Viability Plan approved for FUSE Art Space in Bradford

Great news that FUSE Art Space have had their viability plan successfully approved by The Architectural Heritage Fund. We had the pleasure of working with FUSE earlier this year, supporting them on this feasibility study. The brief was to explore the potential to transform a set of existing buildings in the City Centre conservation area in the commercial core of Bradford. The concept proposals reimagine the buildings as a new multi-use arts hub and home for FUSE, creating an active street frontage and containing a variety of uses stitched together with a bright, new central circulation atrium. 

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New era for Bauman Lyons

We are pleased to announce that we are embarking on an exciting new era for Bauman Lyons with Irena Bauman and Maurice Lyons standing down from the practice they founded almost 30 years ago.

Living up to our principles of collaboration, the practice has successfully been transferred over to the existing long-term team via an Employee Benefit Trust agreement which sees two thirds ownership now in the hands of the employees. Director Guy Smith, who has been with Bauman Lyons for 17 years, will be joined by newly-promoted Tom Vigar who also becomes a Director.

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Silk Mill featured in Derbyshire Life

We’re pleased to see this lovely write up of the Museum of Making at Derby Silk Mill. It’s a great story and we’re proud to be part of it. The project is progressing well on site and we’re excited for the opening in Spring 2021.

For more information on the project click here

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South Square Centre makes front page news

We are thrilled that South Square Centre has made the front page of Bradford’s Telegraph and Argus. The refurbishment of the Grade II Listed community arts centre is being taken on by BLA’s long time collaborators Dobson Construction. The restoration work will see the roof repaired and insulated, the windows restored and historic stone work repointed and upgraded internally to improve the Centre’s thermal performance and energy efficiency. The project is being supported by funding from Heritage Lottery, Arts Council England, the Garfield Weston Foundation and Bradford Council.

Read more about the project on this link: https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/18871021.lottery-funded-restoration-south-square-centre-thornton-begun/ and find out more about the fantastic work done by our Client Thornton and Allerton Community Association here: https://www.instagram.com/southsquarecentre/


Long Term City: Citizen action and the future of cities

Long term thinking for our future cities, panel discussion with live Q&A

Join us to explore, with David Rudlin from Urbed+, Irena Bauman from Built in Common, Alastair Parvin from Open Systems Lab, Helen Graham from My Future York and Victoria Bradford-Keegan from Future Parks  how we can collaborate in a progressive and long term, mindful way to bring about good change for our future cities. We’ll ask how effective the role of the citizen in planning for the future of cities can be, how we can move from engagement to action, explore how democratic, participatory development has evolved over time and how recent events and policies have shifted approaches to the future. This is an open conversation and you’re invited to join the discussion.

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Booking essential via Eventbrite

A Place for Me: Co-creating a collaborative blueprint for transition accommodation

We are looking forward to this week as we will be joining York Design Week 2020 for a unique experiment bringing homeless people together with architects and designers to co-produce a blueprint for a transition accommodation within the city. 

Marking a significant departure from traditional approaches to consultation, this project places those with lived experience of homelessness at the heart of the creative design and planning process to reimagine emergency shelters, temporary accommodation and supported housing.

The resulting blueprint will then be shared under creative commons licensing agreements for others to build upon.

For more information on the list of exciting events on York Design Week 2020, find out here.

Review of the book, Architecture & Resilience

Buildings & Cities journal has just published a review of the book, Architecture and Resilience. The book was co-edited and co-authored by Irena and has recently received a positive review from Vanesa Castán Broto.

The review is available here: 

https://www.buildingsandcities.org/insights/reviews/architecture-and-resilience-review.html

We would like to thank Vanesa Castán Broto and Buildings & Cities for the positive feedback. 

More information about the book can be viewed here. 

Kirkham Eco and Heritage Skills Centre

We have just completed options appraisal work on the proposed new Eco and Heritage Skills Centre in Kirkham.

It is a very innovative project conceived by Fylde Borough Council as part of their successful Historic England HAZ bid.

It was great to work with Creative Space Management on the business plan outline. The next stage is to buy the building and commission a full business plan and planning submission.

For more information on the project click here

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Future High Street Fund Bid for Kirkham

We are very pleased that after 7 months of intense and successful collaboration with Fylde Borough Council, MHA, BWA, ACCEND and Avison Young we have made a submission to the FHSF in support of funding for the regeneration of the High Street in Kirkham.

This government funding is eagerly awaited in Kirkham as clearly explained in this beautiful video made by Blake House Film Cooperative for this project – here

 

Park Road – First affordable housing scheme in MassBespoke

We designed MassBespoke to be both Bespoke and Mass-produced. It is a timber cassette system design for digital fabrication on a CNC router. This means that small workshops can be set up cheaply and easily in neighborhoods to build homes locally. We call this new infrastructure BuiltInCommon and explain it here: http://massbespoke.com/built-incommon.html .

We are now working with Hull-based fabricator contractor Blok Build, to build two affordable homes in Doncaster for Doncaster Central Development Trust who have put their trust in us for which we are hugely grateful.

After one or two mishaps including Covid-19 we have restarted on-site and the pace is furious.

Nail-biting time.

Acts Against Collapse

For a second year running, the M-Arch in Architecture at Central Saint Martins will be joining forces with Material Cultures, a research organisation working at the intersection of low embodied carbon and high efficiency off-site construction.

As a part of the Construction in Detail summer unit CSM will host a series of talks about building and ecological action. Over 3 days, 9 speakers will open up the terrain of what it means to act sustainably and how this can be integrated into a form of practice. Irena will be speaking on Monday 6th of July about MassBespoke and Build InCommon.

Talks are open and free to the wider public see Microsoft Teams links below.

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Covid-19 – BLA policy

In response to the UK government guidance, everyone at BLA is now working from home. We have established procedures allowing us to continue operating, to look after the health and safety of our team, and to provide for our wider responsibility to others we work with and the general public. The health and wellbeing of our team is of uptmost importance to us and so we are supporting flexible working for any employees who may need it.

We continue to communicate and collaborate with each other and our clients, using a suite of digital tools.

Staff can be reached directly on their direct dial phone numbers. If you cannot reach a member of staff then please email directly and we will call you back.

All procedures enable BLA to provide a continued, professional and attentive service to our clients. Our full office protocol document can be viewed here.

Kirkham Future High Street

We are pleased to be appointed to work with Flyde Council with Future High Street Fund to revitalise the town centre of Kirkham. We are working with our regular and trusted associates: Avison Young, Accend, Bernard Williams, Martin Higgitt Associates. 

Stephenson Memorial Hall

We are delighted to have been appointed to work with Chesterfield Borough Council on developing options for the refurbishment of the Stephenson Memorial Hall in Chesterfield.

This unique building, built as a tribute to George Stephenson and home to both Chesterfield Museum and the Pomegranate Theatre, has huge potential as a key focal point in Chesterfield’s cultural offer. We are looking forward to collaborating creatively with Tourism UK, Rambol, Charcoal Blue, BWA, Core, Burdus Access and the Council over the next few months.