Tag Archives: architecture

News

KKA Designed Ashton Gate Development Plans Get Green Light

Liverpool architecture firm KKA has received approval from Bristol City Council for its work on the 3,626-seater Sports and Convention Centre next door to Ashton Gate Stadium. 

The Sporting Quarter – developed by Bristol Sport – will provide a new home for the Bristol Flyers, a hotel, conferencing facilities, a multi-storey car park, and retail space alongside commercial and residential space. 

Detailed work will start immediately on the next stage of this project. The first phase of the Sporting Quarter development will be the Sports and Convention Centre alongside the hotel, which hopes to be on site in late Summer 2023. 

 In a meeting which lasted just over two hours, in front of a full public gallery, the Sporting Quarter application and the Longmoor Village plan for 510 homes were debated with members voting in favour for both of the twinned applications. 

 The Sporting Quarter represents KKA’s latest involvement in helping to shape the sporting architecture of Bristol, having previously designed the redevelopment of Ashton Gate Stadium and the Robins High Performance Centre. 

 Chris Long, director, KKA, said: “This is a really exciting moment for our practice and for the city of Bristol. The Sporting Quarter needs to thrive 365 days a year, so we designed it to act like a ‘mini-city’ in itself, a kind of ‘campus’, that embodies all of the characteristics which make such places a success. We focused on creating an environment that is well-connected, diverse, and alive with activity where people would choose to spend time. 

“We are confident that the Sporting Quarter – like our other Bristol schemes – will not only generate a sporting legacy for the city, but a wellbeing and socio-economic heritage. Taken as a whole, they will deliver infrastructure and transport improvements, a swathe of employment opportunities, a new ‘destination’ area for the city and help stimulate the visitor economy. The new Stadium and Sports and Convention Centre will also plug a gap in Bristol’s events and conferencing provision, bringing new cultural and corporate events to the city and enriching its arts scene.

“The delivery of these schemes indicates just how committed Bristol Sport is to its mission of elevating Bristol as a dynamic, exciting fixture on the global sport and entertainment map. We’re thrilled to be part of such an exciting project.” 

KKA’s work on the Ashton Gate redevelopment saw the design, construction and fit-out of new stands to replace the existing Wedlock and Williams Stands and extensive conversion works to the existing Dolman Stand and Concourse. 

The Robins High Performance Centre, officially opened last summer, includes a floodlit showpitch, capable of hosting the club’s Under-18’s, Under-23’s and Bristol City Women’s matches. The centre also includes two other full-size pitches and two further training areas. 

Martin Griffiths, chairman of Ashton Gate Stadium said: “After four years of consultation and engagement it was great to see the support for these proposals. To have the councillors approve both sets of planning applications for the Sporting Quarter and Longmoor will provide a once in a lifetime opportunity for sport in this city. 

“To be able to ensure the future financial sustainability of the Flyers Basketball team by providing them with their own home at BS3, and be able to expand on the incredible work that our community foundations already deliver is fantastic. 

 “The Sporting Quarter will be a catalyst for expansion and regeneration in south west Bristol. It will drive local jobs, the local supply chain and by having a hotel attached to the Sports and Conference Centre means we will be able to attract events to the city which would traditionally lose out to cities like Birmingham and Cardiff. The positive impact on the city will be enormous.” 

News

Paddington Village reaches latest milestone following handover of car park and energy centre

Liverpool City Council and architects KKA have celebrated the completion of a new car park within the Knowledge Quarter, one of the UK’s leading innovation districts. 

The new multi-storey car park (MSCP) with a combined heat and power (CHP) energy centre, located on the Elm Grove site within Paddington Village Central, has recently been handed over by Morgan Sindall Construction. 

The 14 storey car park – comprising 13 levels for parking and the CHP energy centre on the lower ground floor – was designed by KKA and built by Morgan Sindall Construction. It has a capacity of 1,249, and contains a combination of standard and accessible bays, as well as 12 electric vehicle recharging bays with capacity to increase this number to 130 in the future.  

The building also offers parking for cycles and motorcycles and a management suite has also been incorporated, offering active frontage to the building on Smithdown Road. 

The cladding design for the new build is an abstract representation of the nearby Williamson Tunnels, a fascinating underground network of tunnels created by Joseph Williamson in the early 19th Century. 

The location of the tunnels beneath the site resulted in a significant design change during the early stages of the project. The location of a previously unknown tunnel meant that the energy centre, originally designed as a separate building, would need to be incorporated into the MSCP at ground level, requiring the building footprint to be reduced and the number of floors increased. 

The size and accommodation requirements of the energy centre were refined by specialist consultants Vital Energi.  

The CHP energy centre will deliver a sustainable power and heating source for Paddington Village, with district heating regarded as the lowest carbon footprint of all fossil fuel burning energy systems. 

Kasia Borkowska, director, KKA said: “It’s been a real privilege for KKA to contribute to Paddington Village through our role on this new car park and energy centre. By incorporating the Williamson Tunnels into our work, we have ensured that the facility will reflect the area’s proud history while also helping to make Paddington Village and the wider Knowledge Quarter a new jewel in the crown for Liverpool.” 

At 30 acres, Paddington Village, which was once the site of a now relocated secondary school, is being developed by Liverpool City Council in three phases: Paddington Central, Paddington South and Paddington North. The £1 billion expansion site lies east of the city centre which, when complete, will be a key part of one of the UK’s leading innovation districts – incorporating new science, technology, education and health space.  

Awards, News

Unispace shortlisted for three Mixology2022 awards

Global workplace creation expert, Unispace, has been shortlisted for three Mixology2022 awards.

Hosted by Mix Interiors, the Mixology Awards celebrate the very best projects, products and people in commercial interior design. Unispace has been shortlisted in three categories for both its client projects and its own workplace designs, which include:

  • Project of the Year – Workplace Interiors, 15,000 to 30,000 sq ft: The firm’s development of Astellas Pharma’s Madrid workplace made the shortlist for this category. The multinational pharmaceutical company reached out to Unispace to develop a new workplace to suit the post-Covid needs of its business. The bespoke workplace was designed to provide a range of agile environments and create a more human-centric environment stepping away from a traditional hierarchical corporate structure.
  • Project of the Year – Workplace Interiors, Sub 5,000 sq ft: Unispace’s own Amsterdam Studio has been shortlisted for this award. The space has been designed to embrace ‘gezellig’, a Dutch term which emphasises open, inviting, and diverse spaces including a Library, Wintergarden, Social Kitchen and Karaoke Booth, all arranged around our dedicated learning and collaboration space: The Hive. The studio has been planned to take best advantage of the canal-side views and is a showcase for progressive local design culture and heritage, with the use of bold textiles, recycled materials, and iconic Dutch furniture selections.
  • Project of the Year – Workplace Interiors, 5,000 to 15,000 sq ft: The experts new Zurich studio wraps up the triple shortlist for Unispace. The studio was developed with people in mind. An experiential design has delivered a sense of calm and serenity that is influenced by its natural surroundings with material selection as natural as it is minimal, with a bias towards refined detailing. As a major hub in the EMEA portfolio, the studio design focuses on open, flexible spaces that foster connectivity, collaboration, innovation and wellbeing. The project was also delivered sustainably and was accredited with the highest possible LEED rating (Platinum).

Winners of the awards will be announced in June.

Lawrence Mohiuddine, CEO EMEA at Unispace, commented:

“We are delighted to have been shortlisted for not one, but three Mixology2022 awards, especially following our exciting with for Workplace Interiors, Project of the Year, 5,000 and to 15,000 sq ft last year with Boston Scientific and their remarkable workplace in Clonmel.”

“This prestigious accolade celebrates the best in the world of workplace interior design and to be shortlisted for not only the projects we deliver for our clients, but also our own office designs is an honour.”

News

NEOMA Business School unveils new Reims campus

NEOMA Business School reveals the architectural plans for a new 109 million euro campus in Reims, which will open to students for the start of the 2025 academic year.

The campus will accommodate 4,700 students and cover 1.8 hectares of land.

Buildings will reflect the school’s commitment to sustainable development, meeting the standards of internationally recognised green building certifications such as LEED, WELL and E+C.

Its facilities will offer an extensive range of post-bachelor’s programmes and training provisions in line with NEOMA’s commitment to lifelong learning.

Included in this roster are the Master in Management, Master of Science, and PhD courses.

Over 40 internationally renowned architect firms competed to design the new learning habitat.

The contract was awarded to Danish company Henning Larsen for a design which combined innovation, respect for the environment and above all a focus on student life.

“This project offers several advantages, especially a strong visual identity which will make the campus clearly recognisable,” says Delphine Manceau, Dean of the school. “It combines very strong identifying elements, for example the large hall which places the student at the heart of the building. We also favoured the use of wood and glass to promote a friendly atmosphere and flood the area with light. Several easy-to-access green spaces are planned for both the inside and outside of the campus.”

Work is scheduled to start on the campus in April 2023.

Digital Transformation, News

New Deltek Clarity Study Finds Architecture & Engineering Firms in EMEA and APAC Identify Digital Transformation is Vital to Maintaining Market Share

  • The Deltek Clarity Architecture & Engineering Report finds that while firms are facing staffing challenges and tighter margins, digital transformation will be key to firm success.
  • However, despite digital progress, firms are more restrained in their confidence to reach digital maturity in the next five years.
  • A global skills shortage is also leading to firms investing in upskilling employees and employee wellbeing. 

A new report from Deltek – the leading global provider of software and solution for project-based businesses, has found that while the architecture and engineering (A&E) industry sees digital transformation as important, business priorities have shifted. In this year’sDeltek Clarity Architecture & Engineering Study for EMEA and APAC, more than half (55%) of the respondents indicate they will lose market share within two years without more progress in digital transformation. Despite this, 29% of the firms say their digital transformation maturity will be ‘advanced’ in five years’ time, compared with 40% in the previous year’s report, suggesting firms may not realise their digital ambitions as quickly as they predicted a year ago.

The study, which helps A&E firms benchmark their performance, identify market conditions and understand industry trends, uncovered business leaders may be focusing more on addressing what is essential and what is possible in their business. Nearly 65% of business leaders say that the pandemic highlighted weaknesses in their operations model. Unlike last year’s findings, businesses are now looking at digital transformation in a new context and how they can better leverage technology to run their business. This has an impact on where firms plan to strategically invest. As a result of the rapid change experienced over the last two years, nearly half of firms plan to invest in educating staff on technology trends.

Adrian Malleson, Head of Economic Research and Analysis at RIBA comments on the notion of digital transformation in A&E in 2022, “To transform suggests that there’s a beginning, middle and an end, which I think increasingly people are seeing as not the case. It’s an ongoing process, essentially adapting to and engaging with new tools.”

Talent Crisis Impact on Business

Globally, talent shortages are also having a considerable impact across the industry. And, as identified in this year’s study, the impact is being felt in every part of the business. Not only did 43% of respondents identify staff shortages as a top challenge for project management, but nearly a third identified finding and retaining staff as a top challenge for financial leaders. Finding top IT talent was also identified as a key challenge by 34% of respondents showing that the talent crisis is more than just project engineers and architects.

Developing talent is no easy task. Nearly 30% of firms identified developing the right knowledge and skillset as a key challenge and yet only a third see investing in workforce skillset as a significant growth opportunity. As firms face rising firm costs, more competition to retain their best staff and an evolving workplace model, companies will need to think creatively and digitally about how to address the talent gaps.

Additionally, many report that hybrid working gives them opportunities to partner internationally and enter new markets, with 76% saying they are better positioned to break into new markets or segments than they were 12 months ago.

Technology’s Impact on Growth

While staffing may be a challenge, firms are optimistic about their opportunities to grow. Nearly a third of firms are focused on geographic expansion in the next three years and 76% indicate they are better positioned to break into new markets than they were 12 months ago. Many firms report that hybrid working gives them opportunities to partner internationally that they would not have been able to do just a few years ago.

Firms also report that technology will play a critical role in their growth strategy and their ability to compete in the markets they serve – 59% of firms report they have lost potential business to competitors with more advanced technologies and 80% of firms indicate that investing in technology to improve operations will help them win more business.

Increased Confidence in Project and Firm Performance

As firms face rising labor costs and overall cost of doing business, firms are concentrating on more closely monitoring key performance indicators. Globally, 65% of firms report confidence in the accuracy of their data related to overall project performance, up from 59% last year. The biggest rise is in confidence in reporting on actual project cost (up from 52% to 65%), suggesting data insights are improving as the industry becomes more digital.

Firms also reported more projects on track from a scheduling and budgeting perspective compared to the previous year, but there is still work to be done to bring the projects that are not on track back in line to meet client expectations and profitability targets.

In terms of remaining competitive and protecting the bottom line, the report also found that over the next three years, UK firms will focus on better managing growth (38%), better forecasting (31%) and business process improvement (31%) in financial management. Sustainability was also seen as a priority for attracting clients and talent, with 79% of UK firms saying that having a formal sustainability policy is crucial to remaining competitive.

Neil Davidson, Regional Vice President at Deltek, summarises, “This year’s report paints a very different picture to how firms in EMEA and APAC were approaching digital transformation pre-and-during the pandemic. It suggests there has been a pivot in priorities, as firms switch from survival mode to more strategic planning now they have a clearer picture of what the future of their business looks like. While there was a more restrained attitude to digital transformation this year, it is a result of accelerated change over the last two years. Companies most likely feel less able to reach an advanced stage of digital maturity because it is constantly evolving. We could see a slight drop in digital investment as firms reassess which technologies they need to and can afford to sustainably invest in. What is clear though, 2022 will be the year that A&E companies look to upskill their staff in the wake of the global talent crisis, with in-house education being seen as a priority.”

Download the full Deltek Clarity Architecture & Engineering Study for EMEA and APAC here.

News

Springwise Intelligence and Aritco release a new research report uncovering the ways we can make our homes and workplaces more sustainable in 2022

A research report has been released outlining the path towards sustainable homes and offices by innovation intelligence platform Springwise, commissioned by Swedish lift manufacturer Aritco. The second in an annual series, the Aritco/Springwise Future of the Sustainable Home and Office Report serves as a practical guide for moving towards net zero and circular ways of living and working, highlighting case studies of global innovations that embed sustainable solutions and conscious design into home and office spaces in a post-pandemic world.

The Aritco/Springwise Future of the Sustainable Home and Office Report offers insight into twenty recent innovations, developed in response to the macro events and shifts that have affected the way we live and work. From 15-minute cities to reinventing materials, these case studies serve as tangible evidence of the exciting advances in cutting-edge sustainable design and manufacturing technologies that we can see moving into 2022 and beyond. The twenty innovations are sectioned into ‘Net Zero’, with a focus on cities, energy and materials, and ‘Circularity’, with a focus on biodiversity, waste and tech.

In both practical and aesthetic terms, furniture is a key element within home and office interiors, but a detrimental source of carbon emissions especially in commercial buildings. The trend report captures innovative furniture design as it has never been done before. Rype, a company that aims to the carbon impact within commercial workspaces by 80%, remanufactures office furniture to return it to as-new condition using both old furniture and waste materials to rebuild pieces according to their original design. Rubelli, an Italian, family-owned luxury fabric house have developed a range of eco-friendly fabrics that combines co-viscose and an eco-polyamide made from castor bean extract. Not only do castor beans grow easily and do not require copious watering like other crops, but also offers practicality within the fabric produced from it, providing elasticity, thermal protection and quick drying.

Looking at innovative sustainable architecture, the report unveils the ‘Garden House’, built in a historic Melbourne suburb, that generates all its own electricity using solar power. Producing 100 kilowatt-hours daily, it generates enough power not only for the house’s climate-controlled heating, a digital entertainment system and a heated swimming pool, but also to charge an electric car and feed back to the local power grid. Sustainability is embedded into the rest of the house design with recycled bricks used in the construction and simple additions to the sustainable features of the house such as a vegetable patch, compost and a water tank that irrigates the garden and toilets.

The report conveys increasing trends towards the need for the reduction of water wastage, revealing a spray surface cleaner that has been developed by a team of Penn State University researchers. The spray repels sticky dirt leading to fewer toilet flushes, which can favourably affect emissions from homes and offices, and has the potential to increase hygiene in regions of the world with water scarcity. The non-toxic, bio-inspired surface cleaner acts in only five minutes and forces sticky substances to slide off the coated surface, with its main ingredient being silicone which naturally biodegrades into carbon dioxide, silica and water.

To access the report go to: https://www.springwise.com/report-future-of-the-sustainable-home-and-office