Bauman Lyons Architects were originally appointed by the Thornton and Allerton Community Association (TACA) to develop RIBA Stage 2-3 designs for the refurbishment of the Grade II Listed South Square Centre – a grassroots community arts, cultural and heritage centre at the heart of Thornton near Bradford.
The work undertaken in RIBA Stage 2-3 interrogated initial RIBA Stage 1 designs resulting in a series of carefully considered targeted proposals that addressed key concerns while minimising disruption and reducing ultimate capital costs. The RIBA Stage 3 proposals were deliberately broken down into manageable more affordable ‘packages’ of work that TACA could implement in a responsive and incremental manner. These included essential repairs to the building fabric and upgrades to the heating and electrics, accessibility improvements and secondary glazing to greatly enhance thermal performance.
Together with Yvonne Deane Associates (fundraising), Bauman Lyons assisted TACA with grant applications to the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Arts Council England which were successfully awarded to carry out fabric repairs and services upgrades. These specifically included insulating and retiling the leaking stone slate roof, re-pointing the original stone walls with breathable lime mortar to reduce damp problems, refurbishing windows and doors to improve natural ventilation, security and thermal comfort, re-wiring tenanted units to improve management of energy consumption, contemporary lighting inside and out and installing much needed central heating to communal spaces. BLA continued to provide full architectural services through RIBA Stages 4-6 working closely with TACA and long time collaborators Dobson Construction of Ilkley, BWA Europe (Quantity Surveyors), LEDA (M&E) and Jacqui Kingswell (Structural Engineer).
Highlights
- Working with a supportive, open minded and hands-on Client and forming a collaborative working relationship with Dobson Construction
- Devising a phased improvement strategy that was affordable and manageable for the Client consisting of simple and cost effective but high impact solutions
Photo Credits:
External: David Zdanowicz
Visitor Open Day: Karol Wyszinski
Construction Progress: Bauman Lyons