Places People Love by Bell Phillips

Places People Love

Contents About us...

Uplifting 6 Progressive 8 Respectful 10 A new destination in King’s Cross

Finding place in a challenging context

Celebrating arboricultural legacy in South London

A sensitive addition to a historic South London park

Intervening in a historic post-industrial setting

Reinvigorating a vibrant Central London quarter

A new mixed-use district in Gothenburg

About us... Founded

2004

Located

Wapping, London

Team

35 strong

Awards Architect of the Year | Winner 2023 Architecture Today | Winner 2023 Civic Trust | Winner 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 RIBA National | Winner 2016, 2022 Housing Design | Winner 2014, 2015, 2018, 2022 New London | Winner 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021 Clients Argent, Lendlease, Peabody, 17 London Boroughs including Southwark, Westminster and Tower Hamlets, Get Living, Igloo, Backhouse, Be First, Pegasus Life, Pocket Living, British Land, The Skinners’ School, Kent College Canterbury, Dartford Grammar, Empiric Student Housing Frameworks Notting Hill Genesis, Southwark, Bloom, Clarion, Catalyst Peabody, Perfect Circle, L&Q, GLA A+U Panel

Uplifting We create places people love We believe in the power of architecture to provide sustainable and inspiring places that everyone should thrive and benefit from. Our strong social and moral purpose drives us to use our expertise as architects to make a tangible impact on people’s quality of life.

Progressive We build for a positive future Our design approach is progressive, responsive to the changing world, continuously evolving but always underpinned by our commitment to create a better life for everyone in society. We create beautifully crafted architecture that responds positively to its surroundings, that challenges convention and creates future legacy.

Respectful Community, collaborators and the planet We pride ourselves on our proactive and enthusiastic approach to build constructive relationships with everyone we have the pleasure to meet. We strive to make the process enjoyable and lead each project with a sensitive ear and collaborative mindset because we believe people make places.

A new destination in King’s Cross Gasholder Park Gasholder No.8 is a Victorian gasholder, constructed during the 1950s from cast and wrought iron, that was once one of 23 gasometers that dominated the King’s Cross skyline as part of the Pancras Gasworks. The gasholder was decommissioned in 2000 and subsequently listed. As part of the King’s Cross Central Masterplan, Gasholder No.8 was dismantled, refurbished, relocated and remodelled as a new pocket park on a new site adjacent to the Regent’s Canal alongside the Gasholder Triplets which have been remodelled as apartments. In 2008 we won a design competition to remodel the Grade II listed Gasholder No. 8 as a new public space in the heart of King’s Cross. The proposal frames a central garden with a stunning mirror-polished stainless steel colonnade within the Victorian gasholder guideframe. The new structure provides a more intimate and contemporary counterpoint to the vast historic structure. This fragile industrial icon was dismantled and removed from its site in King’s Cross and transported to Yorkshire where it underwent repairs, refurbishment and repainting. On completion it was carefully re-erected in a more prominent position adjacent to the Regent’s Canal. In conjunction with Argent, Arup, Shepley and BAM Nuttall, we developed a detailed methodology for the dismantling, repair and re-erection of this incredible structure.

A new destination in King’s Cross

Gasholder Park Within this imposing guideframe now sits the mirror-finished canopy which like a kaleidoscope, dramatically reflects the colours of adjacent planting, buildings, people and activity. The delicate canopy is barely visible from a distance, allowing the guideframe to dominate, but from close-up takes on a kaleidoscopic quality, dramatically animated by the reflected colours, textures and activity of adjacent planting, buildings, trains and people. The new structure, encircled with planting by Dan Pearson, offers an intimate, calm and secluded space to escape the busy life of the city. By night, the colonnade is dramatically illuminated, with vertical blades of cool white light extending up the edges of the columns. On the hour an eclipse passes from east to west across the light installation, briefly dimming the lights to total darkness before returning to full brightness. These two structures now coexist, with the old reclaiming its place on the north London skyline while the new provides a peaceful, intimate public park within the everchanging urban context of King’s Cross.

Project

Gasholder Park

Location

King’s Cross, London

Client

King’s Cross Central Ltd Partners / Argent

“It’s simplicity at its best. The location and the serenity of this new small park adds an invaluable asset to the growing community” RIBA Awards judging citation

Finding place in a challenging context St. Chad’s St. Chad’s was the first project to be procured through Thurrock Council’s new wholly owned company, Thurrock Regeneration, to revitalise the local area. The scheme comprises 128 new homes, a mix of two, three and four bed houses giving new life to a redundant and underused plot. Within this layout three different street typologies have been developed; avenue, street and mews, each of which has its own character, dimension and housing typology in order to define a clear sense of place throughout the development. One of the two avenues is a linear green park that provides important amenity spaces as well as sustainable drainage system for the site in this low-lying area of the Thames estuary. The linear park is aligned on distant views of the cranes of Tilbury docks, a reminder of the town’s heritage.

Finding place in a challenging context St Chad’s The design of the development is structured around three key placemaking concepts; • A grid pattern of streets that links with the existing mid20th century street pattern. • A sequence of public spaces arranged diagonally through the street layout, connecting with surrounding farmland. • A diagonal swathe of green space angled to focus on the distant views of the cranes, so that the new development is strongly linked to the identity of Tilbury.

Project

St Chad’s

Location

Tilbury, Thurrock, Essex

Client

Thurrock Regeneration Ltd (Thurrock Council)

Project Cost

£27 million

Status Completed 2017 Awards

“They could show the housebuilders a thing or two about placemaking, even in areas of low house values and little investment. These are houses that would be prized and pampered in more privileged parts of the UK.” RIBA judging panel citation, 2018

Celebrating arboricultural legacy in South London The Tree House Elephant Park is at the heart of a £2.3 billion regeneration led by Lendlease, which will create 3000 new homes and establish one of London’s best new open spaces. This new pavilion for Lendlease is the centrepiece of the new park, accommodating WCs, food and beverage kiosks, a new community space and a viewing terrace. The triangular pavilion is formed by three volumes bound together by an oversailing roof terrace centred on an existing mature London plane tree afforded the benefits of shade, elevated views across the park, and the opportunity to circulate beneath the tree’s canopy. The pavilion is designed to create a seamless flow between park and pavilion, blurring boundaries between inside and outside, enclosure and exposure. Sustainability and consideration of embodied energy has been a key consideration of the design. The structure has been designed in crosslaminated timber (CLT) with sustainablysourced timber cladding and bamboo decking resulting in a building with exceptionally low embodied energy.

Project

The Tree House

Location

Elephant Park, Elephant & Castle, Southwark

Client

Lendlease

Project Cost

Undisclosed

Status Completed 2022 Awards

Civic Trust Awards 2024 | Regional Finalist Dezeen Awards 2023 | Shortlisted AJ Awards 2023 | Shortlisted New London Award 2021 | Shortlisted

A sensitive addition to a historic South London park Southwark Park Pavilion As part of a larger masterplan this new building sees existing park facilities; café, offices and WC’s, consolidated into a single pavilion in a prominent central location overlooking the boating lake. The original brief set by Southwark Council envisaged an extension to the existing CGP Art Gallery, however we challenged this assumption and instead proposed a standalone building that would result in a distinctive building on a more advantageous site overlooking the lake. The design draws on the history of the park and refers to the notable listed former church building at Dilston Grove which was the first in situ concrete building in the UK. The plan has been generated through consideration of the three key views towards the lake, the ‘Oval’ green space and the playground. This results in a tripartite plan which has been stretched and articulated to follow the curves of the existing paths, lake edge and trees. The building is clad in white bricks, with generous openings to allow expansive views in all three directions.

Project

Southwark Park Pavilion

Location

Bermondsey, London

Client

Southwark Council

Project Cost Undisclosed Status Completed 2019 Awards New London Award 2021 | Winner AJ Award 2021 | Shortlisted Dezeen Award 2021 | Longlisted

“It’s the mark of a good piece of architecture when the building in question, despite being new, feels like it’s always been there.” Jason Sayer, Wallpaper, 2020

Intervening in a historic postindustrial setting Granary Square Pavilion Granary Square Pavilion incorporates a retail unit, public WCs and public access lift connecting Granary Square to Lower Stable Street on a prominent site opposite the Granary Building and Thomas Heatherwick’s new retail complex at Coal Drops Yard in King’s Cross. The roof of the pavilion extends the public space of Granary Square completing the western corner of the space. The pavilion completes Granary Square, extending the public realm across its roof, whilst presenting an active frontage to the adjacent Goods Yard Ramp and Lower Stable Street. The pavilion seeks to be an understated, contemporary, yet high quality, addition to King’s Cross that engages with, but doesn’t compete with, its surrounding context. The pavilion has a decorative cast iron façade that extends up to the form a balustrade to Granary Square. The pattern of the cast iron is inspired by the molecular structure of coal referencing the site’s industrial heritage. The pavilion is one of three public realm interventions we have added at King’s Cross together with Gasholder Park and Jellicoe Gardens.

Project

Granary Square Pavilion

Location

Plaistow, Newham

Client

King’s Cross Central Ltd Partners / Argent

Project Cost Undisclosed Status Completed 2019 Awards Civic Trust Award 2021 | Winner New London Award 2020 | Winner

Reinvigorating a vibrant Central London quarter Sites A, B & C, Church Street Westminster City Council on Church Street comprising 1,100 mixed-tenure homes, public realm, a library, retail, workspace and infrastructure supporting the market. We have obtained detailed consent for the first of the three plots comprising over 400 homes, a library, public realm, retail space and infrastructure supporting the market with outline consent for the other two plots. Economic, environmental and social sustainability are key to the proposals. The design seeks to provide resilience to the local area through the support of the street market and provision of affordable retail and workspace. New public amenity space, a new library and community space will contribute to social cohesion whilst existing residents will be given the opportunity to return to a new home providing that the existing community stays in place. The homes are designed to be low energy to address fuel poverty incorporating high levels of insulation and airtightness, triple-glazed windows, PVs, air-source heat pumps and MVHR. Over 90% of dwellings are designed to be dual aspect.

(%)

7.6 28.6 39.1

Reinvigorating a vibrant Central London quarter all children (0-15) (%)

14.7 18.9 20.0 22.5

working people (16-64) (%)

63.2 63.8 68.6 73.9

older people (65+) (%)

11.4 13.8 17.8

Project

Sites A, B & C, Church Street

Location

Edgware Road, London

Client

Westminster City Council

Project Cost

Undisclosed

Status Hybrid planning consent

BAME (%)

14.5 38.3 40.2 61.7

first Awards english is N ew language London Award 202312.9 |4.4 of no oneShortlisted in household 22.4 27.2 (%)

(£)

employment rate (16-24) (%)

dependant children (0-18) in out-of-work-households (%)

15.4 16.3 18.4 34.5

17.6 24.1 25.9 55.8

households open rented space private (%) (%)

16.7 24.8 7.6 25.1 28.6 39.7 39.1

63.2

older people (65+) (%)

48.7 66.1 69.2 71.2

England 414 London 5,293 Westminster 10,286

population density households (person per owned sq km) (%)

all children (0-15) (%)

BAME (%)

Church St 16.8 29,750 30.6 48.2 63.5

14.7 18.9 20.0 22.5

14.5 38.3 40.2 61.7

households social rented (%)

working people (16-64) (%)

63.8 68.6 73.9

english is first language of no one in household (%)

11.4 13.8 17.8

4.4 12.9 22.4 27.2

Reinvigorating a vibrant Central London quarter Sites A, B & C, Church Street Sustainable design has been considered as a central part of the design process from the start, working closely with the energy consultant to deliver on the client’s ambition of a net zero carbon scheme. • 100% of homes are dual aspect with all flats and circulation areas having a view of green space • 50% of homes are affordable tenure and all existing residents are re-provided with new homes in the new development • High levels of airtightness and insulation ensure the scheme achieves the Passivhaus standard of 15kWh/m2.yr heating demand • An innovative ambient loop energy system will provide low carbon heating and cooling ensuring that the LETI EUI target of 35kWh/m2 is met to deliver a net zero carbon development • A new garden street helps deliver an urban greening factor exceeding 0.4 • Community assets such as the Church Street market and library have been prioritised to ensure continuity of service throughout construction

A new mixed-use district in Gothenburg District Bearing The site is a factory complex in the north of Gothenburg, comprising a series of beautiful industrial buildings alongside the river Savean. It was originally built in phases during the first half of the 20th century and has been a focus for the working and cultural life of many people in the area, but the ball bearing factory has now been replaced by more modern facilities nearby. We have worked closely with Stena Fastigheter and Gothenburg City Council to develop a place-making vision for the future of the site, together with a framework to set out how this can be achieved. This work has been informed by researching the best examples of industrial regeneration projects in Europe, in parallel with a detailed assessment of the site’s history, fabric and context. The development includes around a thousand new homes, a linear park alongside the river, and renovation of the most interesting existing buildings to provide workspace, cultural, retail and education facilities. The intention is to breathe new life into the site by revealing the history and character of the factory complex, making it an exciting new destination, and playing a pivotal role in the regeneration of northern Gothenburg.

Project

District Bearing

Location

Gothenburg, Sweden

Client

Stena Fastigheter

Project Cost

Undisclosed

Status RIBA Stage 2

Bell Phillips Architects Ltd Unit 305 Metropolitan Wharf 70 Wapping Wall London E1W 3SS 020 7234 9330 www.bellphillips.com