Sunbeams Music Centre

‘To provide a sustainable legacy for people with disabilities…’ the client’s mantra driving the Sunbeams Music Centre - a bespoke music therapy facility designed on a site overlooking the Lake District in Cumbria. Established in 1992, Sunbeams Music Trust deliver their 'Music For Life' programme to tens of thousands of needing members of society each year and were eager for a home.

The building is designed as a home and advert for the amazing work Sunbeams do working with disadvantaged members of society. Bringing music into the centre was a key driver also harmonising the building with the natural surroundings and wider environment.

Sunbeams Music Centre exemplifies what we believe good design to embody; passive environmental principles, contextual connection utilising Cumbrian materials and techniques with innovation in form and layout. The centre is predominantly naturally ventilated, naturally lit and the heating provided by ground source heat pump. U-values are to passivhaus standards with a large amount of locally sourced sheep wool and carefully designed south facing elevation to limit overheating. All materials are sustainably sourced and from as local a source as possible. Reducing carbon was a key part of the design development through to the final built centre.

Awards

Architects Journal Awards - Healthcare and Wellbeing Project of the Year
Structural Timber Awards - Architect of the Year
RIBA MacEwen Award –Shortlisted
Civic Trust - Selwyn Goldsmith for Accessibility Shortlisted
Civic Trust - Civic Trust Commendation
Buildings Awards - Small Project of the Year finalist
LABC Northern - Small Commercial project of the year
LABC National - Small Commercial project of the year Finalist
Northern Architectural Association - Community Project of the Year
Offsite Awards - Healthcare Project of the Year Shortlisted
Offsite Awards - Best Use of Timber Technology Shortlisted
RICS North West - Community Benefit Award Finalist
Structural Timber Awards - Healthcare Project of the year Shortlisted

Godwit House

Overlooking the Coquet estuary in Warkworth Northumberland, the certified Passivhaus - Godwit House - responds to both place and client.

Built on a brownfield site on the edge of Warkworth the design maximises views and daylight. It is also respectful and a friendly neighbour to the existing houses.

Ground floor bedrooms and study are clustered around a courtyard garden helping to create an intimate setting. In contrast, the upper floor is a large living, kitchen and dining space which celebrates the long expansive views across the estuary with splayed and corner windows. Access to a large terrace overlooking the courtyard continues the inside outside living. The layout responds to the clients’ passions and needs allowing for activities such as music recitals whilst future-proofing the house for long term living.

This careful consideration to the client’s brief is further captured by creating places throughout the house to display her collections of objects picked up throughout her life’s work and travel.

The form and materials of the house draw influence from the agricultural structures found locally, this coupled with crisp detailing gives a familiar yet contemporary approach to the design.

The clients (and our) passion for sustainable living manifests itself in the choice of materials with low embodied carbon and the use of very little energy to heat the house. Electricity is generated by the PV array on the roof which runs the ground source heat pump and the EV charger. The project increases local biodiversity, with a green roof, rainwater harvesting and two ponds to accommodate visiting wildlife.

The house is fabricated from factory built timber cassettes filled with wood fibre insulation. It minimises the use of concrete and uses no structural steel. All helping to achieved exceptional airtightness and thermal performance.

The design, attention to detail and the newly learnt skills of the contractors local to Warkworth enabled Godwit house to be a certified Passivhaus, the most northerly in England.

This project raises environmental construction standards in the region and beyond. More importantly creates a comfortable and pleasurable home for the client, with a cracking view.

Oak Tree Passivhaus

Design and Delivery: MawsonKerr with Richard Pender

Oak Tree Passivhaus is an exemplar in low energy residential architecture, innovative in both the process and the finished building which, in the words of the client is a delight to live in.’ It is also the first Certified Passivhaus in Tyneside thus combining ‘delight’ with robustness in design and delivery.

Sited on a steep slope with mine workings beneath, bedrock, ground gas, and TPO trees, the scheme overcame these difficult constraints with a layout that captures long views across the Derwent Valley and framed views of the nearby protected oak tree.

High ceilings and large format windows allow for a great quality of daylight and a sense of airiness. Utilising the sloping ground the main entrance is to the Upper ground floor which accommodates the open plan living spaces and a bedroom/shower with the remaining bedrooms on the lower ground floor. This configuration allows the client to live solely on the upper floor if needed, future proofing for any eventuality.

A twin timber frame was designed for the main Passivhaus structure, filled with a large thickness of insulation with minimal thermal bridging. Insulation and lining materials were chosen to ensure a “breathable” construction, promoting longevity and a healthy environment.

Local and low embodied carbon materials were chosen, such as Larch cladding from the Scottish Borders and stone gabions from the site bedrock. The only steel in the building was use in the slender fins that hang the balcony from the overhanging roof whilst also supporting the timber solar shading. This accumulates in the total embodied carbon being lower than the RIBA Climate-Challenge target for 2030.

Awards

RIBA North East – Shortlisted
Construction Excellence NE – Sustainability Commendation

Greenbank House

Design and Delivery: MawsonKerr with Richard Pender

Greenbank House is located in a Northumberland village with expansive views across the Tyne Valley. It takes its design cues from the surrounding red brick houses of the area and replaces the dilapidated building that was previously on the site. Bedrooms are located on the ground floor with the vaulted living spaces making best use of the views across the valley on the first floor. The house is a super insulated timber frame with great airtightness and low energy use. It uses an MVHR, ground source heat pumps and solar panels.

The house reuses the slate from the previous building and part of the brick is also utilised in the design. Design of home was futureproofed for the retired couple who live there with bathrooms and bedrooms on the ground floor and the ability for the utility to work as a second kitchen along with an access lift to the first floor.

Friar House Apartment Hotel

Friar House is an excellent example of pre-Grainger Newcastle and has seen various transformations since construction in the 1700’s from the Town Recorders main residence to an industrial factory.

The large Georgian town house was in a poor state of disrepair when we took on the project to restore the grade II listed building and convert into a boutique hotel. Roomzzz Newcastle is an award winning which can now be enjoyed now by all. There are 14 suites over the five floors including a penthouse suite with mezzanine floor in the roof space. Proportions of key spaces have been retained employing “Manhattan Lofts” style subdivision to create different moods within original proportioned spaces.

Numerous original features are highlighted in this building employing all the modern trappings hotel guests would expect with all the detail of a restoration project.

Awards

Newcastle Lord Mayors Awards – Conservation Award
RIBA North East - Emerging Practice of the Year
RIBA North East - Conservation Project of the Year
RIBA North East - Building Award
RICS North East - Tourism & Leisure Commendation

Greystone Grange House

Situated in the countryside of Stockton – on – Tees, the client required a respectful low energy family dwelling for the future, consisting of a full retrofit of their existing home and extension to the rear on both ground and first floors. The architectural approach is sensitive, building on the existing palette of materials by using brick with a modern twist, choosing an elongated profile to provide a contemporary feel. The connection with the garden was also important, so large openings were created throughout the design to encourage the transversal between inside and out. Internally, on the ground floor, large open plan living spaces were created to bring family and friends together, whilst on the first floor, bedrooms are spread out to give each family member their own space. To the north east, a connected annex hosts quarters for the clients parents, future proofing the home for intergenerational living.

Creating a more sustainable home was also close to the clients and our hearts, therefore, it was decided to retain the existing house and retrofit this with cavity insulation and high performance windows. Meanwhile, the new rear extension uses highly insulated pre-assembled timber frame cassettes, coupled with a quality air tight layer and mechanical ventilation heat recovery system throughout to reduce heating demand, improve air quality and comfort. The rear canopy was designed with thermal comfort in mind, providing solar shading when the sun is at its highest and hottest whilst letting sunlight deep into the plan in early and late parts of the day to passively heat the home.

Sacred Heart High School Auditorium

The existing auditorium space at Sacred Heart High School had become dated with a combination of poor sight lines and limited capacity leading them to our services in reimagining this space.

Following an initial appraisal we established the re-raking of the seating would serve a double benefit in also creating a new space underneath the auditorium where a new outward looking staff and assembly facility could be located for Sacred Heart High School. The auditorium is also intended for touring theatre companies including the RSC, the facilities have been developed to give this flexibility as well as providing a new dance / theatre teaching space during everyday use to maximise the impact of the works.

We developed a simple stripped back palette of natural materials and earthy colours with the school to give a calming feel and inspiring for the young performers. The staff area opens out to give expansive views of the wooded estate the school sits in.

The build was completed in the live school environment on the first floor space including substantial alterations to the existing concrete structure over six months.

Awards

Newcastle Lord Mayors Award - Small Project Award

Framwell House

Framwell House is the first new build office in Durham City Centre for 10 years. It provides 1250sqm of high quality office space in the heart of the city. The building has been carefully sited on the sloping site allowing it to be more sympathetic to the conservation area. This includes the neighbouring Green Belt area and terraced housing. Taking cues from the industrial and rail heritage of the surrounding site, the building is clad in brick and corrugated panels. Using materials which are normally reserved for agricultural and industrial applications, the cutting-edge design and excellent craftsmanship makes for an excellence finished article. The design looked to reuse whatever materials we could from the existing building including the retaining walls, bricks and drainage.

"Hanro and its partner on this project Impec could not be more delighted with the outcome. The quality of the finished building, the commercial letting, and return were far more than client expectations."
Duncan Barrie, The Hanro Group

Internally the craftsmanship and high-quality detailing/finish continues throughout with exposed steel structure and services. The open plan offices are large light filled spaces with floor to ceiling windows providing expansive views of the city and Cathedral. As well as views the windows provide natural cross ventilation for the wellbeing of the user through ventilation panels. The office building is bedded into the surrounding landscape with an eco-friendly approach to car parking using permeable surfaces and water collection.

The building is occupied by Durham's Probation Service who had strict design requirements which were interpreted to ensure these worked with the ethos of the building in terms of retaining the wellbeing aspects and servicing strategies.

Awards

LABC Northern - Best Non Residential New Build

Rectory Road

Located in Gosforth Conservation Area in Newcastle our Rectory Road contemporary extension to an early twentieth century semi detached house enables the young family modern, flexible living spaces. The composition reflects the roofline and pitch of the existing and allows for a lower eaves adjacent to the neighbour, interlocking the existing house without dominating it. Large openings to the ground and first floor bring the garden into the house, and a raised terrace allows a continuous connection between interior and exterior living areas.

The contrasting finish to the extension gives clear delineation between old and new and is bold contemporary extension clad in dark stained timber throughout aided by the crisp detailing to the window openings and outline of the extension.

Birdoswald Roman Fort

Birdoswald Roman Fort is part of Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage Site, a Scheduled Ancient Monument and Grade II listed (Courtyard Buildings). The Cumbrian site is run by English Heritage with the existing visitor centre providing interpretation displays for the Roman Fort as well as a new café, retail, education space and accommodation. On an elevated site the building benefits from expansive views across Northumberland and Cumbria.

This project looked at an overall masterplan and refurbishment/new build options for the centre including visitor flow and experience.

A key aspect to the project was the spatial assessment of the current and proposed and the ‘jigsaw puzzle’ that needed to be solved to appropriately accommodate all functions to maximise the visitor experience and allow for an efficient running of the site. The design involved both refurbishment and a new build contemporary glazed link.

We have worked closely with the project team to develop and scheme which we be an exemplar family experience and their flagship family site on the Wall.

Awards

RICS North West Leisure and Tourism Award

Bigg Market, Newcastle

Putting the heart back into the Bigg Market, the clients brief for the regeneration of Newcastle's historic centre - a joint venture by Newcastle City Council and NE1 returning the fortunes of a run down but yet much loved central market square synonymous with all who know Newcastle.

Infamous as part of Newcastle's legendary nightlife, this core of the city had become neglected. Many of the historic building facades needing urgent work ahead of the original detail being lost forever. The key historic centre of Newcastle went under a major facelift as part of a Townscape Heritage Initiative funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund with MawsonKerr as lead consultant and architects.

The project has involved 12 of the surrounding buildings on Bigg Market, Cloth Market and Groat Market along with the public realm and iconic Victorian Gentlemen's WC. Over a 5 year period the buildings were individually repaired using historic conservation techniques and involving various crafts people. The project placed conservation as the agent of change to facilitate the regeneration of the Bigg Market Newcastle. The market place itself had a more extensive redesign in collaboration with landscape architects Southern Green. The design created has various plateaus on the sloped market square to allow a cafe culture to thrive and bring a day time offering to compliment the night time one. A unique space at the bottom of the Bigg Market is the former Gentlemen's WC. This space was transformed with new roof, sympathetic to the original, and now a popular cocktail bar - what else would it be...

As part of the £3.2 million budget NE1 are organising various events and workshops to celebrate the enhancement of the area.

Awards

Constructing Excellence - National Award for Conservation & Regeneration
Newcastle Lord Mayors Award – Transformational Frontage
RICS North East – Heritage Shortlisted

“The Bigg Market Project is fast becoming an exemplar model of heritage led regeneration and conservation. The success of this project is testament to the collaborative approach taken by the project partners and the unwavering commitment to quality”.

Alex Slack

Client and Head of Special Projects - NE1

“The success of the Bigg Market regeneration is evident for all to see, everything that has been achieved to date reflects the commitment, dedication and professionalism of the team leading the project. Newcastle’s historic heart is critical to the success of the wider city transformation plans and sets the very high bar for us to continue to deliver to”

Tom Warburton

Interim Chief Executive, Newcastle City Council

At completion in 2022, the Bigg Market is a vibrant, inclusive space, celebrated by artists, residents and the business community. It is now a viable space for investment, enjoyment and activity. Newcastle has it's historic heart back and beating louder than ever. At the time of writing, the additional investment (over and above the project costs) in the area has surpassed £17 million pounds, creating over 350 jobs along the way.

The Public Realm has been redeveloped and has demonstrated it's viability as a flexible public space. The strategy of giving it a new purpose and character while being sympathetic to the heritage is there for all to see. It has hosted Public Events and heralded the return of the much-loved markets, it has further enabled resident businesses outside space to trade and change the image of the Bigg Market from purely evening offering to a European public square.

During the development phase, 15 buildings were identified as at risk and in need of attention, 12 of these have now been restored directly through the project with a further 8 properties in the locale carrying out improvement works. At the time of writing, the additional investment (over and above the project costs) in the area has surpassed £17 million pounds, creating over 350 jobs along the way.

The project has demonstrated a best-in-class approach with it's professional team, drawing on the skills of surveyors, architects, archaeologists, conservationists and other specialists. This has been echoed by the client testimonials received.

The project has been cited as an exemplar in several academic papers and was recently published on the Government's High Street Task Force website HERE.

Star & Shadow Cinema

Star and Shadow Cinema is a co-operative and registered Community Benefit Society which runs an independent theatre whilst providing a venue for artists and musicians. The organisation is run entirely by volunteers with decisions made democratically. Previously located on Stepney Bank Ouseburn they have grown out of their currently venue and managed to secure a dilapidated building on Warwick Street to transform into their new venue. This exciting community led scheme includes a Cinema, Venue Space, Café, Community Spaces, Artist Studios and Workshops which are all to be built by the Star & Shadow volunteers who have many different skills and expertise– a truly immense DIY project .

Design development has been an holistic and bespoke process incorporating ‘found’ items, recycling materials from their current venue and allowing an evolving scheme to incorporate other items founded during construction. The design ethos is ‘buildings within building’ to make maximum use of the volume of the industrial shell whilst also creating the high acoustic performance needed within the cinema and venue space. The layout and design has been created to have a vibrant heart to the building, a welcoming face to the street frontage and to enable volunteers to have a sociable time in the building whatever they have been allocated to do.

Awards

Newcastle Lord Mayors Award – Sustainability Award
RIBA McEwen Award