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INDUSTRY UPDATES
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Stephen George + Partners LLP (SGP) has overseen the completion of the third and final phase of St. Modwen Park, Doncaster. Having masterplanned the whole 27-acre site, SGP successfully designed and delivered the last £7m phase, comprising more than 108,000ft 2 of industrial space, in February 2020. Working with St. Modwen and Lindum Construction, SGP designed the three units of 34,464ft 2 , 21,614ft 2 and 53,072ft 2 to complete the 247,000ft 2 development, which was granted outline consent in March 2016. SGP designed and delivered the first two phases of the park in 2016 and in 2017, and the speculative units were quickly occupied by Bosch Automotive, DB Schenker and Thornhill Engineering.
GRAHAM TO REFURBISH GENERAL PROJECTS’ LASER HOUSE IN CLERKENWELL
GRAHAM has won the contract to refurbish Laser House, a former printing press and gin distillery in London’s Clerkenwell that is being redeveloped by General Projects to provide almost 88,000ft 2 of office space. Located near the Barbican, Laser House will be refurbished to provide office floor space across the ground and four upper levels with provision of four SME starter units at lower ground floor. The building will be largely retained, with only partial demolition of the structure and construction of extensions to the existing building fronting Goswell Road and Pear Tree Street with plant enclosures above. Works are to include external alterations to the facades, windows, doors, improvements and upgrades to the office accommodation internally, provision of cycle storage, shower and changing facilities, waste and recycling facilities in addition to updated access arrangements and ancillary works.
INDUSTRY UPDATES
FC&A ROUNDS UP THE LATEST INDUSTRY NEWS AND UPDATES.
The new Xi’an International Football Centre will be 60,000-seat stadium for national and international matches as well as domestic league games, youth training academies, entertainment performances and cultural events.
ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS
The centre will be located in Xi’an’s Fengdong New District with its stations on the city’s expanding metro network.
With a population of nine million people and two professional football clubs, Xi’an will be a host city of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in China. Taking its legacy mode of operations as the starting point of the design, the stadium has been designed to provide optimum conditions for football and maximise its use by generations after the 2023 tournament.
Integrated within the orthogonal urban grid of Fengdong’s business district, the stadium’s open facades invite the city into the heart of the building to enjoy its public spaces, recreation and dining facilities throughout the day. Located in a series of shaded south-facing garden terraces with views over the city to Qing Mountain, these amenities will also serve spectators visiting the stadium during football matches, cultural events and performances.
The sweeping lines of the facade protect the stadium from northerly winds and convey the fluid forms of the roof that shelters the saddle-shaped seating bowl which maximises the spectator seating provided at midfield.
The design employs an ultra-lightweight long-span cable-net roof structure, resulting in a minimum load and material footprint
that; in turn, reduces the stadium’s primary structure. Wide perimeter roof overhangs shelter facilities within the building’s envelope while the large, shaded, open-air terraces and public concourses incorporate extensive planting on all levels, providing comfortable conditions in Xi’an’s hot continental summer climate.
Supported by the tensioned cable-net structure, a translucent membrane over the seating protects spectators
from inclement weather and direct sunlight while also allowing the most amount of natural light to reach the playing surface, promoting the growth of grass on the pitch to provide playing conditions of the highest standard.
Digital modelling has defined the geometry of the spectators’ seating bowl to optimise proximity and views to the field of play from all 60,000 seats, generating the most exciting atmosphere for football and ensuring an outstanding match experience for all players and spectators.
China’s ancient capital and core of the Silk Road, Xi’an has a long history of welcoming visitors from around the world. In the global arena of football, the Xi’an International Football Centre continues this tradition and builds a lasting legacy of new civic spaces, sports and recreational facilities for the city.
N E W S IN BRIEF:
DMA WINS PLANNING IN THE HEART OF VICTORIA FOR BOUTIQUE HOTEL
Dexter Moren Associates (DMA) has won planning permission for a new, 137-key boutique lifestyle hotel on Vauxhall Bridge Road in the heart of Victoria. The hotel, featuring a unique facade design, will become the latest addition to client 4C Hotel Group’s growing portfolio of high-quality central London hotel developments. The eight-storey, 6224m 2 (GIA) hotel includes a relaxing bar, food retail, cafe and formal restaurant, available to the public as well as guests.
SES ENGINEERING SERVICES SECURES LATEST STUDENT ACCOMMODATION SCHEME
Leading national engineering specialist, SES Engineering Services’ (SES), reputation as an innovative MEP services provider continues to grow as the contractor announces its latest significant contract win in the student accommodation sector. Working on behalf of main contractor, Kier, SES has been appointed to the design and build of 491 student bedrooms for Manchester Metropolitan University on the latest phase of works at its multi-million-pound Birley Fields campus, which was opened in 2014. This latest phase is located on Bonsall Street and will be constructed over three accommodation blocks standing at five, 10 and 15-storeys tall and all linked at ground floor level where there will be communal areas consisting of work/teaching spaces, gym, reception and administration areas as well as the associated MEP plant required to service the buildings.
ARCHITECT IN PROFILE
Suzanne Blair studied architecture at Newcastle University, graduating in 2008 before qualifying in 2010. She spent her year-out placement at Ryder Architecture and then formally joined the practice after graduating. Suzanne worked there for 11 years, progressing through to Associate before joining GT3 Architects in 2016. Here, FC&A talks to Suzanne about her successful career in architecture.
GT3 ARCHITECTS
SUZANNE BLAIR
Associate Director at GT3 Architects
I M AG E :
Central Station in Newcastle
Had you always wanted to pursue a career in architecture? I didn’t spend my childhood dreaming of being an architect – I am not sure I knew what one was. However, I became more aware of architecture as a potential career path in sixth form as I developed an interest in design and art but also technical subjects.
What has been your greatest influence and source of inspiration? I love to travel and find different cultures, places and people fascinating. Architecture in Scandinavia tends to be wonderfully simple and uses natural materials beautifully. Dutch architecture is often innovative and does urban planning extremely well, and the Chinese have some impressively quick construction methods. Pull out all the best bits, and we would have an impressive built environment and industry.
What has been your most notable project to date? Working on Central Station in Newcastle was an honour as it’s a Grade I Listed station and incredibly iconic in my home city. It has gone through a continual change throughout its history, so to be part of its next chapter was fantastic.
How do you approach your projects? People first. A building needs to be intuitive to use, easy to navigate and perform properly for the functions it contains. You have to put yourself in the position of every person using a building. That’s one of the reasons I joined GT3; its ‘people architecture’ vision fit perfectly with my own values.
What do you think is the greatest challenge for designing in sustainability? Cost and lack of legislation. Sustainable buildings generally cost more in terms of capital costs but save money over the life of the building. A developer or house-builder won’t benefit from that lifecycle cost reduction, so why do it? That is where legislation is needed to ensure that buildings meet better minimum standards.
What is your favourite building and why? I wrote my university dissertation on Gerrit Rietveld and the Schröder House in Utrecht. While it’s not the most impressive of buildings to look at, the whole house is built on the concept of flexibility, with moving walls and adaptable furniture. It was very much people-focused and designed around the owner, Mrs Schröder, and her lifestyle – very topical for today as everyone is trying to create workspaces at home.
What do you think is the greatest challenge for architects today? There is definitely a lack of understanding around the design process and the role and skills of an architect. Architects are under constant pressure over fees and take on a lot of responsibility, liability and workload in coordinating and managing the wider team. Often, we aren’t valued for what we bring to a project and have to explain ourselves and why we need to carry out certain parts of our service.
What advice would you give to newly qualified architects? Be a sponge! Although you spend a ridiculous amount of time at university, you still come out with a lot to learn – recognise that and absorb knowledge, experience and ideas from everywhere and everyone. Be willing to ask questions, listen to the answers and do not be afraid to mess up.
What can we expect to see from GT3 Architects over the next year? Firstly, we’re looking forward to getting out of our sweatpants and back into the studio, but beyond that, we’ve spent a lot of time and effort refining our business structure and offering. A new operational structure, to ensure everything runs as smoothly and effectively as possible, alongside new skill, sector and geographical leads will come into fruition this year, and we’re all pretty excited!
NEW
CONTEMPORARY PANELLING AND EVOLUTION FINISH MAKE A PERFECT COMBINATION
Powdertech Corby has recently used its popular Evolution ‘Peat Fire’ powder coating finish on the refurbishment of a Greggs store at the Glasgow Fort shopping and leisure destination.
POWDERTECH CORBY
This is one of Scotland’s leading retail centres with an array of wellknown retail brands, a Vue Cinema and numerous eateries and restaurants competing with one another for business.
The facade of the Greggs store was updated with 2mm aluminium cassette panelling with feature perforations, and a suitable powder coating finish was chosen from Powdertech’s Evolution range to enhance this ‘industrial look’. Evolution ‘Peat Fire’ is similar in appearance to Corten with a natural-looking inconsistency emulating that of weathered, rusted steel but there is no run-off or staining of surrounding material. The facade will look smart for years with a guarantee of up to 25 years for gloss, colour and adhesion.
The Evolution range conforms to ISO 12206 and Qualicoat specifications. For more information, visit the website below.
