Community Land Trust Homes, Woolacombe
The Mortehoe & Woolacombe Community Land Trust (M&W CLT) was established in 2019 to address the shortage of affordable housing within the Parish.
To meet the needs identified in the housing need survey the project comprises 21 new affordable homes on the steeply sloped site on the edge of the village, with panoramic views across the valley and Woolacombe bay.
Rather than mimic the usual suburban typology the design has been developed to integrate into the unique characteristics of the site, respecting the open landscape setting, working with the challenging slope whilst making the most of its position and aspect.
Located in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty the split level homes will sit low in the landscape, their lean envelope being inherently efficient with minimal impact on long views across the site. The new structures are characterized by a simple rectangular form, rendered with a pitched roof -referencing the small historical cottages in the heart of the village rather than the larger villas which have arisen in recent years.
Building Up
There is an urgent need for genuinely affordable housing throughout the country, but the need is particularly acute in London. The cost and availability of land are making development of social housing increasingly unsustainable in almost all boroughs.
Reed Watts have developed ideas for a number of housing estates which seek to work with the existing fabric and community to imaginatively and innovatively extend existing estates, providing additional homes and improving amenity for all residents.
Rather than decant residents in order to facilitate construction, the projects seek to build upwards, exploiting the air space at these higher levels without disrupting tenants or harming the valuable external amenity and landscaping at the lower levels.
Proposals harness latent building structure, which not only limits disruption and cost, but is inherently sustainable – building more with less.
Images: Studio Archetype
Modernist Retrofit
Reed Watts were asked to explore the feasibility of extending this modernist building in South East London, currently used as a clerical base for the NHS. Over the years the building has become silted up to facilitate short term requirements, but in this process had become an inefficient and uninspiring workplace.
Taking the building back to its bones and extending the building at higher levels and to the rear, the useable area is doubled and the quality of space significantly improved. This deep retrofit approach saves money and time, limits disruption but is wholly sustainable, significantly reducing carbon compared to a new build.
The proportions of the modernist building are retained but the concrete cladding panels are replaced by a cloak of insulated render, softening the facade and significantly improving its thermal performance.
The proposals retain and enhance the central landscaped area which is characterised by its mature trees. The provision of additional space and planting will enrich the biodiversity and create an attractive natural refuge for staff and visitors.
At the opposite end of the site, the small two storey structure is removed and replaced with a large storey townhouse, matching the scale of the neighbouring properties.
Images: Studio Archetype
Georgia Allen
Curtain Road
Proposals to convert this office building into a new mixture of commercial and residential space carefully work with the key physical and historical features of the existing structure.
Located in the heart of the South Shoreditch Conservation Area, the attractive masonry building will be re-modelled with a new staircase and lift in the centre, simplifying circulation and creating a stack of dual aspect homes with generous natural lighting. The roof is extended and set back on the top floor to create two generous duplex homes.
The handsome elevation onto Curtain Road comprises a tall ground floor with decorated piers and a rhythmic array of windows above, diminishing as they ascend. New works seek to return the façade to its former glory, adding colour and a complimentary palette of materials at high level.
Yvonne Arnaud Theatre
The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre is a Grade II listed theatre overlooking the River Wey in Guildford. The original building, designed by Scott Brownrigg and Turner Architects opened in 1965 and is characterised by its circular auditorium and unusual horseshoe shape.
Reed Watts are working with the theatre’s team to modernise and upgrade the front of house spaces, incorporating new accessible facilities and improving the appearance and distinctiveness of the theatre’s foyers, restaurant and bars. A new lift serving all floors, and new inclusive facilities will allow more people to enjoy the building.
The project supports the theatre’s creative learning and engagement programme with a new multipurpose community space on the third floor. Improvement to acoustics throughout the building will enable foyer spaces to be used more intensively for different activities alongside performances in the main auditorium.
The scope of work encompasses not just aesthetic improvements but also addresses the building’s energy efficiency. Outdated equipment is to be replaced, and a careful de-silting process will help to reveal the architectural spirit of the original structure.
Undergraduate at Kingston University (2021-Present)
Jim currently teaches an undergraduate design studio which is framed by the influence of community and importance of designing sustainably. The studio works on ideas for local sites and draws inspiration from the Community Brain. Projects have included a lido for King George’s Fields in Tolworth, a factory for the Chessington Industrial Estate and a floating theatre located on the Thames by John Lewis in Kingston.
Students are directed towards low carbon materials and are expected to understand and integrate sustainable design principles in all design work.
The craft of building is emphasised and, as an antidote to their academic teaching students, are encouraged to appreciate construction in its raw form through model making and visits building sites. A key aim of the studio is to help students bridge the knowledge gap between designing and building.
New England Seafood International
New England Seafood (NESI) is part of the Sealaska Corporation ecosystems, an Alaska Native corporation which is owned by 23,000 Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian shareholders, dedicated to fostering balanced ecosystems.
NESI own two fish processing facilities in the UK. One in Grimbsy and one in Chessington. Strong growth in recent years means they are now looking to expand the Grimsby facility into the building on the neighbouring site, doubling the floor area and operational capacity. Reed Watts were asked to lead the development of an ambitious master plan to respond to the growing needs of the business and join the two factories, helping to secure the long term future of NESI on the site. The proposals, which will not disrupt the twenty-four-hour-a-day operation, have been developed with sustainability at their core to align with NESI’s environmental values.
The first phase will see the refurbishment of the existing factory and integration of the adjacent building housing new offices. The buildings will be linked by an external timber structure to functionally and visual bring the two parts together. Phase 2 will include a new central building, housing reception spaces, new staff amenities, a canteen, a roof terrace and a landscaped frontage.
Open Air Theatre Auditorium
This project, completed in 2023, extends the auditorium at the Open Air Theatre and forms part of a wider masterplan of work to improve facilities on the site.
Located in the centre of Regent’s Park, the theatre is characterised by its woodland setting which surrounds the large auditorium, creating a unique experience for Theatre goers who are immersed within the landscape. Over the years the ambition of the productions has grown, becoming increasingly complex and requiring enhanced levels of technical support and flexibility.
The new structure to the rear of the auditorium addresses this need, and has been carefully grafted on to the existing concrete frame (constructed in the 1970’s to the designs of Bill Howell of Howell, Killick, Partridge and Amis), without the need for additional foundations or reinforcement. It creates two levels of technical galleries and a new control room, while at the same time freeing space for 60 new seats and increasing the theatre’s capacity to over 1300 people.
Constructed from lightweight steelwork components and clad in green stained larch, the elegant new structure adopts the language already established on the tree lined site, blending into the landscape and acting as a backdrop to the work on stage.
Within the control room, dedicated spaces have been provided for the sound and lighting control desks as well as the Deputy Stage Manager. At the highest level a continuous gantry replaces the individual lighting towers to afford flexibility for lighting from anywhere along its length.
Additional back of house works also includes the creation of a new lighting office, material store and improvements to the workshop facilities.
The auditorium works is the third of our projects at the theatre. Other work has included new rehearsal studios, staff amenities and kitchen, a new dry store, a cover to the scenery dock and new landscape connections to the bar area.
Photos: Fred Howarth
3d model images: Bubear and Jones
KGF Pavilion
The ambition to rejuvenate the pavilion is one of a number of recent initiatives in Tolworth, organised by The Community Brain, to stimulate communities in the local area to become engaged with re-imagining space, both urban and green, through collaborative interventions and creative opportunities.
The pavilion is located in Tolworth’s King George’s Fields – one of 471 playing fields established by grant funding from the “King George’s Fields Foundation” in 1936.
The existing structure, characterized by its elegant barrel vault roof, is currently in a poor state of repair. External fabric is failing and although internally the rooms are essentially intact, much of the fixtures and fittings are damaged.
The core brief of the project is to revitalise the existing pavilion to provide a building with the community at its heart, a place of civic pride which will allow the open space of the recreation ground to be fully appreciated and accessed by all. It is proposed that the majority of the building form and fabric is retained and its unique shape and innovative structure is celebrated. The pavilion will be refurbished and re-modelled to support existing activities such as football, but will also facilitate new opportunities related to education, nature and sustainability.
At a strategic level, the brief also aspires to increase and improve access to the field, pavilion and other occupiers, which in turn will have benefits for the physical and mental health of the local community. This ambition lies at the very heart of the concept of King George’s Fields.
Rough Sleeper Centre
Located behind Holy Sepulchre church along a hidden garden path, the Snow Hill Court Rough Sleeper Centre will be sanctuary for the City of London’s homeless.
Working with the City, the Centre continues our work with the Commonweal Pods, looking at how existing buildings can be converted into short-term accommodation for rough sleepers. Originally built as a Church school in 1880, the building has since taken on various functions including as a ‘British Restaurant’ during the Second World War.
The project is a low-carbon retrofit that provides much-needed repairs to the listed structure; reinvigorating its legacy while providing support to the most vulnerable members of our community.
Each sleeping cubicle provides residents with an airy, safe, and secure space and is complemented by meeting rooms for one-on-one support from key workers. A communal lounge and kitchen, in the double-height space that was once a school room, forms the focal point for the building.
Externally, the existing over-grown garden is to be replanted, creating a soft and shaded landscape for residents and the public alike.
Photos: Fred Howarth
Elm Bank Gardens
This Victorian house has been transformed by connecting the ground floor rooms, creating a structured enfilade of spaces where boundaries between uses are blurred to provide the family with multiple modes of living.
The formal living space at the front of the house is linked to the kitchen via a small bar, located in the old lightwell. The kitchen/dining space, bathed in natural light, is characterised by a monochrome palette, with a concrete floor and white washed walls which extend out into the refurbished garden, culminating into an outdoor kitchen and seating area.
The once damp cellar has been converted into a new wine cellar and utility space.
Photos: Fred Howarth
Forest Hill
This grand detached Victorian villa has been remodelled at ground floor and extended to the rear to provide the owners with a flexible series of spaces to suit the needs of their growing family.
The house is characterized by its london stock façade, with generous window openings complemented by elegant detailing with red bricks and an ornate veranda to the front of the house.
The extension to the rear, home to a new kitchen, is conceived as a large ‘bay’, clad in red brick, with a corten veranda linking the new space with the patio and the garden.
The project was designed in collaboration with Tom Wilson Studio.
https://www.tomwilsonstudio.co.uk
Tangle Flats
Located in a quiet suburban setting the proposal seeks to make the most of the triangular shaped site to provide six new homes to meet local need.
The new flats are configured in a ‘L’ shape, bisected by a semi enclosed central staircore. The building reads as a pair of detached houses, two storeys high with an inhabited roof.
The architectural language of the buildings references the arts and craft detailing of nearby.
Finsbury Circus
This competition entry for a new pavilion and landscape takes its cue from the Arts and Crafts Movement specifically the architectural order of Lutyens, and the rich garden designs of Gertrude Jekyll. The brief called for new proposals for the elliptical ‘square’ in the centre of Finsbury Circus in the City of London. The historic park and garden is characterised by its strong geometry, numerous mature trees and the coherent backdrop of large stone buildings which surround it.
By reinforcing the boundary, the designs create a special sense of place within the garden, enhancing the feeling of sanctuary from the city. Our proposals, developed with Landscape Projects, exploit the natural characteristics of the site in a picturesque arrangement. We avoided direct routes across the garden to encourage visitors to slow their pace and engage with their surroundings.
The garden design has two distinct areas that respond to the existing topography and aspect. To the west, the garden is characterised by leafy, shade loving plants which lie beneath the tall plane trees. To the east, the garden incorporates a large area of sunny lawn for picnicking and events with a number of colourfully planted beds that provide different experiences throughout the year.
The new pavilion is positioned between the two landscapes and sits low in the landscape with framed views in all directions, each view providing a different experience of the landscape. The single storey building incorporates a taller ‘chimney’ element which acts as an identifiable beacon and orientating device for those both inside and outside the garden.
The building is clad in terracotta/ clay panels of varying size. These advocate a hand-made, crafted building which is very much at home in the picturesque landscape. Like the surrounding classical buildings the design exhibits a clear hierarchy with plainer, robust panels at the base, more ornate tiles at balustrade level, and finishing with a flourish at the top of the chimney.
Acland Burghley Assembly Hall
Completed in 1968, Acland Burghley is an archetypal example of Brutalist school building. Designed and built in an era of social progress, its architecture embraced modern construction methods while rejecting traditional forms and hierarchies.
The Assembly Hall at the heart of the school is the most explicit reflection of this approach and was conceived as a focal point for school life and the wider community. The original headmaster is quoted as saying that “It wasn’t until we got [the hall] that we had the feeling that at last the school was one community. Now it is.”
The hexagonal space was designed as a double-ended auditorium to house everything from lectures to boxing matches and operatic performances. Over the years however, a number of insensitive alterations have compromised the integrity of the space and its usability.
We are working with the school, its staff and students, to undo this harm and to reinvigorate the building, reinstating access for the community and bringing facilities up to modern standards. Along with high environmental standards and sustainability targets, our approach is celebrate the heritage of the building through sensitive renewal alongside contemporary adaption.
Proposals were developed in parallel with a detailed programme of engagement and consultation with the school, parents, local arts groups, residents and the local authority.
Planning Permission and Listed Building Consent were granted in summer 2021.
The Hide
Unit 5 collaborated with Citizen Zoo and the Community Brain to design a new animal hide for the Moated Manor nature reserve in Tolworth. The site is owned by the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, comprising 2.7 hectares of meadow, scrub and woodland and is home to wide range of fauna.
The hide is perched on the bank of the pond, and gives the general public, schoolchildren and enthusiasts a privileged, but discreet, view of the surrounding wildlife.
The final design is a collaborative effort evolving from student research. The highly sustainable building sits lightly in the landscape and is supported on mini screw piles. Hay bales are used to construct the two interlocking circles which form the main structure. These are topped with timber trusses and a profiled, fibre cement sheet roof.
The hide was prefabricated in Kingston University’s workshop by students from Unit 5 and initially erected in the large build space. Its final placement on site was a further collaborative effort, led by 121 Collective.
Burrows Mews
This small block of three flats forms part of a mixed-use development on Blackfriars Road. With two one-bedroom flats and a two-bedroom duplex unit above, the design responds to the tight urban site with stock brick façade to the street and sculpted, timber façade to the rear.
Each of the flats has a private garden or balcony. We have carved out space from the front façade to create recessed balconies. These give residents privacy while maintaining solidity on the street. To the rear, a stepped section minimises impact on the adjacent properties and creates opportunities for green roofs.
The rear of the building steps to maintain daylight levels to neighbouring properties. The resulting flat roofs are to be planted to create habitat for wildlife and to improve the microclimate. The use of timber on this façade reflects the more private nature of the space and helps to soften it – improving acoustics.
Roundhouse Works
Located to the rear of the Roundhouse in Camden, this new building houses three studio spaces and a Centre for Creative and Digital Entrepreneurs. Designed specifically for 18-30 year olds, the building is a centre for talent development–where young people will be able to grow their creative skills and business acumen to make the next step in their personal and professional journey.
The ground floor of the building, set approximately 3m above the street below, includes state-of-the-art digital facilities for rehearsal, recording and live broadcast alongside a seminar space, meeting rooms and affordable workspace for young creative entrepreneurs and freelancers where members will receive mentoring and support.
On the first floor, a triple-height studio provides space for large-scale performing arts skills especially aspiring circus performers. A second studio provides an acoustically sealed space for bands and other musicians to rehearse.
The design, developed with Paddy Dillon Architect, draws on the language of the existing shipping containers on the site and its former use as a railway yard with the studio spaces expressed in two large, metal-clad cubes. Reclaimed timber sleepers are used for cladding at the lower levels, contrasting against the metal above and linking the building back to its railway heritage. The sleepers and cross-laminated timber structural frame also significantly reduce the embodied carbon in the building. Energy use and environmental impact have been considered throughout the design process and the building is set to achieve BREEAM ‘Excellent’.
Photos: Fred Howarth
Blackfriars Road
Within the existing listed Georgian structure the brief seeks to create a mixed-use space for flexible offices and commercial co-working, with a boutique hotel offer on the upper floors. The commercial aspects of the scheme are focused primarily, although not exclusively, on the publishing industry. The opportunity to bring cultural and public uses into the building and to celebrate where they meet has been encouraged.
To achieve a suitable mix, the footprint of the building has been extended where possible. The existing basement is to be lowered to create generous workspace incorporating a central lightwell to bring natural light deep into the plan. At the rear of the property a language light coloured ceramics has been developed to express new elements. These extensions will reflect light down into the central courtyard and will be topped with green roofs.
The work will retain much of the original fabric. Where possible, original portions of the building will also be restored including the distinctive balcony across the building’s main façade.
A small block of new flats is cleverly integrated into the rear of the site to complement the mix of uses and provide funding for the refurbishment work. Materials include salvaged bricks and London Plane timber.
Mixed-use in Southwark
Re-configuring and extending a listed building on Blackfriar’s Road to contain co-working space and a small hotel.
