We spent a fascinating day at BIS in April with many of the players involved in developing UK capacity for offsite construction and here is the final report from Cambridge University with the findings from the Construction Leadership Council Innovation Workstream (Buildings) Roadmap for Modern Methods of Construction
‘Among the young, the “loneliness epidemic” has gone viral: nearly 60 per cent of 18- to-34-year-olds told the Mental Health Foundation they felt lonely often or sometimes.
Irena spoke with Rowland Manthorpe
Associate Editor, WIRED on the new models of capitalist co-housing developments that exploit the rising loneliness among the young for the Wired magazine:
a fascinating read: http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2016/06/features/coliving-housing-wework-pure-house
Low Carbon off-site timber frame system
Bauman Lyons are working with Citu Developments and Leeds Becket University on developing high performance timber frame system for manufacture in Citu factory due to be commissioned in autumn this year. This research and development project is supported by Innovate UK.
For more info, visit the YEP online at: www.yorkshireevening.co.uk
We are all set to run engagement events for Bolsover District regeneration framework from 13th to 21th of April
The consultation events will be held as follows:
Bolsover: The Assembly Rooms, Hilltop, Bolsover, S44 6NG. 13 April from 12pm – 7pm
South Normanton: The Post Mill Centre, South Normanton, DE55 2EJ. 14 April from 12pm – 7pm
Clowne: The Schoolroom, Clowne Methodist Church, North Road, Clowne, S43 4PF. 20 April from 12pm – 7pm
Shirebrook: The Christian Centre, 18-26 Main Street, Shirebrook, NG20 8DG. 21 April from 12pm – 7pm
Study trip to New York with the Silk Mill and Leach Colour teams
Study trip to New York with the Silk Mill (http://www.derbymuseums.org/
In between had time to put on pop-up dinner in a protected urban commons space in the Old Seaport area making the most of the American fabulous salad bars.
Study trip to New York
We are looking forward to our study trip to New York this week with the Derby Silk Mill Museum of Making to see the Brooklyn Museum Visible Storage study centre https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/luce and the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum http://www.cooperhewitt.org/ hoping to find inspiration to co-design and co-make the next phase of the Silk Mill.
Silk mill phase one co- designed meeting room
Our third Innovate UK research grant to develop the MassBespoke™ parametric construction system
We are pleased to have secured our third Innovate UK research grant to develop the MassBespoke™ parametric construction system. The grant is for building a full prototype and the project will start in June 2016 and run till May 2018.
We are working on this project with ARUP, Stage One and Simply Rhino.
Massbespoke panel cut by Matt Murphy debated with Arup team
Derby Silk Mill – Next Phase
We are delighted to have been appointed to progress Derby Silk Mill through to RIBA Stage 3 and thus be given the opportunity to continue working with Derby Museums’ Silk Mill team to support their innovative approach and their vision of what museums can be in the future. We are also pleased to continue our involvement with Derby, where we have worked on other schemes, such as the refurbishment of Marble Hall in Osmaston and Sadler Bridge Studios.
Joining our team will be Leach Studio, specialists in developing inspirational visitor environments, to develop the look and feel of the exhibition and learning spaces.
“Challenging Practice” /// ASF-UK one day symposium
Irena will be Keynote speaker at this one-day symposium “Challenging Practice: Designing in Uncertain Global Times” organised by Architecture Sans Frontières on Saturday the 5th of March in London.
More information and how to book can be found here.
SSoA “Scale of Resilience” Symposium
On Wednesday 24th of February, 11.00-14.00, Irena together with SSoA staff and students have organised a one-day symposium “Scale of Resilience”.
This is part of the SSoA Building Local Resilience Platform project “This Changes Everything”, a PGT/MArch Cross studios Think Thank.
This symposium will explore how adaptation to climate change, onset of new technologies and the emergence of new forms of governance play out at city, neighbourhood and single citizen scales.
Programme
11.00 Introduction: Irena Bauman
11.10- 11.40
Tina Saaby, Chief Architect od Copengahen and Visiting Professor @SSoA : On citywide Cloudburst Strategy
11.40 -12.10
Signe Kongebro, Partner, Head of Sustainability @ Henning Larsen Architects, Visiting Professor @SSoA: On KlimatKvarter and Climate Block
12.10- 12.30
Discussion: chair Aidan Hoggart
12.30-13.00
Indy Johar, co-funder of Projects 00 and of multiple social ventures such as Impact Hub: on the New Town Hall
13.00- 13.30
Melissa Mean, Head of Arts,Knowle West Media Centre:The Factory: on Making, Co-Production and Community Factory.
13.30- 13.50
Discussion: chair Doina Petrescu
13.50- 14.00 Next step
“10 Things Leeds Didn’t Have a Decade Ago”
We enjoyed reading such an ode to our city on Leeds-List, and even more so when we saw we are behind two of them (Tower Works, South Bank and South Link, the station’s Southern entrance)!
The full article can be found here.
“Digital Making – What Kind of Future in the Construction Industry”
We held a great workshop here at BLA on Digital Making – What Kind of Future in construction Industry. A lot of good discussions amongst Irena Bauman, Matt Murphy and Maria Hensall from BLA, Melissa Mean from The Factory, Ivan Rabodzeenko from Chop Shop, Phil Langley from Bryden Wood Architects, Jonathan Wilson and Colin Dixon from Citu as well as Alastair Parvin from WikiHouse.
The workshop was hosted as part of our Innovate UK funded feasibility study into integrating construction supply chain.
Retrofitting Neighbourhoods, Designing for Resilience
Irena will be giving a talk at the Liverpool School of Architecture this Thursday, the 11th, at 5pm, titled “Retrofitting Neighbourhoods, Designing for Resilience”.
Job opportunities at BLA!
We are looking for a number of architects with 3-4 years post Part 3 experience with diverse skills sets.
We invite applications from architects with strong design skills and excellent construction knowledge as well as familiarity with Passivhaus standards and other aspects of sustainability and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Archicad and BIM skills would be an advantage.
We are also looking for architects with co-production and engagements skills, experience of working with user centred design on buildings and strategic frameworks . Strong graphic and social media skills would be an advantage.
We are also looking for Part 2 students who wish to develop some of the skill sets listed above but also graduates with interest and skills in parametric design and coding. We are happy to consider applicants who are wishing to combine study for part 2 with working.
We are working on a variety of projects in the North of England including masterplanning, regeneration strategies, new build low carbon housing schemes, listed buildings refurbishment, light touch/high impact improvements to social housing, bottom up regeneration strategies and research projects.
We work 5 days in 4 – long days but 3 day weekends! We are keen on good gender balance in the team.
Leeds Station South Link
The South Link to Leeds Station has now been open for a few weeks and it’s been great to see how well it’s used and the benefit it has brought to passengers accessing that part of Leeds. Some of our staff now find their commute up to the office a lot easier and faster too!
The South Link was a project that we were involved with up to design development “Network Rail GRIP Stage 4”, which included the planning permission for the £16m new southern entrance to Leeds City railway station, extending out over the River Aire and connecting into the Dark Arches, a designated heritage asset beneath the railway viaduct.
Leeds Art Hostel
We are delighted to share the new website for Leeds Art Hostel, due to open its doors soon!
The Art Hostel in Leeds, is a project developed by East Street Arts and supported by Bauman Lyons Architects and Key Fund. It plans to harness the creative talents, and pure imagination, of artistic practitioners; welcoming audiences from in and out of Leeds to engage in a new cultural experience.
You can follow how the hostel is developing and looking so far on Twitter.
Hebden Bridge Town Hall’s role in the recent floods
During the Christmas holiday period we all followed in angst the news of the flooding in the North of England. Leeds (luckily no one in the office was directly affected) and many other neighbouring places that are close to our heart being affected.
One of these places was Hebden Bridge. During the entire project life of the refurbishment and extension of the Town Hall we really got to know the local community. We were devastated to see the images of Hebden Bridge under water.
But this morning we received a truly uplifting email sent to us by an original Trustees who told us this about the Town Hall:
“You may have seen the recent floods in Hebden in the media, and how the Town Hall, as the only public building not to be affected, became the hub of the relief operations. Although no longer a trustee I was down helping and there were thousands of people throughout the building receiving help in all aspects of their lives. An amazing response from the community.
Without the Town Hall there would have been incredible suffering in the town and even though the building has been extremely successful since it opened, this must have been its finest hour.
So I just wanted to say thanks for making it so flood proof – it worked!!”
We are so happy not only to hear that the Town Hall was not flooded but above all how it is very much perceived and used as a real community asset, as the photo below (credit) show!
“The Town Hall, hub for flood management response” Image and text by Craig Shaw
We are grateful for the year we’ve had, the projects we’ve worked on, the clients we’ve worked with and to be continuing working with colleagues who are talented, fun and ambitious. We are very much looking forward to 2016!
Bristol Festival of Ideas – Thurs 19th Nov
Irena will be speaking at a plenary session on 19th of November at Bristol Festival of Ideas- Festival of Cities in a session on New Thinking about Cities (2), Thursday 19 November 2015, 09.00-10.30 Watershed, Bristol. In this second session on new thinking about cities, there are contributions from: architect and writer Irena Bauman on resilience in neighbourhoods; writer and place-hacker Bradley Garrett on the need to oppose the privatisation of public space; Caroline Haynes (KPMG) on Magnet Cities; Charles Landry (Comedia) on ambitious cities; Mike Rawlinson (City ID) launches a manifesto for legible cities; and Melissa Sterry (design scientist and futurist) on bionic cities – how nature would design a city. Book your place here.
You can follow the event on Twitter @FestivalofIdeas and for the full programme see: http://www.ideasfestival.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/BCDP_BFOI_FOTFC_Brochure_Web.pdf
BLA at The Museums Association Annual Conference & Exhibition
We are pleased to have participated in The Museums Association Annual Conference & Exhibition held on November 5th/6th in Birmingham. This is Europe’s leading museum and heritage event and the largest event of its kind for museum and heritage professionals in Europe with over 1,500 attendees from all over the world coming together to discuss the key issues affecting the sector.
- Irena presented a panel convened by Derby Museums Silk Mill http://www.derbymuseums.org/thesilkmill/ titled Head, Heart, Hands – Think , Feel, Do . The panel reflected on the issues of co-production learned through the successful Re-Make The Museum pilot that led to an award of £9.4 Million grant funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and a contribution of £4million for Derby City Council towards the development of Silk Mill: Museum of Making.
- The panel was chaired by Daniel Martin from Silk Mill, with Helen Charman, Director of Learning and Research at Design Museum, London and Chris Keady Curator of Making and Lifelong Learning Programmer at Silk Mill as panelists.
For full details of the Conference Programme see: http://view.pagetiger.com/conference-exhibition-2015/conference-2015