Welcome

Cover Image © Perpendicular Architecture

When we started curating the articles for CA80, we weren’t sure if it would even go ahead given the circumstances. We recall that in our welcome in the last issue we wrote of ‘tumultuous times’ but even now those words seem innocent given the past six months.

In this issue, we’re looking at the new combination of challenges facing designers today, and how we are responding to them. Mark Clarke, from chadwick dryer clarke studio, looks at how school design is responding to health and environmental challenges with adaptability at the core; Margherita Cesca, of Saunders Boston, talks to John Hoyle, of Sook, about the future of retail; Bobby Open looks at the past – and future – of housing standards; Mark Richards examines the changing face of the idea of Live/ Work; and we showcase the student awards, alongside our usual features.

In times like these, it’s easy to let each new crisis consume us, but it’s also important to remember that there are plenty of actions that we can take that make a real and lasting difference to our surroundings. High standards of design, sustainability, creativity and consideration for the occupant and the surrounding community should be at the core of what we do. e skill of the architect is in bringing expertise and people together to form a solution greater than the sum of its parts. at has been – and remains – one of the architect’s strongest assets, and one that should help our various communities triumph through the challenges of the day.

THE EDITORS

News

Cambridge’s Perpendicular Architecture through to final phase of home competition

Cambridge based practice Perpendicular Architecture has emerged from more than 200 international entrants to reach the final phase of the Home of 2030 competition (www.homeof2030.com).

Collaborating with consultants changebuilding (engineering and sustainability) and humblebee (Passivhaus and MEP) to form The Positive+Collective, they will submit detailed designs alongside five other finalists. Director Patrick Usborne explains: ‘The Positive+Collective has a mission to design homes and communities that meet the combined challenges of the housing crisis and climate emergency, while also creating healthy and inclusive living.’

For the first phase of the competition, their experience was enhanced by experts at Arup in smart building systems, COCIS on bio-based and home-grown materials, and ECOSystems on emerging material, innovation in manufacturing, and delivery.

Perpendicular Architecture’s vision for 2030 is to regain an equilibrium: to actively restore and regenerate our planet and build places for people to reconnect with each other.

Its proposal, Positive+House, is not looking simply to minimise negative impacts but to maximise our positive contribution to society and the environment. Using home-grown Cross Laminated Timber (CLT), it adopts regenerative offsite design solutions in response to the increasingly urgent issue of climate change and biodiversity loss and the social challenges of our time, while also being cost effective.

The final result of the competition is scheduled to be announced in late November. We wish the team the very best of luck.

© Simon Bray

100% recyclable sales suite at Northstowe

Housebuilder House by Urban Splash has built a 100% recyclable structure that radically rethinks how a modern sales suite should be constructed and used.

Guy Ackernley, residential director, says: ‘The pavilion is part of our mission to do things differently, and continually raise the bar.’

Its structural components are prefabricated and can be delivered by a single truck and assembled in under a week. It can remain in situ for up to five years with standalone Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) structures that can be fully retrofitted and repurposed, or disassembled and rebuilt in a new location.

The pavilion is open at Northstowe. Viewings can be booked online at housebyurbansplash. co.uk but must be made in advance because of additional safety restrictions on numbers in place. The Cambridge Market Square project has restarted after being on hold since March 2020, as a result of the Covid restrictions and to allow the council to complete a comprehensive spending review.

© Alphotographic, iStock

Council decides Market Square project is priority

In recognition of the market and market square’s importance to the city’s economic recovery post-Covid, the council spending review concluded that the market square is a corporate priority and should continue as planned.

This follows the Stage 1: Feasibility Assessment report and stakeholder workshops held in January and February this year. Stage 2 Concept Design will take place over the

© Phynart Studio, iStock

New apprenticeship programme launched in Cambridge

As you will read (p26-27), there are diverse routes to qualification including more part-time courses and, more recently, apprenticeships.

The CAA welcomes the introduction of a new Architectural Apprenticeship programme at the Department of Architecture here in Cambridge. Launching this autumn, 18 students have enrolled on the Part 2 / Part 3 apprenticeship. We look forward to seeing how the programme grows and flourishes in the years to come, and hope to support the course and students as they develop their professional experience.

The department is also working to reduce the financial burden on students by providing materials for model-making and loaning drawing boards to all students in the first year, where hand-drawing is admirably still taught as an important skill. In lieu of awarding a 2020 Second Year prize – made challenging by the drastic change to online evaluation for all students – the CAA has donated funds to support the purchase of drawing boards, and we wish the first year

students every success in their studies. autumn and winter period, led by Mace Group; with specialist support from LDA Design and independent retail market development consultants, Quarterbridge.

The consultancy team will be developing a proposed vision and concept design for the market square and helping the council secure the required investment to complete the remaining detailed design and construction stages of the project.

For regular market square project updates, please refer to the following webpage: https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/marketsquare-redevelopment

Housing delivery study begins

AECOM has been commissioned by the Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service, on behalf of Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire District Councils, to prepare a housing delivery study.

The study began its first stage of engagement with housebuilders, developers, planning agents, estate agents, and the construction industry in September 2020, with follow-up interviews and workshops planned.

Seminars continue to impress

The CAA’s sustainability seminars (now online) have been a huge success – supported and created by the determination and energy of the members.

Even during the pandemic, and despite shifting to an online format, the seminars have gone from strength to strength, covering a diverse range of topics and techniques.

For more information, or to get involved, please contact the CAA – email secretary@cambridgearchitects.org or send us a tweet @RIBACambridge