Inspired

It was celebrations all round when Bond Bryan attended the official launch party of the recently-completed Volkswagen, West London dealership.

Bond Bryan worked closely with both Volkswagen UK Limited and the dealership operator, Inchcape plc, throughout the project duration from inception to completion.

The 4-storey building design, which is based on the Volkswagen VRC 2010 global concept, is 15,468sqm in area on a 0.68 hectare site, and is the largest Volkswagen dealership in the UK. The spacious 3-floor showrooms are capable of displaying 92 new and used cars, which allows space for every current model in the expanding Volkswagen range.

From the outset, the building was designed to incorporate the latest technology to provide the best possible customer experience whether purchasing or servicing their cars. Volkswagen commented:‘West London Volkswagen has been built with the customer firmly in mind. It boasts a number of 140-inch video walls, which allow sales staff to project images directly onto the big screens. The aim is to more fully immerse the customer in the experience and bring the cars to life in a truly innovative way.’

The building, which sits about 3m below the A4 Great West Road level, was constructed using a precast reinforced concrete frame. The showroom block is clad in a combination of double-glazed solar control structural curtain walling, aluminium rainscreen cladding and colour coated steel profiled cladding.

The car park block, which is naturally ventilated, is clad with purpose designed perforated louvres which allow daylight penetration and exhaust dispersal.
A feature of the south-west façade is a 230sqm living wall – this contains 22,080 plants and is automatically irrigated using rainwater harvesting. On the north-east and south-east facades, sculpted perforated and embossed aluminium rainscreen panel claddings are used as visual features, and reflect the sinuous planting design used in the living wall.

The showroom principal facades, all entrances and handover bays, are clad with white aluminium cladding and portiques to reflect the VW corporate design.
Building materials used are recyclable and contributed to a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating.

The landscaping incorporates SUDs with the use of permeable types of block and tarmac pavings.

The building is air conditioned throughout using gas fired heating. External and internal showroom lighting types are LEDs. A 300sqm array of photovoltaic panels is located over the car park block at roof level. Solar collectors are installed above the roof top plant room.

Bond Bryan are delighted to announce that Arthur Pescher is now a fully dual-qualified Architect. (France and UK)

Having joined BBA less than 2 years ago, Arthur has very quickly become a key and valued member of the Westerham and BBA team.

Arthur has been instrumental to the success of a number of key projects across the southern studios. We wish him all the very best for what will without doubt be a very bright future in the profession.

Congratulations from everyone at Bond Bryan!

Work on the new National College for Nuclear started this week.

To mark the occasion, the first sod for the nuclear college site was cut at a ground-breaking ceremony at the site on Monday.

Set to open in September, the high-tech facility is part of a national programme to train the next generation of nuclear workers in a range of specialised careers.
The college will become one of two centres; the second will be built at Bridgewater in Somerset and the aim is to train over 7,000 learners across both facilities by 2020.

The Northern Hub, built at the Lakes College site, will feature virtual reality suites allowing learners to experience nuclear installations in a virtual environment, with science and radiation laboratories and specialised design and modelling suites.

Chris Nattress, Principal of Lakes College, said: “National College for Nuclear is bringing together partnering on a national scale that has never been done before – all working collaboratively. For us at Lakes College, it is fantastic to be part of. For the region’s students, it means training for local jobs at a facility on their doorstep. But it also means being part of opportunities at a national level.”

Led by Sellafield Ltd and EDF Energy, in partnership with Lakes College and the University of Cumbria, the training facilities will include a realtor simulator and engineering workshops.

Ken McEwan, Head of Training at Sellafield, said: “There are skills gaps in the industry that need to be filled for future ventures at the likes of Moorside and BAE. We want young people in Cumbria to fill those gaps for the future prospects of the local and national economy.”

Bond Bryan Associate Director, Zubin Masters, will be speaking at this year’s Education Estates Conference on 18–19th October 2016.

The presentation – “Transforming an Estate into a Learning Landscape for the Future” – looks at one of Bond Bryan’s recent projects: The University of West London.

The formation of the Future Campus Masterplan for the University of West London, was driven by the University’s brief to exceed the high expectations of the “millennial student”. The educational priority was to create world-class university buildings that were open and approachable to the community, to attract students through student-led learning environments, to provide better quality social space and to foster a strong sense of community for staff and students alike.
The initial problem seemed impossible at first glance: the 30,000m2 existing estate was constructed over the last 80 years and was in varying states of disrepair, with priorities for investment at the very centre of the occupied campus. The key element of the project involved demolishing a central building and replacing it with a new vibrant ‘Heartspace’, comprising of a Library, flexible Performance Centre and new student facilities. The daylit atrium, at the heart of the campus, offers a permeable accessible space that is populated and “owned” by students whilst knitting the rest of the estate together. All of the buildings on campus have now been refurbished, internally and externally, to create a high-quality environment befitting a modern centre for learning.

Director of Property Services, Chris Fenner of the University of West London, will also be joining the discussion at 12:40–13:00pm on Day 2 of the conference on the on 19th October. (C&U 2016 D2)

Bond Bryan Associate Director, Rob Jackson, will be speaking at this year’s Digital Construction Conference on 26–27th October 2016.

The presentation – “LEGO BIM – A Digital Journey And The Story So Far” – looks at how Bond Bryan’s journey has evolved to-date and how a reputation has been established – based around detailed research, testing and collaboration. Core to this approach is the use of open formats for the creation and sharing of architectural models but also how these open formats are used to help clients to define and manage their information requirements through our digital brand.
Rob will look at why the ‘LEGO Architecture meets BIM’ blog series was created as a simple vehicle to explain some of the core concepts and outputs of BIM to lay people. The “LEGO Architecture” series is, of course, fundamentally underpinned by open processes and software tools that can take advantage of open industry formats such as IFC (Industry Foundation Classes), BCF (CIM Collaboration Format) and COBie (Construction Operations-Building information exchange).
The session will look, briefly, at a few of the uses of the LEGO model as an introduction to our stand at Digital Construction Week (DCW)
Rob will also be part of the following panel discussions: “Open BIM, Data & Standards” (26th October 10:00-10:30 in the BIM Village) and “Small Business:BIG Innovation” (26th October 14:00-14:45 on the Main Stage).

You will find us on stand V6 – come and say hello.

Rob Jackson, Associate Director and BIM guru of Bond Bryan Architects, will be speaking at the RIBA Smart Practice Conference: Future Forward. Rob’s session,’Steering Technology’, will describe how becoming one of the UK’s leading BIM advocates can give your practice a global reputation.

‘RIBA Smart Practice: Future Forward’ takes place on 22nd September 2016 at the Nottingham Conference Centre. More details here

The new Trinity School in Sevenoaks, Kent is a Four Form Entry Secondary School accommodating 790 pupils (including 190 sixth form pupils). The building will provide 6,500 sq.m of new accommodation over three – four storeys. Trinity School, a part of the governments Free School initiative, is an 11 to 19 co-educational school with an ecumenical religious character supported by 29 local churches of many different denominations.

The new school is the first phase of the masterplan for the Wildernesse site in Sevenoaks, a soon-to-be-completed Grammar Annexe operated by Weald of Kent Grammar in Tonbridge will complete the new education campus. This will be the first Grammar School building to be built in the UK in 50 years.

These proposals have been developed for Trinity School and the Weald of Kent Grammar by Bond Bryan Architects, in conjunction with the contractor – Willmott Dixon, Structural and Services Engineers MLM and Bond Bryan Landscape Architects. The detailed design to construction has been developed with Kent County Council, the Education Funding Agency and the staff and governors of the two schools and their advisors.

Zubin Masters, Associate Director of Bond Bryan Architects explained: “Our designs for this site deliver a bespoke solution that has been developed in full consultation with both schools, the local authority and other stakeholders and was built upon the foundations of an established landscape setting. It will provide an integrated campus with buildings and facilities that create a strong sense of place whilst responding to their unique setting adjacent to an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The design of the exterior facades aims to be cutting-edge yet timeless, through the juxtaposition of traditional and contemporary materials. The architectural language and the palette of materials chosen for both the schools are similar – such that they complement each other, yet are subtly distinct, rendering each school a clear identity. The brick and white render facades create a simple and crisp architectural aesthetic, whilst the well-proportioned and rhythmic fenestration brings a sense of order and structure to the buildings. Larger expanses of glazing are strategically located to connect key spaces to the landscape and the views beyond.”

Whilst each school has been designed to operate independently with all the spaces needed to support the delivery of their respective curriculum, they will share external sports pitches on the campus.

The schools have been designed to comply with current best practice and the design and performance standards set by the Education Funding Agency, providing spatial and climatic environments in which pupils can thrive. Flexibility in all teaching and learning spaces has been maximised to enable the schools to respond to changing demands and forms of curriculum delivery. This has been achieved through standardisation of the specification of services to allow the majority of rooms to accommodate most subject areas and provide modern, technology-rich environments.

Construction has already begun on the adjacent Grammar Annexe, which will be completed in September 2017. Designed to expand to a capacity of 1260 pupils, the Grammar Annexe will initially accommodate 630 pupils, including 180 sixth form pupils.

Bond Bryan are delighted to have two projects shortlisted for the Celebrating Construction in South Yorkshire Awards 2016 – Barnsley College 6th Form Centre and Sheffield Hallam University, Charles Street have been shortlisted in the ‘Project of the Year Over £5M’category.

“CCISY 16 is the region’s premier construction event, a showcase for the professionalism, excellence and innovation that is at the heart of South Yorkshire’s construction community.”

This prestigious black tie event will take place on Friday 7th October 2016, at the Cutlers’ Hall, Sheffield.

Our Kent Studio will be exhibiting at the Kent Construction Expo on 6th October 2016.

Come and meet our team at Stand 105 between 08:30-16:30.

Maidstone Exhibition Centre
Kent Event Centre
Detling, nr Maidstone
Kent ME14 3JF

If you would like to book an appointment to see one of our team, please email kent@bondbryan.co.uk, or simply pop along.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Last night, Bond Bryan hosted our fifth Annual Charity Pub Quiz at Henry’s Bar, Sheffield.

With fantastic support from over fifteen teams and every facet of the construction industry, we managed to raise over £2,000 for the Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity – an absolutely fantastic achievement!

Congratulations to the winning team – NYJ – and a big thank you to everyone who attended; please give yourselves a pat on the back!

A special thanks to the following:
Nabarros, Axis Architects, Ryder Levitt Bucknall, Burmatex, SDA, Ares Landscape, Turner and Townsend, Hobson Hague, Corporate Workspaces, Orangebox, Eastwood and Partners, Norton Mayfield Architects, Arups, DLP, CPW, Silcock Leedham, Mott Macdonald and some new faces from all over Sheffield (and beyond).

All photos and the amazing doodles can be downloaded here.