Banks Yard, achieved Gold Standard and Stone Rise achieved Silver Standard in this years Building for Life Awards.
'The assessors' view was that Banks Yard is an excellent scheme that offers both great living spaces and a high quality public realm.'
Building for Life
'The assessors' view was that Stone Rise meets the challenges of a very difficult site…The use of the £60K house type leads to very high performance standards…’
Building for Life
PCKO has increased their portfolio of projects achieving a Building for Life Standard Award and have a proven track record of delivering successful schemes that demonstrate compliance with Building for Life standards. PCKO provided pre-assessment services for both schemes including production and collation of evidence and submission materials.
Building for Life is a measure of how dwellings integrate with the urban and public realm including aspects of community, safety, legibility and access to facilities. Many of these aspects are not bolt on functions; they need to be included as core elements very early in the design and development process. PCKO can offer objective pre-assessment for all our residential projects, supported by our continued success and design expertise in this field.
Other PCKO schemes include Cala Domus, Newhall, Building for Life Gold Standard Award and Fishing Village, St. Mary’s Island, Building for Life Silver Standard Award.Banks Yard for Octavia Housing
Banks Yard in Hounslow provides 10 affordable homes for rent, two of which are wheelchair accessible and 18 for shared-ownership, which are designed to Lifetime Homes Standards. Although they exceed minimum space requirements the homes were designed to be affordable to buy and affordable to run, with 10% of the renewable energy the homes use being produced onsite through solar water-heating. Heat recovery whole house ventilation and high performance timber framed external envelope help to achieve high environmental performance. The design produces a high quality of natural lighting within the homes through large windows and each home has its own private space, through either a garden or balcony.
Main contractor: Inspace Partnerships
Key consultants: Conisbee (Structural engineers), Bristow Johnson & Partners (Employer agent & cost consultant), Allen Pyke Associates (Landscape architects)
Read more: http://www.pcko.co.uk/projects_24.htm
Stone Rise for Countryside Consortium (including Countryside in Partnership and Hyde Housing Group)
Three house types were designed derived from the same generic core concept (living wall, flexible space, gallery zone), which can deliver differing internal and external characteristics. The concept can generate a variety of street frontages within an overall unifying rational discipline and with a flexibility that responds to orientation and site specific contexts from suburban to urban. The intention of our competition entry was to demonstrate that it is possible to deliver high quality housing at radically reduced cost involving off site manufacturing. While the Stone Rise site was too small to fully utilize volumetric prefabrication, houses and flats were constructed using a highly rationalised timber frame system, fabricated on site using an innovative micro-factory system of production.
Main contractor: Countryside Properties in Partnership
Key consultants: Brand Leonard (Structural Engineer), Waterstone Design (Building Services Engineer)
Read more: http://www.pcko.co.uk/projects_23.htm
Banks Yard scheme in Hounslow has won the Best Small Development Award at the Affordable Home Ownership Awards 2009, hosted by Property Ladder’s Sarah Beeny.
The Affordable Home Ownership Awards recognise excellent low-cost home-ownership developments, whilst specifically looking for the Best Small Development to have demonstrated a successful build in a restricted space without having compromised on design and quality.
Banks Yard in Hounslow provides 10 affordable homes for rent, two of which are wheelchair accessible and 18 for shared-ownership, which are designed to Lifetime Homes Standards. Although they exceed minimum space requirements the homes were designed to be affordable to buy and affordable to run, with 10% of the renewable energy the homes use being produced onsite through solar water-heating. Heat recovery whole house ventilation and high performance timber framed external envelope help to achieve high environmental performance. The design produces a high quality of natural lighting within the homes through large windows and each home has it’s own private space, through either a garden or balcony.
The architectural design is based on the concept of two differing groups of 2, 3 and 4 storey buildings, configured to respond in a visually and functionally attractive way to Heston Park, the architectural character of New Heston Road and the existing urban context. Individual blocks are oriented to maximise the benefits of both the existing mature planting on site and of the adjacent park land.
Courtyards are configured as a safe pedestrian friendly environment with high quality landscaping to create a sense of place.
Main contractor: Inspace Partnerships
Key consultants: Conisbee (Structural engineers), Bristow Johnson & Partners (Employer agent & cost consultant), Allen Pyke Associates (Landscape architects)
Read more: http://www.pcko.co.uk/projects_24.htm
PCKO Architects is one of seven finalists selected for the Lifetime Homes, Lifetime Neighbourhoods Competition
The competition challenges architects to rethink the design of homes that comply with and surpass Lifetime Homes Standards at the same time demonstrating attention to environmental and resource issues.
PCKO's submission, 'Light Gallery House', is an architectural concept that goes beyond a tick box mentality of standards and regulation, creating a framework of spaces that will offer a truly flexible and adaptable home for life. The design philosophy challenges the preconceptions of the typical housing which is prescriptive in terms of life style and use of space. These spaces for living - each of which can be used for relaxing, working, eating, sleeping, playing, entertaining and celebration can support a diversity of change, occupancy, mobility and cultural preferences over time.
The short-list of the 7 designs was featured in The Mail on Sunday 19 July 2009 in order for the readership to vote for the winning design.
PCKO is also short-listed in the British Homes Awards annual categories of:
The winners will be announced at The London Marriott Hotel, Grosvenor Square, on the evening of Thursday 17th September 2009.
Click here to see the short-list
For further information contact Andrew Ogorzalek
or Peter Chlapowski
PCKO on Zero Carbon Hub tour reviewing Europe’s emerging standard for energy efficient construction
Paul Webb of PCKO joined Zero Carbon Hub, Design for Homes and other delegates representing the DCLG, NHBC, Energy Saving Trust and members from the house building industry on a two day tour of Frankfurt, Darmstadt and Reidberg to examine the Passivhaus standard of construction, and learn lessons for the delivery of energy efficient housing in the UK. The tour included a brief explanation of the concept at the Passivhaus Institute and visits to urban apartment developments, suburban family housing and offices, all constructed to the Passivhaus standard.
The event clearly demonstrated the benefits of achieving very high standards of energy efficiency. It highlighted the issues that will need to be addressed in achieving the necessary construction standards for zero carbon housing in 2016, the adoption of appropriate M&E to support this standard without overwhelming building occupants (and those responsible for maintaining it) and the dovetailing of new standards into the increasing volume of new regulation already facing the UK house builder.
Lessons learnt from the trip build upon PCKO’s expertise in sustainable design and as licensed Code for Sustainable Home Assessors, already has practical application in some of our new designs for housing to achieve Code Level 4 and above.
Links
Passive House Institute
Zero Carbon Hub
Design for Homes
For further information contact Paul
Example of Passive Solar Design Feature at PCKO's award winning scheme, Spinney Gardens
At Horns Cross the contemporary design of PCKO's £60K House (build cost) has created an aspirational development which is proving very popular with homebuyers, even in the present market conditions.
Client: Countryside Consortium (including Countryside in Partnership and Hyde Housing Group)
Competition Winner!
The Stone Rise development at Horns Cross resulted from winning the two stage Design for Manufacture Competition organised by the ODPM and English Partnerships (EP), now Homes & Communities Agency (HCA), to build a house for £60K.
The competition was open to a number of consortia who provided costed design proposals for £60K build solutions. The winning consortia were then invited to provide bids for sites allocated by EP and SEEDA. Countryside Properties was successful in winning the Stone Rise site with the innovative design by PCKO Architects.
Each house boasts a 'wow factor' of gallery zones and large roof glazing to the middle of the house. The gallery lets in light and life and provides that extra quality flexible space we need in contemporary living.
The 100% sale price for the shared ownership house is from £165,000, which is below Dartford's market average of £178,200 for a terrace house.
The development has been procured and delivered in accordance with the criteria set out under the terms of the Design for Manufacture competition now administered by the DCLG and HCA (Homes & Communities Agency). The delivery of the scheme has incorporated a stringent monitoring and audit process for the purposes of assessing actual delivery against the Design for Manufacture competition brief. This assessed the scheme in respect of achieving the cost efficiency and design standards required such as EcoHomes ‘Very Good’, Lifetime Homes standards and achievement of a Building for Life award.
The procurement route was innovative with the Contractor and prefabricators involved in the design process from inception; therefore a true partnership was formed between the designers, suppliers and constructors in developing the £60K House from the first sketch to delivery of the finished product.
Design
Three house types were designed derived from the same generic core concept (living wall, flexible space, gallery zone), which can deliver differing internal and external characteristics. The concept can generate a variety of street frontages within an overall unifying rational discipline and with a flexibility that responds to orientation and site specific contexts from suburban to urban. The intention of our competition entry was to demonstrate that it is possible to deliver high quality housing at radically reduced cost involving off site manufacturing. While the Horns Cross site was too small to fully utilize volumetric prefabrication, houses and flats were constructed using a highly rationalised timber frame system, fabricated on site using an innovative micro-factory system of production.
The scheme occupies a brown field site reclaimed from high levels of contamination and ground abnormalities. High levels of gas contamination and requirements for future proofing gas protection from a land fill site resulted in a majority of the site area suited only to communal use, with a restricted area permitted for homes with private gardens.
The Consortium managed to demonstrate that the design can provide high quality accommodation with the potential of becoming a model for further developments. The scheme delivered high quality houses and flats, more spacious than the requirements of the competition, adding value for residents, outstanding value for money, and showing a positive way forward. In addition, the simple contemporary design has created an aspirational development which is proving very popular with homebuyers, even in the present market conditions.
Key consultants: Countryside in Partnership (Main Contractor), Brand Leonard (Structural Engineer), Waterstone Design (Service Engineer)
For further information contact Andrew or Paul
For hi-res images contact Chris
Achieving Building for Life minimum standards has become part of the funding requirement for affordable housing and will gradually become part of the planning application process.
PCKO is very experienced in delivering projects achieving excellent scores in this scheme, including Gold Standard Award for the Cala Domus project in Newhall and Silver Standard Award for the Fishing Village in Chatham.
PCKO is delighted to share this knowledge and experience with its clients and partners in development and recently Peter Chlapowski conducted a seminar on Building for Life principles for the Network Housing Group development team.For further information contact Peter
Cala Domus, Newhall - Gold Standard Award
Swansea University wins 'Local Authority Building Control Award' in Public Building Category and will go on to regional awards in April. The scheme was recognised for close liason between design team and City & County of Swansea (CCOS) building control with PCKO maintaining a good relationship between the client and local authority partners.
Client: Grwp Gwalia Cyf Subsidiary Tai Cartrefi Cyf
With a large park to the rear and a beach sea view to the front the campus is a picturesque place to study. Two new buildings adjacent to the park have been designed to work within an existing framework master plan and deliver contemporary high quality student accommodation.
The two new buildings create a defined pedestrian route across the campus linking the residential quarter with the university faculties. The buildings also create a formal entrance to the park and protect the view to the beach and sea. The 10 storey tower has envious views over the park, sea and campus. The 360 student rooms with ensuites also includes ground floor office space and healthcare facilities, and was successfully handed over in January.
Key consultants: Hicks Titley Partnership (Service consultants), Faber Maunsell (Structural engineers), Cowlin Construction (Contractor), M3FX (Imaging), ER Brown & Partners (Employers agent), Shaun Condron Partnership (Employers agent)
For further information contact Paul
The design of the holiday complex in China is well advanced and the full architectural design of the Spa Hotel has just been submitted to the client for final approval.
Design work is progressing now on the master plan for a development of holiday apartments and clusters of luxury villas and cottages. The client has acquired further land enlarging the project site to 90 ha.
The design team has been travelling regularly to China to consult with the client’s team. PCKO's Directors spent some time in Shanghai exploring new design and business opportunities.Short listed for Housing Design Awards 2007
The Southern Quarter scheme is a housing regeneration project that not only seeks to repair the land back to an useable status, but hopes to repair a run down area of Ryde on the Isle of Wight.
The affordable housing scheme is championed by Southern Housing Group (SHG) with aid from Southern Space, SHG's in house development company (68% affordable units for Southern Housing Group and 32% sale units for Southern Space). This creates a high quality scheme for the residents of Ryde secured with additional funding from the sale component of the development.
The scheme comprises of 30 houses and 119 Flats on a 2 hectare site.
The ambition for the architecture was to create a new identity and sense of place for the area incorporating the following.
The layout creates a series of linked spaces and good permeability to the wider community. The architecture also relates to the scale of the existing adjacent buildings while creating its own identity and place.
The wraps are coming off and the trees are been planted in the plaza at this 604 bedroom student housing scheme in Gillingham.
As part of the Medway Riverfront improvements the scheme includes ancillary facilities such as a common room, communal laundry, cycle stores and a management suite. The rooms have en-suite showers and are simply and functionally furnished. The retail units at the base of one of the blocks will have access to the open, pedestrianised plaza.
Built by Berkeley First and leased by Liberty Living, a specialist in student housing, it is due for completion at the end of August ready for the new academic year.
Key consultants: Upton McGougan (Structural Engineer), RLT Engineering Consultants Ltd (Civil Engineering), J D Associates (M&E Consultants), Barton Willmore (Planning Consultants), Bell and Webster (Concrete Panel System), Philip Cave Associates (Landscape Architects).
For further information contact Peter
Artists moving in and offices taken over by Swansea Citizens Advice Bureau
Client: Grwp Gwalia Cyf
Swansea Arts Quarter - Regeneration Project
The proposed redevelopment plans for the former Swansea Police Station Building form an integral part of the overall master plan vision for the regeneration of the entire block to create Swansea Arts Quarter.
The second phase of this mixed use scheme includes an Arts Centre on the ground floor of the building including function rooms, restaurant, Arts Centre workshops and offices. The floors above comprise of student accommodation (78 units with associated facilities) as part of the completed Phase 1 refurbishment.
The main concept of the master plan is based on the principles of coexistence of the existing historic buildings and new building fabric associated with the new life and functions introduced to the area. The existing Police Station buildings will be refurbished to retain the historic character of the original fabric and key architectural details and spaces.
Outbuildings of poor quality and not in keeping with the quality and character of the main buildings were be removed to provide an opportunity for development of the courtyard area. The creation of new pedestrian routes increasing the permeability of the block introduces new life and vibrancy into the heart of the scheme.
Craven Park, a new 6 storey residential scheme for 23 flats with landscaped roof terraces and podium garden above a car park, is currently on site. The scheme will achieve Code for Sustainable Homes Level 3.
Renewables:
As part of PCKO's holistic approach to the integration of renewable technology in building design, Photovoltaic Panels have been introduced such that a percentage of the electricity generated could be sold back to the grid, the offset in turn reducing the building service charge. If necessary Photovoltaic Panels can also be upgraded or increased in quantity in the future with no disruption to the residents.
External:
Key to our sustainability strategy was the provision of amenity space. A highly usable landscaped garden at podium level was added to promote a positive outlook and to reduce surface water run-off. Two additional roof gardens at third and fourth levels make good use of flat roofs.
Internal:
Equally important to our design philosophy are the internal living conditions and the wellbeing of households in particular noise and air quality. We therefore included a whole house ventilation and heat recovery (MVHR) system.
Key consultants: Allen Pyke (Landscape Architects), King Sturge (Planning), WSP (Transport), Broad Oak (Aboriculturalist), Calford Seaden (Employers Agent & Sustainability), Ion Acoustics (Acoustics Consultants), AQC (Air Quality), Gemma Building & Design Services (Engineers), Gifford (Flood Risk Assessment)
For further information contact WaiLun
The Long Elms scheme comprises of 2 semi detached family homes; a 4 bed 8 person and a 3 bed 6 person wheelchair home both with front and rear gardens.
The design is based on the detailed analysis of the site, the neighbouring properties, scale, massing and character. It will provide high quality, contemporary design with strong connection to the local character.
The proposed family homes provide comfortable accommodation on two levels. The separating party wall between the houses is designed as a “living wall”, a feature developed by PCKO in the design of the recently completed, award winning development in Newhall, Harlow. The principle is to locate the storage spaces, kitchen units, bathrooms etc along one wall. This not only improves the sound performance of the party wall but also provides a flexible zone for locating all vertical and horizontal services for the building. It also provides flexibility for incorporating future changes and future technology; like water storage, grey water recycling, a central vacuum system, ventilation systems etc.
The design will accommodate all mandatory criteria to achieve minimum Code Level 3 for Sustainable Homes. It is envisaged that Code Level 3 will be achieved through energy efficiency criteria, solar panels, water use, provision for refuse and recycling, construction waste management, LifeTime Homes compliance and relevant issues relating to pollution, responsible sourcing of materials, health & well being and management.
From time to time PCKO is invited by the Architectural Association to give a lecture on sustainable design and development to the students of the Sustainable Environmental Design masters course.
In February this year, Peter Chlapowski talked to the students about PCKO’s current work and research in this area, which was inspired by our early innovative low energy Spinney Gardens scheme, awarded by Housing Design Awards last year as one of the best post war housing projects in the UK."Starting in East London, we're soon out of town and after stops along the way for lunch and tea, we reach the finish in the pretty gardens of Priory Park, Southend where we can relax and enjoy refreshments, music and sports massages before making our way home."
The London to Southend charity cycle ride is on Sunday 19 July 2009. The ride is 59 miles through the quiet lanes and villages of south Essex.
The event attracts over 3500 riders from all over and is the biggest bike ride event in the BHF’s events calendar raising a staggering £140,000 each year.
For more information or if you'd like to join us please use the links below:
British Heart Foundation
Bike Events Online
To sponsor us or for training tips please contact Marianne
PCKO has successfully been accepted on the following frameworks:
For further information contact Marianne
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