INDUSTRY UPDATES

FC&A ROUNDS UP THE LATEST INDUSTRY NEWS AND UPDATES.

CITY OF VILNIUS’ BUSINESS STADIUM CENTRAL BUILDING PERMIT ISSUED

The City of Vilnius has issued the building permit for Business Stadium Central, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects. Integrated within the Vilnius City Plan and the popular public square adjacent to the site, Business Stadium Central will be a new gathering place for the city.

Co nsisting of two lowrise towers of eight and nine storeys connected at street level by a courtyard atrium and two floors of public amenities, the centre’s 24,000m 2 design also connects its two towers via a skybridge at level five.

The curvature of the centre’s facades and its cantilevered balconies face the historic Gediminas Castle Tower in the heart of the city.

Reinterpreting the dynamic geometries of the neighbourhood’s existing civic architecture, Business Stadium Central’s design incorporates 11,750m2 of landscaped terraces, roof gardens and plazas that open directly onto the public square designed by Martha Schwartz. Lined with cafes, restaurants and shops, its atrium courtyard serves local residents, office workers and visitors. Elevators lead to top floors where the two public swimming pools, saunas, steam rooms and sun decks have panoramic views over Vilnius’ historic Old Town.

F lexible office spaces located within the central floors of each of the towers are designed with maximum adaptability to extend the lifecycle of the development. Differing in size and layout to suit a variety of companies, from new start ups to established international corporations, these workplaces connect with landscaped roof gardens and terraces offering views of the surrounding city. The centre’s glazed facades with precisely-engineered external louvres transform into the warmer timber-based material palette of Business Stadium Central’s interiors. www.zaha-hadid.com

B usiness Stadium Central creates a variety of new public spaces and amenities for the city within a design that integrates flexible workplaces encouraging interaction and collaboration together with extensive health and wellness facilities for use by everyone in Vilnius.

Personnel

The latest appointments from the construction and architectural industries.

Dmwr Architects Promotes Cristina Pavan To Associate

Cristina joined DMWR in 2021 as a Project Architect. Barry Harper-Smith, Managing Director of DMWR Architects, comments:

“Cristina has made a fantastic contribution to our team in Manchester over the past years, working on some high-profile projects across a range of sectors. It’s wonderful to have this hard work recognised with her promotion to Associate.”

Cristina’s experience across all RIBA stages has been instrumental in developing and delivering several key commercial projects within DMWR. She is currently working on a heritage refurbishment project, involving the renovation and extension of a former mill building to give it a new lease of life as offices, with self-storage, parking facilities and associated external landscaping areas.

APPRENTICE JOINS LEEDS-BASED ARCHITECT PRACTICE

Brewster Bye Architects has appointed Ciaran Cartwright as a Junior Architectural Technologist apprentice as part of the firm’s commitment to investing in the next generation of talent. Ciaran already has two years of experience working alongside an architectural technician. At his placement, he helped with design concepts and construction packs, assisted with preparing information for planning applications, as well as liaising with engineers. Director, Nathan Wilkinson from Brewster Bye, said: “Ciaran is already confident in AutoCAD and Revit, which are software applications we use, and he has a real interest in design and technology. He is keen to get a degreelevel qualification via the apprenticeship route and become an architectural technician, and we will support him every step of the way.”

Marrons Announces Promotion Duo

Planning, design and architecture consultancy Marrons has announced two promotions. Simon Macklen, a socio-economics expert, has taken the step up to Partner and Karen Brightman has been promoted to Planning Director after two years with the consultancy. With more than 25 years’ experience, Simon has been a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) for 18 years. His work supports clients, such as commercial developers, land owners and house builders, in the delivery of socio-economic evidence underpinning development proposals. Karen, who has significant experience in the public sector, works with clients to obtain planning permission and unlock the value of their sites. She will be working on housing developments, schemes and commercial developments.

NOTTINGHAM’S ARCHITECTURAL COMMUNITY FORMS CHARITY CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Architecture firms in Nottingham have joined forces to launch the Nottingham Architects’ Charity League (NACL) – a not-for-profit organisation aiming to raise money for local charities through a fun annual competition. This year, the NACL comprises Marchini Curran Associates supporting Juno Women’s Aid, CPMG Architects supporting the Television Workshop, Leonard Design supporting Tara’s Angels, Lathams Architecture + Urbanism supporting Hope Nottingham, Allan Joyce Architects supporting the Framework Housing Association, Franklin Ellis Architects supporting Nottinghamshire Hospice, Maber supporting the Nottingham Hospitals Charity and GT3 Architects supporting Switch Up.

PLANS SUBMITTED FOR PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE IN LONDON’S ROYAL DOCKS

A planning application for a striking pedestrian and cycle bridge at Royal Victoria Dock has been submitted, which will vastly improve public access across the docks while linking the new Silvertown development with Custom House Elizabeth Line station. The plans, submitted by the Silvertown Partnership, are part of a longstanding ambition associated with the wider £5bn development of the Silvertown site, which, when complete, will feature around 6500 new homes with 50% affordable housing alongside a new centre for the Royal Docks. The iconic Millennium Mills building, left derelict and largely disused for around 40 years, will be fully restored and form the centrepiece of the new community.