A busy year started with Chris and Nerea being interviewed by writer Jon Turney and work beginning on a couple of new projects including a solar energy prototyping pod concept proposal.
Read MoreHow to build your own home in a week
Work experience - Penny
"I’m over the moon to have been part of the askew family for a week. I was made to feel welcome from the outset. I mean, on my first day, they cooked me risotto! It was delicious. It’s been a jam-packed week. I got to go along to building sites, sat in on meetings and learnt how to use a drawing board with a parallel rule."
Read MoreBattens Lane site on TV
Build -work experience at Askew Cavanna
"Given the incredibly broad brief to re-design my home, I opted not for an unnecessary blank slate but instead adapted the original building to best suit our purposes and the land. Taking inspiration from Scandinavian houses, from the minimalist aesthetic and the simple but effective use of wood to the form of the staircases. These staircases proved to be a pain to model in sketch-up, subsequently I spent more time on the two flights than on the rest of the design!
The rear extension, re-design of the roof and the front-facing first floor extension are perhaps the most drastic changes, the latter designed to preserve car parking space, but still utilising an otherwise underused space. Internally, the house is significantly more open plan, with a simpler allocation of rooms. When entering through the front door, the full height of two floors and the two sets of staircases are immediately visible – aiming to impress any visitor.
The placement of windows are, for the most part, designed to maximise the amount of natural light entering during the day. Had I more time, I would have added various environmentally friendly features – solar panels and suchlike. Not to forget a sauna, no Scandinavian inspired house would be complete without one!
Thanks again to Askew Cavanna for having me, invaluable before studying architecture at university."
Peter Brooks
Summer 2015 -getting things built
We we have been working close to home on a couple of cool workspace conversions for some very interesting clients -Willis Newson and Portland Brown. The new hq office refurbishment for Portland Brown was recently completed in Stokes Croft, and the fit out for for Willis Newson is currently on site.
Read MoreBristol Council Housing Framework success
A consortium lead by Askew Cavanna Architects along with Barefoot Architecture and tangentstudio has been successful in winning a place on the Bristol City Council Framework to design 1000 Council Houses over the next four years.
Read MoreNovember update
Tenders were returned for the proposed Affordable Housing near Oxford for OCLT and our client AEOB has gone ahead with their purchase of a site in St George to convert and extend as 6 custom build affordable flats.
Read MoreOn the Drawing board ….. September 2014
The month of September kept us that busy that we didn’t even realise it is getting to the end!
After a lot of time and effort invested in all the detailed drawings for the affordable housing scheme for the Oxford Community Land Trust, now we can happily say we went out for Tender. The Contractors will come back with an answer for the end of October, in which we will keep you updated.
The affordable housing scheme for AEOB is starting this month –they are just about to sign the contract to buy the site at 22 Battens Lane in St George. After a year looking for a suitable site, they finally found the perfect empty office building to be refurbished into 6 social flats, and in the right area. We are ready to help them in their new adventure and develop the appropriate scheme.
Photo session on site with AEOB members
We also received tender documents for Bristol City Council Housing Framework for which we are shortlisted, and look forward to making our bid.
Pioneer ‘Offices into Homes’ group buy first property despite risks.
A group set up to prove that ordinary people can refurbish office buildings, create social housing communities and produce a modest return for investors is exchanging contracts on their first property........
Read MoreOn the Drawing board -August 2014
Another busy month -a lot of time spent doing working drawings and specification for the affordable housing for Oxford Community Land Trust. We have been wrapped up with balancing the different criteria -Code for Sustainable Homes (level 5), Lifetime Homes, Secured by Design and meeting HCA Design Quality Indicators. Building is to be constructed using SIPS panels -see the draft detail opposite. All fascinating stuff.
Closer to home, our small project for studio workspaces in Backfields Lane is due on site next week. Tight site and the works include re-roofing….should be interesting.
Meanwhile we were happy to be shortlisted for Bristol City housing framework -ours is a collaborative bid with other local practices -tangentstudio and Barefoot Architecture.
The subject of cost has come up repeatedly in the last few weeks. We are seeing signs of inflation in the construction industry with prices rising sharply as contractors and suppliers seek to make up the losses of recent years. I fear the housing market is overheated again. Just hope it doesn't end in tears again. Either way it doesn't help those trying to provide affordable housing.
Lastly an opportunity came up for an interesting creative workspace development in Bristol, so have made a bid to buy the site. I notice articles appearing on shortage of workspaces -permitted development to convert to housing cannot help. We await the vendors decision.
Looking ahead, next month Joe will be working with Sam to prepare something more out of the ordinary…….watch this space.
Work Experience - Maja
"This week has been such an eye opener for me. I didn't realise how much goes into a project for an architect.......
Read MoreTeam visit to Hanham Hall
Last week the team took time out along with Sam Goss of Barefoot Architecture for a site visit to Hanham Hall, Barratt Homes substantial ecohome development on the outskirts of Bristol.
Construction is SIPS panels, using Kingspan TEK -Paul Newman of Kingspan was kind enough to show us round.
Read MoreChange a life with a loan through Deki
Deki are a local Bristol Charity that provide micro loans to people in Malawi , Togo, South Sudan, Ghana and Nepal. The loans can be as little as £10 -to the recipients they can be life changers. They help recipients set up or improve a business or make some improvement in their life -it might be related to water, education or supporting the local community.
Read MorePlaying with virtual reality
A useful tool to be able to see full 3d views -take a look at this image of the office today....or for a more impressive image, the Olympic Basketball Arena below.
Moving in day at Sawdays
Today's the day and we're excited to see the new offices for Alistair Sawday Publishing....here's a sneak preview of their new offices on the harbourside.
Read MorePractice Merger
We are pleased to announce that, with effect from 20th June 2014, Askew Architects has merged with Cavanna Partnership and from now on the Practice will be known as Askew Cavanna. This exciting venture will create a larger practice that combines the diverse skills of our two practices and will allow the new practice to undertake a wider range of projects.
Read MoreOn the drawing board..... June 2014
June is stacking up to be a busy month for us in the Studio...following a very positive response at Planning Committee, we are moving forwards with the detailed design stage for Oxford Community Land Trust, the Zero Carbon Hub for Solarsense is at planning, and the fit-out for Alastair Sawday's new office is on site.
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Planning lodged for zero carbon hub
Following a successful application for a grant from the West of England Growth Fund, we have lodged a planning application on behalf of Solarsense for a Zero Carbon Hub and Training Centre.
Read MoreWork Experience
Hamza - Student at Cotham School
Work experience was really useful as I learned lots of techniques in which you use in order to design buildings. For example dark lines for walls, light lines for the doors and really light lines for the measurements, so that you can read and understand the design without making any errors.
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