London Calling Autumn 2011

Issue 01 Autumn 2011

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Welcome

Welcome to the first edition of London Calling, a newsletter from Stride Treglown, which highlights some of the work our London Studio is undertaking, what’s on the horizon and developments in the business.

For Stride Treglown group, it’s been a challenging 12 months but we have seen an increase in workload across many sectors during the first half of 2011.

In London, we are focusing our attentions on a number of sectors including student accommodation, education, residential, commercial fit-out and public space, working alongside some of the Capital’s largest contractors, developers, consultants and agents to make best use of new and existing buildings.

So, here is a whistle stop tour of Strides London – a team based in the heart of Lambeth who not only provide award winning architecture but also planning, interior design, project management, roll-out, graphic design, BREEAM and landscape architecture.

We recently completed a new faculty building for the Department of Media and Communications at Goldsmiths, University of London providing television, newsroom and photography studios, editing suites, teaching spaces, 250 seat lecture theatre and offices.

View Goldsmiths, University of London project page...

The design features a large concourse incorporating a projection screen to display students’ work. Multi-colour terracotta cladding creates a ‘pixelated’ facade, a visual metaphor for the building’s use. Goldsmiths is keen to support sustainability and the decision to adopt a natural ventilation strategy has helped it achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating.

The project has now set a precedent for future design at the University and helped raise the profile of our specialist media faculty design across the UK, this being Stride’s sixth such facility undertaken to date.

One of the most exciting things about architecture is its unpredictability; we can’t be sure where the next project is coming from and sometimes projects that you think have died jump back to life!

We were first approached about this project back in 2007, where a student housing provider was teaming up with Berkeley Homes to offer student housing in lieu of affordable on a much larger site. We developed a positive working relationship with the berkley team developing our proposals, however planning in historic cities is never a straight forward process and it was another 18 months before the scheme was finally submitted to the local planning authority.

Eventually McLaren Property Group acquired the site with the ambitious aim of opening the doors for September 2012.

The design takes Cambridge colleges as a precedent, wrapping 4-storey blocks around three sides of a landscaped courtyard. The planning authority was keen that this should remain a public space during the day and so 5 storey gateways are formed to the north and south, again reflecting early forms of collegiate architecture.

The materials used are consistent across the whole site: buff brick, anodized metal cladding and oak boarding. The brickwork forming a surround into which a grid of materials is placed.

We are delighted that this project is finally rising out of the ground and will become an exciting addition to the architectural fabric of Cambridge.

Ray Williamson, Divisional Director

Following the success of the Phase 1 New Halls development on the Whiteknights Campus completed in September 2010, the University of Reading retained the design team for the completion of Phase 2. Stride Treglown had several of its key disciplines on display including architecture, landscaping, and planning, with Stride Treglown Management being employed to undertake the BREEAM activities.

The existing Childs Hall was demolished under a separate contract to make way for the new development by successful contractor Morgan Sindall. The £28million new development consists of 591 cluster flat bedrooms, 3 DDA bedrooms, 1 Junior Committee Room, and a self contained Wardens Flat.

The new challenge is for the design of 25 townhouses providing accommodation for 300 students, to achieve BREEAM Excellent. The houses consist of a ground floor common living / kitchen / dining area with each of the 3 levels above containing 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.

So where is the project now? Well, the townhouse foundations are now largely completed and also nearing completion is the precast concrete wall & floor components of the first of the cluster flats.

The development is well underway for completion in September 2012 when the University will prepare to welcome a new group of eager students to an ever improving campus.

• 591 cluster flat bedrooms
• 3 DDA bedrooms
• 1 Junior Committee Room
• Self contained Wardens Flat

Steve Wilson, Associate Architect

Following Stride Treglown’s appointment by Warings Contractors Ltd, our London office have been working hard on the new home for the YMCA in Croydon, a project funded by the Homes & Communities Agency.

The new-look South London YMCA (SLYMCA) will replace the existing 1960s building with a brand new, modern development to be known as 'Alexandra House' - a revival of the building's historical name.

Following extensive local consultation including a major resettlement programme for previous tenants, planning consent was granted for a 10-story building providing temporary living accommodation for up to 80 people in a mixture of studios and two person shared flats, as well as offices and community support services. Stride Treglown have since submitted a non-material amendment planning application for several minor alterations to the originally approved design, which was approved in July.

Due for completion March 2012, the provision will make a significant contribution to Croydon Council's Housing Strategy. Stride Treglown's London office have been working to ensure the new development will be of the highest standards in construction and design as well as setting a new benchmark for SLYMCA's environmental target of BREAAM Excellent. The hybrid scheme will predominantly be built using volumetric apartment units stacked vertically to create the structural mass of the building sitting above a concrete podium level at the second floor.

The first of the apartment units have now arrived on site and are currently in the process of being vertically ‘stacked’.

Marco Oliveira, Associate Architect

We use AutoDesk Revit, and are the biggest licence holder in the UK. We have been using Revit since 2001, but it is only recently that we have been able to use the full power of Building Information Modelling (BIM).

The National Composites Centre, utilised BIM - inception to Practical Completion, to Stage L in 16 months.

Stride Treglown are currently trialling a full collaborative approach to building design and delivery with several contractors, consultants and sub-contractors.

Essentially we design all our projects in 3d, and use advancements in software to run clash detection reports, quantity take offs, programme phasing, produce interactive schedules and improve the speed and accuracy of our information release.

Our experience shows that these assembled teams work best when all disciplines understand this collaborative approach and are all prepared to engage their detailed design work early. In fact we find the traditional model of work stages limiting, and find it appropriate to mix detail design with concept design from the very onset of the project.

Red and Orange, Stride Treglown’s dedicated team of graphic designers, are going from strength to strength. Our graphics experts were solely based in Bristol however, we have expanded the team into in London by appointing Jennifer McCormack to lead a new and exciting brand strategy service.

Jennifer has worked for Stride Treglown previously and has recently achieved an MA at Brunel University.

She is tasked with extending the specialised support offered by Red and Orange by focusing on realising the value and scope of an effective branding strategy, reaching deep into company culture beyond an aesthetic facade, drawing upon extensive experience and newly gained expertise. Jennifer will be working with existing clients and with organisations outside of the property sector to support business goals, increase competitive advantage and enable companies to harness the power of their brand

redandorange.stridetreglown.co.uk