Two projects shortlisted for RIBA East Awards 2017

The practice is pleased to report that two recently completed projects have been shortlisted for this year's RIBA East Awards:

Westering House, a contemporary private residence on the North Norfolk Coast:

Westering House, North Norfolk

Residential care accommodation at The Great Hospital, Norwich:

The Great Hospital, Norwich

The full shortlist was reported by The Architect's Journal, and can be viewed here:

https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/revealed-huge-shortlist-for-2017-riba-east-awards/10018512.article#.WNTVyBKZBAo.twitter

Retail, Community & Arts scheme secures consent in coastal Essex location

Cowper Griffith is developing designs for a café, retail and arts complex designed to offer local produce, locally sourced dining and to support a thriving local arts scene in this coastal, village location.

Ultimately, the site – which includes a former ‘pick your own’ facility – will generate its own crops both for retail and on-site dining, whilst a converted and refurbished café will provide an arts studio space for a variety of local groups.

The design references existing, local agricultural structures which are characterised by their modest scale, ad hoc layout and strictly limited palette of black timber and corrugated metal sheet. We expect to be on site later in 2017.

Heckington Mill Progress

The new Visitor facilities at Heckington Windmill are progressing well on site. All of the buildings are now watertight and the external boarding is due to be completed shortly. 2nd fix heating and electrics are well underway, and completion of the facility is anticipated for early April.

David Parr House secures Heritage Lottery Fund grant & planning permission

David Parr House, a unique time-capsule of Victorian working-class art and life, is set for major restoration after the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) confirmed funding of £625,300.

The money will be used to repair and restore the Victorian terraced house and its remarkable William Morris-inspired hand-painted interiors; and open the house to the public. A small visitor space will be built, and exciting outreach and learning events and collaborations will allow a wide range of people to enjoy the David Parr experience.

The HLF-funded project will restore David Parr’s home and open it to the public as a historic working man’s house. Visitors will have guided tours of the house, and be able to explore related arts, culture and crafts through a film, museum-on-a-bike, city guides, and other creative tools. Volunteers will be recruited and trained to work as tour guides, take audio-histories of locals, and archive the collection.

It is hoped that project work will start in April this year, and be complete by autumn 2019.

The house was featured in The Guardian on Wednesday 4th and on BBC Look East on Thursday 5th January. Links to the articles can be found below:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jan/04/david-parr-cambridge-cottage-lottery-grant-art-victorian-painter

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b085f16h/look-east-evening-news-05012017

Consent achieved for Roundhouse Heritage Hub

Cowper Griffith is delighted to announce a recent consent and unanimous Committee approval for the conversion of the GII* Listed Roundhouse in central Birmingham into a new visitor facility offering complementary interpretation, leisure, eating and enterprise spaces.

Project Partner Simon Redman says: ‘The Roundhouse is a unique and prized asset in the heart of our second city. We are grateful for and remain excited by the opportunity to transform this genuine ‘one off’ into a dynamic and diverse facility for enterprise, for urban heritage, cycle-based leisure and eating. We hope it will have a transformative effect on its surroundings. The design will carefully conserve and show off the structure’s idiosyncratic form and construction whilst introducing a family of contemporary – and sometimes bold - insertions, enabling full reuse. Project architect Neil Charlton has successfully completed extensive consultations with a broad stakeholder group to ensure the facility exceeds all expectations.’

New House, Widdington

In June 2016 CGA was delighted to secure Planning Consent for a replacement dwelling in the village of Widdington near Saffron Walden.

The project is in a particularly sensitive location on the edge of open countryside as you enter the village from the west. CGA prepared a visual impact assessment to demonstrate how the design would carefully integrate in to this rural setting.

Conservation of David Parr House

The project involves the conservation of the home of artisan painter and decorator, David Parr.

The house is a unique survival of a furnished and decorated Victorian artisan's dwelling in the heart of Cambridge. Interventions will be minimal but the external envelope will be conserved and repaired in order to reduce environmental threats to the interiors.

There will be a  'Visitors' Shed' in the garden on the footprint of an earlier garden store to accommodate small tour groups for presentations and discussions. The project is Heritage Lottery Funded and work is due to commence in October 2016.

Stunning one off residence completed in North Norfolk

Built by local contractor, W S Lusher, this substantial new build dwelling occupies a prominent edge of settlement plot, looking North, towards the sea, across areas of great beauty and ecological sensitivity.

The design draws on the rich vernacular palette of the area, reworking established forms and details into a meticulously executed C21 family home. A contemporary 'hide' sits at the bottom of the garden offering space for retreat and tranquility.

The project showcases our attention to detail, and the enormous skill and diligence of the craftsmen involved on site.