The project includes the expansion of the existing Prep School building by the addition of a new floor of accommodation. The work will include upgrading the whole school to current regulatory, space and environmental standards with new staircases and lift, new cladding and windows. The structural frame for the second floor will be outside the existing perimeter walls to avoid disruption to the internal plan and will include storey high trusses supported off perimeter columns. The main structural work will be carried out during holidays and the construction will be phased to allow the existing School to function normally during terms times.
A competition winning scheme for York St John University. Planning permission was granted in November 2006 after extensive consultation with The City of York Council, English Heritage and local conservation groups. Close to the City Walls and York Minster at the junction of three historic routes, the brownfield site included an isolated pair of derelict Georgian terraced houses. The design responds to the local context in terms of scale, form and materials: local handmade bricks, dark grey panels, fair faced concrete, render and timber.
“In almost any city De Grey Court the latest addition to York St John University would be acknowledged as an impressive, complex and intelligent piece of architecture. In heritage obsessed York, where new buildings of any sort are rare and contemporary architecture of any quality are almost non-existent, the project is truly remarkable.” Peter Kelly editor Blueprint May 2009 .
Along the busy road, the boundary is defined by a high deep curved wall with deep facetted window reveals. The wall creates a strong, modulated boundary to the public areas and curves to create the entrance into a new courtyard. Achieving a BREEAM rating of Very Good, the project has won a number of awards including a RIBA Award, York Design Lord Mayor's Award and RIBA White Rose Awards for Design Excellence shortlist. It was also shortlisted for the World Architecture Festival Award in 2009. It is featured in ‘Architecture: Sustainable Concrete’ by David Bennett, RIBA Publishing.
Project completed by Charles Thomson as Director at Rivington Street Studio.
Studio 54 Architecture's competition entry for Sevenoaks Wildlife Trust, a new visitor centre for the nature reserve occupying a former gravel quarry.
A group of lightweight timber barns encloses a beautiful Public Square rich in flowers and plants, an outdoor room opening onto the lake. This is a place drawn from the imagination, the farm in the wood on the edge of the lake, the village in the trees, the unexpected magic destination that blends nature and place reflecting the human love of a special setting in the natural world. A base for exploration and relaxation.
This new build Arts Centre for the Hampstead Garden Suburb Institute is situated in a Conservation area, surrounded by mature trees and close to East Finchley Station. The architecture provides a comfortable, generous and welcoming artistic environment; a simple modern studio building with high ceilings and large windows, tempered by solar shading. The main entrance faces south with a wide canopy and a generous and welcoming foyer. The building maximises the opportunities for natural light and ventilation. The external materials are a palette of timber, brick, steel and glass. It won a Civic Trust Award Commendation in 2007.
Charles Thomson was the partner responsible for the creation of a new campus of 20,000 sq m of accommodation on a site in North London between 1975 and 1985. The multi–phased programme delivered design and engineering facilities as well as a library, restaurant, sports hall, lecture theatres, general teaching and administrative accommodation and one of London’s largest indoor streets.
A competition winning proposal for the renovation of a ‘classic’ 60's built campus for Kent Institute of Art & Design. The existing building contained an exposed steel frame and formally simple but hugely problematic external envelope. The proposals included re planning the campus, re cladding the existing buildings, and the replacement of existing services. New spaces include a reception area, generous circulation and exhibition areas, lecture theatres and seminar rooms, art gallery, café, learning resource centre and studios. The construction work was phased around the operation of the occupied campus over an 18 month period.
