Commercial architectural design, Bristol

Located in central Bristol, Midland Mews is a prominent set of commercially owned large scale residential buildings, which is situated within a conservation area. Built in the early 2000s, the blocks of flats were originally designed to be inkeeping with the adjacent listed buildings on West street, Old Market. 

Project Brief:

The submission of a full planning application for the replacement of the design and material of the original timber windows, taking in account that this site is within the Old Market conservation area. 

With the site being primarily longitudinal, spanning between two roads with elevations adorning both; the design is respectful of the original window specification but provides modern alternatives meeting improved thermal values. 

The development of a community centre located in Newport, South Wales was a project that we worked on to create options available to the commercial client for the purpose of charity case feasibility. 

The client was looking to utilise as much space available within the existing building, dividing the main hall into two floors, which would have been formally utilised as a main chapel, also contributing to improved fitting out of more areas of the building to improve thermal and long term cost efficiency. 

The front elevation of the building is to be altered sympathetically with a small floor division noticeable, dividing the chapel windows, with the exception of this particular change, no other obvious changes would be noticeable. 

Urban regeneration masterplan, 

St. Pauls, Bristol

This proposal focusses on urban renewal of an area of the city of Bristol which requires the placement of inhabited buildings to deter crime: by the spanning of an integrated bridge across the M32 motorway to Pennywell road to additionally improve pedestrian and cyclist access.

With the concept of having a central throughfare, the design approach became based upon integrating architecture within the curtilage of the scheme, framing out external and internal spaces in a sustainable manner that promotes an urban pocket park approach, but with facilities that can be used by the surrounding community, including a community centre that captures different sustainable aspects. 

The main community centre building is upside down in terms of building entry, which is specified to a high thermal performance for the reason of cutting running costs and utilising passive ventilation strategies. 

Ground floor plan, with integrated community green spaces:

First floor plan, integrating with the thoroughfare:

Detail section, showing inhabitation and interactive features that the occupants could be involved with for the additional programmatic design feature of self-sufficiency and community recreational activities:

Historical site regeneration, 

Filton, South Gloucestershire

With the Filton Airfield site in the North Bristol conurbation within South Gloucestershire, now being disused, it offers many opportunities for the site to be opened up and to once again be inhabited by the public after being privatised for many years and closed off for the safety of keeping people off the runway. 

The proposal is a museum that looks to unpack the different levels of time periods of the former Filton Airfield site to pay homage to the site’s success within history, all the way through to modernity. The building’s geometry looks to address this. With the ground and first floor levels capturing surrounding views of the disused site of interest. 

Whereas, the basement level; with escalators allowing visitors to feel like they are passing beneath the runway; unearthing history, entering a vault of a by-gone era of how the site was previously, before the demolition of Charlton village for Filton Airfield’s runway to cut through (captured as a model) in the basement. 

The geometry of the building looks to form a progressive shape, by which the visitors feel like they pass through on a journey, first underground then upwards towards the present day of observing the site and visualising the site’s future.  

Building section:

Basement plan:

Detail section:

Showing the different layers of the historical site that the new construction cuts through, including the former runway.