emergency?

In 2023, the greenhouse gas emission of London Heathrow Airport amounted to approximately 18.8 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent. 51,500 metric tons per day. Using the LETI embodied carbon primer a house emits approx. 40 metric tons up to PC. That means Heathrow’s daily emissions equate to the construction of approx. 1,290 homes.

Air travel is one of the most polluting industries on earth. We have a global carbon budget which needs to be shared equitably across all sectors. The expansion of Heathrow will take a considerable chunk of our UK carbon budget which could be used to address more pressing issues.

The graph below compares carbon emissions of air travel and train travel at a national and international scale. A report by GreenPeace also found that 71% of the time air travel is cheaper than train travel and the average price increase for train travel is 200%. There is a clear incentive here to use air travel which has a considerably worse impact on the environment.

To discourage air travel, I would suggest both the creation of a tax on aviation fuel and an additional tax on business travel. Ideally, this revenue stream would then be invested in improving sustainably transport at all levels.

Ultimately, the Heathrow expansion is based on anticipated demand. Maybe we need a culture shift in the UK towards slow travel. Make the journey part of the adventure.

Are you finding the construction industry lagging behind with the knowledge and expertise to build to these standards?

The first Passivhaus project was built in the 1990’s. 30 years have passed and this still isn’t commonplace, so absolutely the construction industry is lagging behind.

The construction industry at large is certainly not in any rush to achieve these standards. Construction is very risk averse be it through the fear of using unproven systems, the ease of sticking with what we know and being able to squeeze larger profits, or the inability to specify certain materials due to insurance issues.

Pockets of the industry have found a niche for providing low energy housing which show the standards can be achieved, and according to the reports referenced previously they can be achieved at relatively low costs. The construction methods are largely the same, and whilst air-tightness can be a challenge, there are many products on the market now which make this easier. The key to unlocking low energy housing at scale will be having sufficient MVHR, ASHP, and PV installers.

The few have proven the concept. It is now for the many to adopt these practices and make low carbon standards the norm.

How difficult is it to achieve Passivhaus standards with higher buildings? Is there a sweet spot for height with carbon / cost benefit ratio?

When looking to achieve Passivhaus on higher buildings, the same factors need to be considered at day 1. These primarily focus on building junctions; how will continuity of insulation be ensured around a steel or concrete framed building? How will the airtightness line be maintained? Once a clear strategy is in place for the construction and sequencing, higher buildings should be easier to achieve Passivhaus on than low rise domestic.

This comes down to a rule called form factor. The form factor is derived from the surface to volume ratio for a building. The larger the building, often the smaller the form factor. This can also be seen in nature where animals in particularly cold environments tend to be larger with a small surface to volume ratio to limit heat losses. Typically to achieve Passivhaus levels of insulation, the form factor should be multiplied by 100 to give the thickness of insulation required in mm.

We trust that this has addressed queries raised at the Planning For The Future Event. However, if you have any outstanding comments or questions regarding the above, please do not hesitate to contact us.

More accreditation success!

Congratulations team gcp for another successful recertification audit of our Quality and Environmental Management System (QEMS) ISO9001 and ISO14001.

Here at gcp, we are committed to the continuous improvement of all procedures, practices and systems, which starts with QEM and extends beyond. We use this system to maintain efficiency of work, alongside a high standard of customer service, whilst holding space for innovation and forward thinking.

The 2025 audit continues a long-running history of successful compliance audits and the use of this system as a robust management tool. gcp have proudly held an accredited system since 1994 and were one of the first practices in the South West to gain a Quality Assurance accreditation.

Alongside this certification, we also maintain various other accreditations and memberships to support our credentials, including, but not limited to those shown below.

Finally, thanks to the whole team, who continue to be at the heart of the success of our system, approaching both day-to-day work and the audits with expertise, diligence, good humour and creativity.

McBraida "fact-finding mission" in Poland

in ,

Three members of gcp recently accompanied senior management from McBraida plc on a fact-finding mission to their factory in Rzeszow, Poland. McBraida are a west country precision engineer of aerospace components and a long-standing client of gcp who has been assisting in the defining the company’s long term future development plans.  In 2012 McBraida established their subsidiary factory within the former Soviet aerospace community in eastern Poland.

The visit to the Rzeszow facility was crucial as we work to deliver McBraida’s planned office and factory extension in Bridgeyate, Bristol. It provided valuable insights into their operations. We were impressed by the well-delivered and finished scheme, particularly considering the logistical challenges of distance and language. The McBraida design and construction team in Poland have set a high bar for our scheme in Bristol which is being designed to take the business to the next level operational efficiency and consolidate McBraida in the upper tier of aerospace component manufactures in the southwest, and nationally.

This fact-finding mission has informed our team and will contribute to the successful delivery of the Bristol project. We are excited about the opportunity to continue working with McBraida and bringing their Bristol expansion to life.

International Women's Day: 2025

in

Over recent years, we have made significant strides in improving gender diversity within our workforce. Since 2022, the percentage of female employees has increased from 38%, reaching 45.83% of our total workforce. This growth reflects an ongoing commitment to fostering an inclusive and balanced workplace. Through inclusive policies and a culture that supports gender equity, we continue to make progress in building and maintaining a more diverse, dynamic team.

gcp are a proud signatory for Women in Business Charter Bristol and have been since 2019. This charter provides an opportunity for goal setting, accountability and reflection enabling us to "embrace diversity, increase representation and empower women to thrive in their careers".

In recent review of our charter goals, we highlighted the need for unconscious bias training and an update to our Employee Handbook, both of which are now complete. We have added Gender Pay Gap analysis to our business KPIs, which are reviewed annually with trends tracked and monitored.  In 2025, we will support opportunities for those in our team who identify as women to feedback what support, training, processes and initiatives would most interest and benefit them at this current time, including mentoring.

Focus days are important, but equal emphasis must be placed on the work we are doing on the other days of the year. International Women’s Day is necessary to remind us that our journey is not yet complete.