New Ambulance Preparation and Maintenance Hub
Construction has begun.....
Construction has begun on a new Ambulance Maintenance Facility for West Midlands Ambulance Service in Willenhall, near Walsall. BPN Architects are working with Hortons Estates and Greswolde Construction with the project due to be completed in October 2012.
The proposal is for a new two storey building where ambulances are prepared and maintained prior to being deployed to community locations. The building comprises large workshop and garage spaces for the preparation of vehicles. There will also be offices, changing facilities, training rooms and a duty room for the staff based on site.
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Northwood Street Bloc Hotel
Planning has been submitted to Birmingham City Council Planning Committee for the proposed extension to the existing Bloc Hotel. A decision is due at the end of April.
The proposal is to extend the existing Bloc Hotel to the rear to create 30 new additional bedroom suites, which will compose of a living area, kitchenette and dining/work area. There will also be a new gold clad roof extension which is to accommodate the new event/conference facility.
The existing building to Northwood Street is to be retained and refurbished.
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Holford Drive Sports Pavilion is awarded planning permission
Planning permission was granted last week by Birmingham City Council Planning Committee for the new sports hub at Perry Bar.
The facility will provide a new regional boxing centre for Aston Boxing Club, changing room facilities for local groups including Continental Star Football Club, Hamstead Diamonds Tennis Club and a cricket club. The hub will also accomodate a clubroom and meeting spaces.
Greenfield Road Mews is awarded planning permission
We were granted planning permission today by Birmingham City Council Planning Committee for our Greenfield Road mews scheme.
The development, which is constrained by overlooking issues creates a low profile and inward looking mews house development that reduces overlooking into the neighboring gardens and properties. Deliberately contemporary in appearance, our proposed solution creates an intimate courtyard space, which allows the new mews houses to enclose it on two sides with the existing buildings providing enclosure to the south.
The unique characteristics of the site formed the basis for the mews house design. The site is the only white building in the street and to celebrate this the mews houses have been designed with white facing bricks to create a homely vernacular.
Dartmouth Park Pavilion Completes
We have just completed a new visitors pavilion within a Grade II Listed park for Sandwell MBC. This project, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, has proposed a building constructed from green oak.
The design concept was to build a large treehouse, a ‘non-building’ because of our concerns about replicating a former Victorian Tea Room which was burned to the ground. Working in collaboration with artist David Patten, the design for the new Community Pavilion reflects aspects of the parks landscape, particularly the notion of movement through landscape, the use of framed views, and the mathematics that appear to underpin the original park avenue.
Set within an existing circle of trees the building is wrapped in a 'Woodland Walk' which wraps around and continues in through the new building so that visitors are able to enjoy views across the park from different levels culminating in a viewing platform to provide views over the wider Sandwell Valley. The outer screen creates a dappled lighting effect and acts a protective layer around the building to provide security. The new Pavilion meets access and DDA requirements, and is a robust, maintenance-light, and environmentally friendly structure.
The Drum comes full circle
In 1996 Bryant + Priest Architects first ever commission was working for Sisk Construction as D&B architect for the £3m conversion of the Aston Hippodrome into the home of Black British Arts and Culture. Fast forward 15 years and we have again been appointed, this time through competitive tender, to remodel the building and bring it up to date.
Working alongside Invigour, Gifford, Gleeds, RLB and CDP we are just starting out now with Feasibility options leading to funding / planning applications over the coming months.
Greenfield Road Mews is submitted for planning
BPN Architects have submitted plans for 3 new contemporary mews houses in Harborne, Birmingham
Following our successful Harborne Mews scheme we were commissioned to design a similar scheme in the Greenfield Road Conservation Area of Harborne. Our response to the site which is constrained by overlooking issues was to create a low profile and inward looking mews development that reduces overlooking into the neighboring gardens and properties. Deliberately contemporary in appearance, our proposed solution seeks to create an intimate courtyard space, which allows the new mews houses to enclose it on two sides with the existing buildings providing enclosure to the south.
The unique characteristics of the site formed the basis for the mews house design. The site is the only white building in the street and to celebrate this the mews houses have been designed with white facing bricks to create a homely vernacular.
Dean Melbourne - The Power of Drawing
The latest exhibition to be held at the home of BPN Architects will be work by artist Dean Melbourne.
Dean Melbourne is a painter who explores the human need or desire to escape reality, whether in the cynical re-contextualising of fashion “idols” or the romantic staging in his figurative landscapes. He is an avid collector of images that he finds seductive. Working from a variety of sources he appropriates these images, reflects on them, edits and re casts them to reflect his own pre- occupations. The result is a new image or narrative that can be understood in its own right. The viewer has the choice to examine the symbolism of the components and challenge the image, or simply to indulge in the beauty and escape found therein.
Dean Melbourne graduated with a BA(Hons) Painting from the University of Wolverhampton in 1999. He has exhibited nationally including the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 2009 and 2010 and is currently represented by Debut Contemporary Gallery in London.
“The importance of drawing in my practice, and the role that drawing plays within the working process of BPN Architects, has led to this exhibition that demonstrates our ongoing dialogue exploring the value of drawing and the hand made mark.
BPN have consistently shown a commitment to working alongside artists both on projects and in the exhibition of works within their offices. Through a re-introduction to life drawing I have worked with the team to re-engage with drawing on a fundamental level. This exhibition within their working space, my first solo show, presents my latest works on paper alongside site specific pieces that explore the status and power of drawing.”
This will be Dean's first ever solo show and the private view event will be taking place on 16th September. If you'd like to come along, please sign up using the online booking system: http://deanmelbourneatthree.eventbrite.com/
The exhibition will be running until December and will be available for viewing during office hours from Monday 19th September 2011. If you'd like to come and take a look, please drop us a line first to let us know you're coming.
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Dudley Zoo gets go ahead for £1.15m Tecton restoration
Working alongside BPN Architects, Dudley Zoological Gardens (DZG) has been given the green light for a £1.15 million programme to renovate four iconic Tecton structures built when the West Midlands zoo opened in 1937.
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has awarded development funding of just over £123,000 for the three year project. The first-round pass means that DZG have up to two years to submit more detailed plans and apply for a full HLF grant of just over £970,000 towards the project.
DZG lies within a conservation area that includes the 11th century Dudley Castle and is home the world’s largest single collection of Tecton buildings, named after the renowned Modernist architects chosen to design the Zoo in the 1930s and led by Russian-born Berthold Lubetkin.
The Tecton Group were instrumental in bringing modernist architecture to the UK, and this complex survives as the only collection of interrelated Tecton designs in Britain and one of few remaining throughout Europe.
The scheme, scheduled to begin in 2012, will see the repair, renovation and new interpretation of four of the Tecton structures – Bear Ravine, Front Entrance, Safari Shop and Kiosk One – plus the refurbishment of the region’s only chairlift which next year celebrates its 50th anniversary. The Tecton structures were designed and constructed between 1935 and 1937 using reinforced concrete - a pioneering system at the time. The £1.15 million will be further boosted by £300,000 of DZG funding to provide a new Welcome Plaza.
The project has been led by Larry Priest here at BPN and the practice is very priviledged to be working with DZG in developing detailed proposals for the repair of four of the modernist Tecton Structures. The buildings are unknown to many but are of worldwide importance and we hope this is the first step in what will ultimately be the repair and conservation of all of the structures at Dudley. Like many of the staff here at BPN, Larry visited the zoo as a young child, as a student of architecture and as an adult with his own children.
Consultations started in 2008 and within a year all 12 of the zoo’s Modernist structures had received World Monuments Fund status and placed on a watch list alongside Machu Picchu and the Taj Mahal, ensuring a global focus on the world’s largest single collection of Tecton buildings.
DZG have worked very closely with Heritage Lottery Fund, the World Monuments Fund, English Heritage and 20th Century Society throughout the project. Final details are currently being prepared, and subject to the necessary approvals, phase one will start with the chairlift refurb next spring.
In 2012, the zoo will celebrate its 75th anniversary. The news of this funding is some birthday present!
Photo credits:
Architectural images of the Bear Ravine (in colour) and Front Entrance taken from Towers and Tectons: a View From The Hill, by Jill Hitchman
BPN Exhibit at Showcase
BPN Architects were one of 10 Birmingham practices to appear at the Birmingham Architectural Association Showcase event held at Trove
BPN Architects along with 9 other Birmingham based architects were approached by the BAA and asked a very straightforward question:
what are you working on?
The resulting exhibition boards, which between the 10 practices displayed around 100 current projects in total, are now on show at Trove along with work from students at Birmingham School of Architecture.
You can read all about the thinking behind the exhibition over on our blog, as Gavin Orton (President of the BAA and Architect at BPN) talks about the Showcase project in more detail.
The exhibition is available to view by appointment until 24th June. More info at Trove.
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Planning Approval for New One-off House
BPN Architects have received full planning consent for a new house built within an historic walled garden in Worcestershire.
The desire is to create a single storey environmentally friendly dwelling which has a low impact on the site and the neighbouring properties. The proposed house includes: living room, dining / kitchen, study, utility, cloakroom, garage, entrance hall and two double bedrooms with en-suites.
The new dwelling also needs to accommodate an elderly relative, who requires some independence, but also needs to be integrated into the house. For this reason a 'Granny Flat' is incorporated into the design and includes a sitting room, bedroom and disabled en-suite.
The proposal seeks to reinstate and partially extend the original 'Walled Garden' to the nearby Old Rectory and continue that theme in the new house. The new house will be mostly linear in its form and built against a new brick wall to the North. It is to open up to the South and West, to maximise solar gain and views of the garden.
There is a rich history of domestic architecture which has explored similar themes, both internationally and locally. Generally these houses are in the modernist tradition but the most successful manage to achieve a harmonious relationship between the traditional and contemporary in form and material / and the relationship between inside and outside. Turn End by Aldington Craig & Collinge in particular is an excellent example of this approach. The following houses all provided clues to the final design:
Jacobs House, Madison, Wisconsin / Frank Lloyd Wright / 1936
Farnsworth House, Plano, Illinois / Mies van der Rohe / 1951
Turn End, Haddenham, Bucks / Aldington, Craig and Collinge / 1963
Radiant House, Milton Keynes / Richard Weston Studio / 1994
Cobtun House, Worcester / Associated Architects / 2005
Construction is due to commence in September 2011.
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Planning Application Submitted for West Bromwich YMCA
BPN Architects have submitted a planning application for Phase 2 of the YMCA development in Carters Green West Bromwich. The scheme provides a new gateway to West Bromwich High Street and seeks to uplift the existing site of the Farley Clock tower by creating a new public square.
The ethos behind the design is to provide a backdrop to the tower reflecting the important landmark whilst creating a new identity for the YMCA. The building is set out to enhance the existing public facilities within the site and open up the street frontage to public uses.
An extensive period of design development looked at the history of the site and its wider connections within West Bromwich and the YMCA's links to an International Alliance. Developed in collaboration with artist David Patten the historic concepts and connections will manifest themselves in the built fabric and will reference items such as Hamblets Brickworks once famed to be the strongest engineering brick in the world and manufactured from a marl hole 500 yards from the site.
The new development will provide a much needed expansion of the YMCAs existing facilities enhancing the Public Cafe, Gymnasium and meeting spaces and providing office, training and enterprise centres to be accessed by residents and public. The core element of the scheme will be the creation of 89 one bedroom residential units to include dedicated spaces for young parents.
The overall cost of the scheme will be circa £12 million with £1 million of this already being used in phase 1 to create a new children and family centre with a 72 place Nursery funded by Sure Start.
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Full Planning Approval for Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre
BPN Architects have obtained Full Planning Permission for an extension to the grade 2 listed Woodbrooke Quaker Study centre in Birmingham to provide a new lounge space for residents and visitors.
Woodbrooke was built in 1834 and is the former home of George Cadbury. Close consultation with Birmingham City Council conservation department was therefore needed to ensure that the proposals would relate well to the original building without resorting to a classical pastiche.
The new lounge improves the connection between the Dining Room and garden allowing for full wheelchair access.
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Planning Application Submitted for Sutton Coldfield Royal Mail Depot
The masterplan and design for the proposed redevelopment of the Royal Mail Sorting Office depot in Sutton Coldfield Town Centre has been submitted for planning approval.
The proposal includes:
- New delivery office for Royal Mail
- Heritage Centre to record and properly communicate the site’s history
- Refurbishment of the grade 2 listed former Goods Shed
- 51 new family houses
- High quality landscaping including three feature public spaces which commemorate the site’s history
Construction work is programmed to commence in Autumn 2011.
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Latest News
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New Ambulance Preparation and Maintenance Hub
27 Apr 2012
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Northwood Street Bloc Hotel
05 Apr 2012
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Holford Drive Sports Pavilion is awarded planning permission
04 Apr 2012