Photo: Immo Klink
Recent News
Our church conversion project in Stroud is featured in an article on co-habitational projects in the UK.
"Co-housing community - 18 residents
On a terraced street, walking distance from Stroud's town centre, sit the UK's first new-build "co-flats". Eighteen people in eight single-owner-occupied flats and six rentals live inside a converted Unitarian church, complete with roof-top wind turbine. Set up in 2006 by co-housing developer David Michael, they are, in his words, a "tighter" version of their sister co-housing project, Springhill. Flats, which sell from £75,000 to £185,000, are each equipped with their own kitchen, lounge and balcony, but also come with communal facilities, including a car-share club, kitchen and laundry-room.
Residents sign up to co-housing principles, meaning they agree to carry out collective chores and contribute £140 a year to the car scheme, even if they cannot drive. They also pay a monthly fee of £25 a month to cover building insurance, maintenance and repair, and heating and lighting for the shared areas.
Peter Williams, 62, bought his flat for £92,000 four years ago. He took up Michael's offer of a 20 per cent, interest-free mortgage and paid £73,600. Having never lived in a co-housing model before, he describes the arrangement as "jolly versatile", but wishes, if anything, it were more communal.
"I like the principle of helping other people and we are all very fond of each other here," he says, before adding that he is dating a resident across the hall. "I take out her rubbish and she reminds me to take out mine. She even paid one of the other tenant's big debts when he forgot to. The biggest problem we have here is petty: it's the collection of laundry money." "
Our recently completed extension to Coombe Hill Primary School in Kingston upon Thames is featured in an article on Building Design online.
Link to Article
We have recently completed work on a new five bedroom low energy house in Gloucestershire. Built to the exacting technical standards required of truly sustainable design, this new-build house was designed to suit the needs of a family whilst taking in to account its impact on the environment.
A large open plan ground floor has dining and kitchen areas with an attached ‘snug’. There are living and children’s rooms at either end. A large double-height volume to the rear of the house creates a huge sense of space in the open-plan area. Bedrooms are at first floor level with views across the valley to the south.
The house is timber frame construction with generous 300mm recycled newspaper insulation to the walls and 400mm to the roof. There are sufficient solar thermal panels to provide hot water and assist with heating through the winter. Large areas of glazing to the south facade ensure passive solar gain, shaded by a roofed balcony at first floor level to prevent overheating. A key feature of the house is that the air leakage rate is minimal – 1.38 m3/m2/hr at 50 Pascals. Externally, walls are part stone and part oak cladding with rendered gables. The roofing material is plain tiles.
This is the latest in a series of low energy houses Potter & Holmes have worked on from the Gloucestershire office.
Pupils and staff of Coombe Hill Infants’ School have been celebrating the completion of their new main entrance with a visit from Floppy, a familiar story character. Potter & Holmes Architects designed and oversaw construction of the entrance and extended staff facilities.
“The whole school community is delighted with the front of school extension. It provides a comfortable covered outside waiting area and a light, spacious, welcoming Reception. The children particularly love the desk which displays their own art work’ said Mrs Sarah Hobhouse, headteacher of Coombe Hill Infants’ School.
She added “the new planning area for staff and additional meeting room enables increased communication and space for our large year group teams to work closely together. I recently overheard a long-serving staff member saying ‘I love this place!’. Perhaps this is why our staff turn over is so low?!”
Potter & Holmes Architects worked with structural engineers E&M West LLP to design the timber-framed extension to be a reception and staff room for the school. A friendly welcome area for pupils and visitors is created by an oak clad wall outside the entrance shaped into a continuous curved bench beneath a canopy sheltering parents and children waiting outside. This leads into a double height foyer with a new reception desk laser printed with pupils’ drawings of animals. This is suitable for all ages and abilities and is separate from the administration suite and a Deputy Head’s office.
The extension also creates a staff room with workstations and a planning area within a large bay window overlooking a private garden behind the entrance. The timber framed construction achieves U values well beyond current Building Regulation, is insulated using natural materials and has underfloor heating. Natural ventilation cools it in summer and south-facing windows provide natural light and aspect. The contractor was Russell Cawberry Ltd which has worked on numerous educational buildings and has an excellent working relationship with the school.
Potter & Holmes Architects are delighted to have won the Best Refurbishment Award at the British Parking Awards 2011 for The Lanes Car Park, Brighton.
Partner Mark Potter and Architect Tom Houston were presented with the award by comedian Hugh Dennis at a ceremony in London in March 2011.
www.britishparkingawards.co.uk/2011
Potter & Holmes have moved to a new office space in West London due to an expanding workload.
Bulwer Yard
27 Bulwer Street
London W12 8AR
tel: 020 8749 3123
Potter & Holmes have won a bid to design and deliver an additional classroom block to the junior and infant schools of Coombe Hill Primary School in Kingston upon Thames.
Set at the heart of the school between the junior and infant school there is an extremely challenging infill site which will involve the use of prefabricated building components so that a high quality light weight structure can be put in place ready for occupation during the summer holidays of 2010. The brief requires a classroom and a flexible Special Educational Needs room which can be used for hall dining once the kitchen alterations have been completed.
Potter & Holmes have obtained planning consent at appeal on behalf of Chapter One for the redevelopment of their headquarters at CAC Waterloo.
Chapter One, hostel housing association, set up a limited architecture competition for the redevelopment of their prestigious building in Waterloo which houses their head quarters and a large overseas student hostel.
Having won this commission in March 2008, Potter & Holmes submitted a planning application in August 2008 and finally received full planning permission at appeal in November 2009.
The project consists of converting the majority of the existing student rooms into en suite accommodation as well as the addition of a floor at roof level and the introduction of a new accommodation block within the courtyard of the building.
With carefully considered demolitions the whole building complex is rationalised to provide student accommodation suitable for the 21st century, a new head quarters office suite for the 22 staff of the organisation as well as new conference areas and refurbished communal spaces for the students.
Potter & Holmes have been appointed as interior designers for three of the seven luxury flats in the development.
Gaynes Park Mansion near Epping in Essex is a Grade 2 listed mansion in a fine listed 33 acre park. The building and site have been derelict for a generation and the new owners are investing substantially in the site and buildings to create 7 luxury flats and 4 new houses. Detailing and materials in the external shell such as windows and stonework, are being restored to the highest quality for a Grade 2 listed building.
We have carefully considered the layouts of each apartment to allow each to be individually tailored to its particular location within the development to maximise the use of space and daylight. Each apartment includes a grand reception room for entertaining, as well as carefully considered separation of private areas of the home.
Individually they are identified by key concepts particular to the position of the flat in relation to the landscape.
Potter & Holmes have completed work on London Buddhist Centre in Bethnal Green.
This is the culmination of over a £1 million extension and refurbishment of their site.
The challenge of this listed building was met in 8 phases of work in an occupied building.
The work consisted of the conversion of the upper floors to house the 10 fold community of residents, a new reception area and a third shrine room with associated support spaces. The new reception area and bookshop including purpose made joinery designed by Potter and Holmes completes work to the entrance courtyard with a new atrium.
Potter and Holmes provided detailed design and specification advice and a contract administration service for the project.