Richard Drinkwater Architects
richard drinkwater architects
www.drinkwaterarchitects.com
practice A small practice with the principal, Richard Drinkwater, accompanied by three full time staff; an interior designer, project architect and one part I architectural assistant. The practice has a broad portfolio of project types and scales, with a particular speciality in listed and historic buildings. There is a relaxed studio culture to which all members of the team contribute. Job description Part I architectural assistant 1. Assist qualified staff with the preparation of drawings, models, reports and other material as directed. 2. Carry out product and supplier research. Summary of experience Working as part of a team on many projects on site and in initial development stages. Feasability, initial and developed design proposals for eight residential schemes, flats and private houses. Site visits and minute taking at site meetings at residential and commercial schemes. Preparation of construction drawings for 20 flat scheme. Preparation of detail drawings for numerous projects. Meeting with and negotiation with client, planning authority, highways, arboricultural officer, contractor, structural engineer, QS, Network Rail, and product suppliers. Preparation of models, sketches and impressions for client and planning meetings. Preparation of design and access statements to accompany planning applications.
Period of employment
June 2006 - January 2008
17 houses at prospect house, mossley
The site,a former nursing home, sloped steeply above the road with good views across the valley to the Saddleworth moors. Permission for five detached houses had been granted, the maximum allowed on a shared unadopted road in Tameside, but the maximum market value of the houses was insufficient to cover the purchase price of the land. The only solution was to increase the number of houses on the site, a problem which hinged on the access. My solution was to create a turning circle that satisfied adoptable requirements as far as a communal bin store. Beyond, a shared drive served a shared car park that ran underneath 13 houses, making the best use of any terracing necessary to create sufficient flat land for the houses. I ran this project at all stages to planning application. Despite felling several protected groups of trees, it was granted permission without difficulty in 2008. Demolition work began on site before the credit crisis ended the project.
The client, a small developer and builder of speculative houses, approached us to develop the site of a former nursing home facing a park in a residential area. Aside from initial feasability studies, my involvement began once the basic arrangement and massing had been decided: 20 apartments with deck access by a tower to the rear. My job was to rework the external appearance to satisfy the planners and the developer, who demanded something brick and contemporary. When it became clear that the planners would insist on a pitched slate roof, I suggested breaking the front into ‘bays’ with balconies and shifting the top storey back to lessen its impact. The double height space in the ridge could replace the resultant loss of floor area. I redrew the scheme for construction, negotiating personally with the structual and services engineers, brick specialists, United Utilities, the planning authority and the client. The revised scheme received planning permission without difficulty and was built under a design and build contract.
20 apartments at thrrostle’s nest, mellor road, ashton-under-lyne
selected other projects
The Point apartments Conversion of former Tameside County Courts into 25 flats. Floor area 1485 sqm internal. Contract value £2M. Design of new lift tower in consulation with ThyssenKrupp. Revision and issue of construction drawings. Design of rooftop detail. Site visits and minuting of design team meetings. Box tree lodge Remodelling of existing building currently containing 7 flats, to create 5 flats of greater resale value, and construction of new 2-flat building in grounds of existing building on a former railway embankment. The adjacent railway is the live Manchester Victoria-Stalybridge line. All design and drawing work Meeting with client to discuss progress of design Meeting with Network Rail Butt hill road Conversion of 2 bed bungalow to 4 bed luxury house in prestwich, north Manchester. Floor area approximately 252 sqm. Budget £150,000. Site surveys of currently inhabited house Development of four design options for consideration by client. Preparation of sketch drawings for client meeting. Meetings with client to discuss designs. Development of one option and preparation of more detailed drawings for client consideration and for cost planning. Meetings with client, quantity surveyor and architect to develop and discuss cost plan. Revision of design in response to cost plan. Conavon Court Visualisation to allay resident’s fears at contentious planning committee for 10-storey tower extension to listed city centre former warehouse. barnton brunner memorial hall Accompanied principal architect during final inspection and one-year handover of this building. the grand hotel Assisted with site surveys at multilevel basement of former hotel for possible conversion to boutique hotel. princess house Diplomacy required during survey to ascertain cause of smoke leakage from basement club into upper floor office space at central Manchester former cotton warehouse (poor relationship between landlord and tenant). Accompanied by fire survey of all floors. riverside Site visits to conversion of C18 pub to restaurant. Bankruptcy of main contractor. over tabley hall Joinery details for restoration of C17 ‘Strawberry Hill Gothic’ stately home in such poor condition that half the building collapsed during stabilising works.
Note: All designs and images remain the property of the copyright holders. Inclusion of images and drawings in this publication is intended to demonstrate the range of experience of the author only.
Conavon Court visualisation for planning committee and listed building consent
Grade II listed Over Tabley Hall after restoration
Box Tree House, already eclectic Victorian. Rather than fight it, we amplified it
The Point Detail for rooftop extension