Healthcare Design & Management features St Wilfrid's Hospice

rhp designed St Wilfrid's Hospice is featured on the front cover of the latest issue of Healthcare Design & Management.

The Hospice has received a great deal of recognition for its innovative and 'brave' design and was most recently Highly Commended at the BBH Awards in the Patients Choice category.

Cambridge Business magazine celebrates 40 years of rhp

The December issue of Cambridge Business magazine carries a feature on rhp as we enter our 40th year. The magazine is out now or can be viewed online.

Lakeside Country Park plans unanimously approved

Our plans for Lakeside Country Park were approved unanimously by committee yesterday. Work is scheduled to commence in late spring 2015.

The popular countryside site attracts approximately 10,000 visitors per annum and offers local groups facilities for a wide range of activities, including canoeing, open water swimming, fishing, model boating and dog training.

RHP’s proposals allow for two new buildings to replace the current outdated facilities. They are to have photo-voltaic panels, green roofs and will achieve BREEAM ‘Excellent’ status. In addition, the buildings will house a multi-purpose space suitable for functions and group activities, offices for staff and partner organisations, improved changing facilities, additional storage space, public toilets and improved disabled facilities. The increased space and improved facilities will provide the Council with additional revenue streams, in addition to creating vastly improved public facilities for the local community to continue to use and enjoy.

Chair of Eastleigh Local Area Committee, Cllr Paul Bicknell said ‘This is a really exciting project to modernise the facilities at Lakeside for the community and to help attract more visitors to this wonderful waterside site.’

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/11595581.New___2_5_million_water_sports_centre_given_go_ahead_for_Hampshire_lake/?ref=mr

Building Better Healthcare Awards

RHP and St Wilfrid's Hospice were Highly Commended in the Patients Choice category at the Building Better Healthcare Awards held today. Thank you to HPCi Media for an enjoyable afternoon.

Davigdor Road gets the green light

We are delighted to announce our plans on behalf of The Hyde Group for 113-119 Davigdor Road have been approved unanimously at a planning committee meeting held this afternoon.

Restoration of St Mary's Church, Newport

RHP's Helen Axworthy is pictured in the Walden Local in front of St Mary's Church, Newport.

The Church was on the English Heritage 'At Risk' register and as such has been the subject of  a series of essential renovations to conserve the Grade 1 listed building. It is hoped that following the restoration work it will be removed from that list.

RHP awarded place on The Hyde Group’s Architectural Services Framework

We are delighted to have been awarded a place on The Hyde Group’s Architectural Services Framework.

Hyde is one of the largest housing associations working in England, owning or managing around 50,000 homes in London, Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, the East of England and East Midlands.

The Hyde Group first appointed RHP to their framework in 2011.

We are currently working with The Hyde Group on the redevelopment of 113-119 Davigdor Road in Hove and look forward to continuing to deliver new and exciting projects throughout the duration of the framework.

RHP Brighton is now recruiting Qualified Architects

Our Brighton studio is recruiting qualified architects with relevant experience of running medium to large sized projects (£5m to £10m or above), across RIBA Stages C to L. Due to a number of exciting new projects you will be required to assist with our expanding workload. Specific experience of student residential, affordable housing and workplace environments would be an advantage.

These are full-time, permanent positions based in our Brighton studio (5 mins walk from Brighton Station and the beach).

Please send a hard copy of your CV and examples of your portfolio to:

Gwynneth Burrows

RH Partnership

30-31 Foundry Street

Brighton

BN1 4AT

RHP is proud to be an equal opportunities employer 

Lakeside Country Park, Eastleigh

RHP have been appointed by Eastleigh Borough Council as lead consultants for a major new water sports centre planned for Lakeside Country Park. The popular countryside site attracts approximately 10,000 visitors per annum and offers local groups facilities for a wide range of activities, including canoeing, open water swimming, fishing, model boating and dog training.

RHP’s proposals allow for two new buildings to replace the current outdated facilities. They are to have photo-voltaic panels, green roofs and will achieve BREEAM ‘Excellent’ status. In addition, the buildings will house a multi-purpose space suitable for functions and group activities, offices for staff and partner organisations, improved changing facilities, additional storage space, public toilets and improved disabled facilities. The increased space and improved facilities will provide the Council with additional revenue streams, in addition to creating vastly improved public facilities for the local community to continue to use and enjoy.

Chair of Eastleigh Local Area Committee, Cllr Paul Bicknell said ‘This is a really exciting project to modernise the facilities at Lakeside for the community and to help attract more visitors to this wonderful waterside site.’

Hyde Group proposals help meet job needs

Coverage in The Argus of planning proposals submitted by RHP on behalf of client the Hyde Group detail how the £15m development will provide jobs as well as new homes.

http://www.theargus.co.uk/business/11446349.The_rise_of_the_Phoenix/?ref=twtrec

Phoenix Brighton reborn with Arts Council funding

Phoenix Brighton, the largest independent artists studio and gallery in the south east has recently been awarded £150k from the Arts Council. The much needed funding will enable the centre to continue a programme of essential renovation works which commenced in April 2014 under the guidance of RHP.

Coverage in today's edition of The Argus details the work carried out so far and planned forthcoming improvements to the gallery space and entrance, scheduled to take place in early 2015.

http://www.theargus.co.uk/business/11446349.The_rise_of_the_Phoenix/?ref=twtrec

For more information about Phoenix Brighton visit: http://www.phoenixbrighton.org/

Combined Colleges Boathouse gets the go ahead

Rounding off a hat-trick week of planning approval, RHP are delighted to have received the go ahead on behalf of the Leys School and Selwyn, Churchill and King’s Colleges for a new boathouse to be built off Logan’s Way in Cambridge. The site and existing boathouse are located in an area with a high propensity for flooding and the current facilities are outdated and insufficient to meet the storage facility and training demands required.

Plans drawn up by RHP will provide the four clubs with a high quality, state-of-the art new boathouse with the majority of the accommodation on the first floor and out of flood level.

Planning approval granted for Hills Road Sixth Form College

RHP are proud to have worked with the award winning Hills Road Sixth Form College (HRSFC) on a number of projects over the years. Continuing this successful association, we are pleased to have received planning approval from Cambridge City Council, on behalf of HRSFC, for a new £3.6 million scheme to considerably extend and enhance their current classroom and performing arts facilities.

HRSFC was recognized as the State Sixth Form College of the Year in 2013 and regularly receives OFSTED Grade 1 'Outstanding' in all areas accolades. This new development will provide facilities as part of HRSFC's ongoing forward planning for future growth and flexibility and thus continuing to enable the College to deliver excellence.

£5 million Buxton’s redevelopment receives planning green light

RHP’s plans for the redevelopment of the former Buxton’s site on Ditchling Road received approval from Brighton and Hove City Council last night.

The motion was carried by 10 votes to 2 and will give the site (which has been derelict for over 8 years) a dramatic new facelift with a new four storey building for Kings Colleges, a language college offering GCSE, A Level and pre-university preparation to foreign students. The plans allow for a mixed use scheme accommodating a new combined college facility and student halls of residence and help to further animate the street scene along Ditchling Road.

RHP’s designs have taken care to preserve and conserve the prevailing characteristics of the local area, adding a further boost to the regeneration of the London Road and Lewes Road corridors, whilst creating an exciting new site for Kings Colleges’ newest UK outpost.

http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/11391443.Former_department_store_set_for___5_million_international_college_revamp/

Planning submitted for Gresham Road Graduate Accomodation, Cambridge

Planning has been submitted to Cambridge City Council on behalf of Hughes Hall for the development of the old University Physical Education Centre on Gresham Road.

The proposals include 85 graduate rooms with student study rooms and ancillary spaces. To facilitate the development there is to be a new footpath link connecting back to Hughes Hall on the opposite side of Fenner’s; a new changing room extension for the adjacent Indoor Cricket School and a new gated entrance to the footpath.

Planning submitted for 113-119 Davigdor Road

Planning has been submitted to Brighton and Hove City Council on behalf of the Hyde Group for development of 113-119 Davigdor Road in Hove.

The proposed nine storey, mixed use building will house office space on the ground floor; 76 apartments on the upper floors (many commanding sensational views of the city and nearby seafront); as well as underground parking for 35 cars. RHP have consulted with landscape architect Nick Dexter on the design of the feature community space to the south of the site.

Planning approval in Clifton Conservation Area, Brighton

RHP have been granted planning permission on behalf of their client, Streamline Taxis, for the refurbishment of their offices at 5 Clifton Hill, Brighton.

Streamline have been based out of the premises for over 60 years and are the city’s longest serving taxi company.

Work has already commenced and involves reinstating original architectural features including roof lights, which had been removed, and rationalizing the floor space and accommodation to provide an open, contemporary working environment fit for the present and future operations of the company.

Sussex Heritage Trust Awards 2014

We are delighted to announce RHP have won a Sussex Heritage Trust Award for St Wilfrid's Hospice, Eastbourne.

Arnold Simanowitz, Chariman of St Wilfrid's Hospice and RHP's Nic Hoar

RHP were appointed as architects in 2009 and work was completed in August 2013. The hospice has recevied considerable praise and recognition for its groundbreaking look and feel, a key aspect to a new approach in end of life care.

Earlham Hall, Norfolk

RHP's recent restoration of Earlham Hall in Norwich for the University of East Anglia’s school of law is to be featured in an article and on the front cover of the latest issue of the CIAT's quarterly publication, AT - Architectural Technology.

Earlham Hall is a Grade ll* listed building standing in parkland to the west of Norwich.

Deemed to be of national and social significance as an historical building, it was in need of refurbishment to make it functional, structurally sound and to bring it in line with 21^st century standards.

Work commenced in June 2012 and the refurbishment work was completed in March 2013. The school of law moved into the building in March 2014.

Feedback has been very positive and the building has been restored in a sympathetic manner that maintains the building's historic integrity, whilst ensuring it will be around, and in use for many years to come.

McGrath Centre shortlisted for the AJ Retrofit Awards 2014

We are delighted to announce that The McGrath Centre at St Catharine's College has been shortlisted for the AJ Retrofit Awards in the Higher Education over £5m category. The complete shortlist of entries from each category can be found here.

Progress news at the Attenborough Centre for Creative Arts, University of Sussex

After a long hibernation, the University of Sussex's iconic Gardner Arts Centre is being brought back to life by RHP and will subsequently be known as the Attenborough Centre for Creative Arts (ACCA). The building will provide an interdisciplinary arts hub for the university and the wider community.

The transformation and refurbishment of this Basil Spence Grade II* listed building is currently ongoing.

Meanwhile, the fly through animation gives a tantalising glimpse of how the centre will look when completed: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/acca/

Sussex Heritage Awards shortlist St Wilfrid's Hospice, Eastbourne

St Wilfrid's Hospice, Eastbourne has been shortlisted by the Sussex Heritage Awards. The awards ceremony will be held on July 3rd 2014.

Wrest Park Collections Store featured in English Heritage Members' Magazine May 2014

Wrest Park is a Scheduled Ancient Monument currently managed by English Heritage. English Heritage resolved to convert an existing 1950s workshop into a collections store, to house objects from other English Heritage sites around the country. The project was carried out under a traditional form of contract and involved re-roofing, re-servicing, and replacement of Crittall glazing system windows with insulated panels.

Read the story online here

Warwick House

The new library and day centre for Sussex County Council is about to complete in Seaford. Work began on the £6 million development in December 2009 and the new building replaces Seaford’s old public library building with an impressive and innovative mixed use scheme.

Warwick House will continue to provide Seaford with (significantly larger) library facilities, but in addition will now offer an adult day care centre and 9 one bedroom flats for adults with learning difficulties, plus a one bedroom flat for care staff.

The space has been designed to be flexible throughout so it can be used in a variety of ways, now and in the future, with many of the spaces available for the community to hire out of hours. A focal point of the centre are the roof gardens, which are open to all and provide valuable outdoor space in a compact town centre.

Writing about the impending opening the Eastbourne Herald states ‘The innovative scheme is the first of its kind in the county and is part of an ongoing investment into library services by East Sussex County Council.'

Additionally, the scheme will support a new service to offer more direct access to resources in the community for older people with dementia or other mental health problems who have been assessed as needing support to help them live independently.’

The building is expected to open to the public in summer 2014.

http://www.eastbourneherald.co.uk/news/local/multi-million-pound-seaford-library-ready-to-open-1-5882922

Newhaven Growth Quarter Awarded £1.9m by Big Lottery Fund

RHP have been working with Lewes District Council, Sussex Downs College, Sussex Community Development and Basepoint to develop exciting new plans for Denton Island, East Sussex. The Newhaven Growth Quarter scheme will create and sustain local jobs for local people and has just recently been awarded £1.9million in funding from the Coastal Communities Fund.

The leader of Lewes District Council said ‘This is fantastic news for Newhaven and creates a real catalyst for change, offering a unique opportunity for exciting economic growth within the ‘Clean, Green and Marine’ technologies sector, building upon the arrival of the new University Technical College.’

The project comprises 5 key construction activities:

• An extension to the Newhaven Enterprise Centre will create additional space for new and emerging businesses specialising in the ‘Clean Tech Sector’
• An extension to the Sussex Community Development Association’s (SCDA) nursery and crèche facilities will help support parents seeking to re-enter the workplace
• Training rooms are to be built at SCDA which will provide space for local people to develop new opportunities to develop their careers and business ideas
• The Quarter Café will serve as a focal point for the Quarter and will be located within the Sussex Downs College campus
• The creation of an attractive campus style environment for all Newhaven Growth Quarter users

Stone Age artefacts found during excavations at Seaford Head School

Evidence of activity from the Stone Age has been uncovered behind the existing buildings on the site of the new Seaford Head Sixth Form.

Hundreds of flint pieces, all untouched since around 5,000 BC have been unearthed, but the most exciting piece so far is an arrowhead measuring three centimetres in diameter, dating back to a time when stone tools were made from flint and chet and shaped or chipped for use as cutting tools and weapons.

A statement from the archeological team said: “The East Sussex County Council Archaeologist was informed and further investigations by ASE have identified that this deposit is rich in flint artefacts dating from the Later Mesolithic (6,500-4500BC), Neolithic (4,500-2,500BC) and Bronze Age (2,500-600BC).

“This evidence is indicative of past human activity (principally tool manufacture) on site spanning a long period of time, although not necessarily continuously."

The county’s archaeological team has been on site for the last couple of weeks undertaking a full scale examination. Meanwhile, work on the Old Annex building continues, to ensure one phase of the build is complete and ready for occupation for the induction week in July.

Due to the nature of the find Seaford Museum are keen to create an information guide so that the discovery can be viewed by the community once the dig has been concluded. 

Cambridge Design and Construction Award 2013 Winners Announced

Three developments have been awarded top honours as part of Cambridge City Council’s annual design and construction awards. The announcement was made at the annual dinner of the Cambridge Forum for the Construction Industry (CFCI) on Friday 21st March. The awards are co-sponsored by the CFCI and Cambridge News.

From 27 submissions for the four categories, judges short listed ten entrants. St Catharine’s College McGrath Centre was awarded best Alteration or Extension of Existing Building, which provides the college with a new multipurpose auditorium, an extended and refurbished library, a new bar and a new JCR. The new facilities are set within a re-landscaped courtyard space adjacent to the Grade 1 listed college chapel.

"Brilliant news about the award! We love to bask in reflected glory...
The building is really superb by the way - nothing but praise from all who use it and we're all delighted." Prof Jean Thomas, Master of the College

 

St Catharine's College, McGrath Centre winner of the best 'Alteration or Extension of Existing Building' Award

 

 

Duchess of Cornwall opens St Wilfrid's Hospice Eastbourne

The Duchess of Cornwall officially opened St Wilfrid’s Hospice in Eastbourne yesterday, praising the modern new facilities for their ‘wonderful, uplifting feeling’.

RHP was appointed as architects for the new facility in 2009. Work was completed in August 2013 with patients moving across from the old hospice last November. The new 20 bed hospice has garnered a considerable amount of recognition and praise for its ground breaking look and feel, a key aspect to a new approach in end of life care.

As David Dimbleby, one of St Wilfrid’s new patrons said, ‘The great thing about here is that it connects – people feel part of what’s going on’. He continued, ‘(in the past) the word cancer wasn’t used – the Big C. Now people talk about it. The thing is to make it part of our lives and part of living and I think that is what this place achieves.’ A patient added, ‘It’s a fantastic place... it’s not the type of place you don’t want to come to’.

St Wilfrid’s Hospice has recently been awarded ‘Regional Finalist’ by the Civic Trust Awards for a ‘very high quality finish achieved throughout the scheme both internally and externally’.

Help the Hospices – the UK’s champions of hospice care - has recognised St Wilfrid’s as ‘the shape of future hospice care’ and will be running a master class there later in the year about the future of hospice buildings.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-26751544

90.3% BREEAM Outstanding!

We're proud to announce that the final BREEAM assessment has been completed on the Sophi Taylor Building and it has exceeded its design stage score and received a final rating of 90.3%.

Sustainable Architecture Seminar

Alex Reeve will be participating in an interactive workshop presentation discussing the recently completed Sophi Taylor Building, our BREEAM Outstanding rated visitor centre for NIAB in Cambridge.  Alex was the Project Associate for the works at NIAB and leads our in-house sustainability team.

The talk is being hosted by NIAB and RIBA East to discuss the lessons learned by the team during the design and construction process.  The event is on the 6 Feb 2014 and open to all, for more information or tickets for the event, please follow this link : NIAB Events Details

North West Cambridge Planning

RHP proposals for the Lot 5 post-graduate student accommodation for the University of Cambridge at the North West Cambridge Development have been approved by the local planning authorities.

The student accommodation buildings for up to 325 post-graduates have been inspired by the traditional collegiate architecture in Cambridge. The proposals include accommodation within three open-sided courts of individual character and a series of three to five storey buildings that will define the strong street frontages.

Roger Taylor, Project Director of the North West Cambridge Development said "The designs for the post-graduate student accommodation naturally reflect the architectural language of the city and Cambridge colleges, whilst working to achieve high levels of sustainability and creating a great place for future students to live.  These are the first buildings in Phase One that have received planning approval and they reflect the characteristics of the masterplan, which is to create a new, cohesive urban extension to Cambridge.”

Andrew Drummond, Project Associate from RH Partnership explained: “The last 18 months has seen an exciting and often challenging collaboration between the architectural, masterplanning and technical teams, working closely together to create an elegant extension to our city.  The traditional sequence and hierarchy of spaces within existing collegiate sites in Cambridge was the inspiration for the series of courts and landscaped garden spaces within our proposals, which creates clusters of post-graduate rooms forming varying sizes of houses.  The proposal uses a simple palette of materials which draws on the underlying grain and character of Cambridge architecture.”

Phase one of the development will include 325 post-graduate student bedspaces of the 2,000 that was agreed as part of the outline planning permission in February 2013.  This accommodation will enable new communities to be formed at a scale similar to the central college sites and is vital to meet the University’s need for growth of the post-graduate population. The design incorporates high levels of cycle parking to enable students and others to travel sustainably, as well as sensitive landscaping and pathways to nurture a strong sense of connectivity, and will meet the BREEAM Excellent standard.

The Joint Development Control Committee granted planning consent for the Reserved Matters Application for Lot 5 of the North West Cambridge Development on 18 December 2013.  The subsequent Reserved Matters Applications for the remainder of Phase One of the North West Cambridge Development will continue to be determined throughout 2014. Works on infrastructure will take place in 2014 and phased completions will begin from 2015.