Inspired

The Church Studio in Crookes has been the proud home of our Sheffield Office since 1989 and has become synonymous with our brand identity in the North. As a beautiful, historic building of significant architectural merit, it has provided a fitting environment from which to grow a nationally-focussed design-based studio over the past three decades and will always hold a warm place in our hearts.

However, as a practice, we recognise that it is now time to look ahead, with excitement, towards a new future – in a new home within Sheffield City Centre. The world has changed somewhat since 1989: our values have evolved, our commitments reimagined – yet our purpose remains at the absolute forefront of our decision-making process – to create positive change.

This new home, on Rockingham Street, within the western fringe of the exciting new Heart of the City 2 development, will provide the following environmental, social and economic benefits to our practice, our people and our region:

• the creative re-use of an existing building, recently refurbished to high energy-efficiency standards to provide lower carbon and operational energy needs.
• recent services and plant upgrades undertaken in 2019, including the installation of photovoltaic power supplies to guarantee the contribution of a clean energy source.
• good access to public transport, cycle networks and staff cycle storage to promote green commuting and active lifestyle choices linked to our new flexible working policy.
• repurposing of existing furniture, fittings and finishes: either those within our current office or by working in collaboration with our new landlords, South Yorkshire Housing Association, to agree a zero-demolition waste strategy.
• donation of unrequired remaining items to local schools and charities as part of our ongoing commitment to CSR and giving-back within our communities.
• new fit-out principles- developed in accordance with the WELL Standard – to ensure that staff health, wellbeing and happiness is at the forefront of our relocation.
• specification of lowVOC and low formaldehyde products, avoiding glue fixings to ensure a high level of indoor air quality.
• prioritisation of materials selected for their low embodied carbon content.
• maximisation of an open plan layout within our design, including a collaboration zone upon entry to the office, as well as open booths, a ‘make and meet’ area, a large social kitchen area and a staff wellbeing room – all to reinforce cohesion and integration amongst our team.
• a more spatially-efficient and less energy-intensive office footprint, reflecting the reduced desk-space demand brought about by agile working in the aftermath of the global pandemic, to better reflect the needs of our people.
• closer integration with other like-minded businesses and contacts to drive much-needed employment and post-covid economic investment back into our city centre.

This move has been several years in the making and represents a huge step forward for Bond Bryan: better representing our values, our ambition and who we are as a practice.  We can’t wait to welcome all of our friends, clients and collaborators into our new home.

As we usher in the New Year, it is, with great excitement, that we are thrilled to announce some exciting changes within the practice in the form of three well-earned internal promotions.

Matt Hutton will now lead the practice as Chief Executive Officer alongside new board members Steve Maslin joining the board as Commercial Director, and Peter Severn, joining the board as Director based in our London Studio.

This announcement coincides with main board Director Jonathan Herbert stepping away from his MD position and focussing on the continued development of our Further and Higher Education client base.

Matt Hutton has been a Director at Bond Bryan for several years and is now working nationally across all sectors – having joined as an enthusiastic Architectural assistant in 2003.

Matt has been involved in the creative design and delivery of some of Bond Bryan’s most prestigious and award-winning projects over the last 19 years.

A key aspect of Matt’s role will involve promoting our culture, leading on communications and ensuring our continued commitment to sustainable design, whilst meeting our RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge targets.

Matt said, ‘It is with huge pride that I have been given the opportunity to lead the practice into the future. We have never been better equipped to deal with the challenges the industry currently faces; climate change, resource scarcity and procurement challenges in the midst of continuing business disruptions.

I am really looking forward to sharing more about our people focused design ethos through our ‘Circular Thinking’ methodology, that puts sustainable design at the forefront of our engagement processes. We want to ensure that all of our projects are more successful and more sustainable than the last – in whatever way that is measured, be it socially, environmentally, or economically: we call it ‘More than design’

“Matt is absolutely the right person to take on Chief Executive Officer role,” said Jonathan, “over the last two years he’s been instrumental in helping us to refine our ethos and mission. I am confident that under his leadership Bond Bryan will continue to be successful; increasingly clients are searching for designers capable of intelligent engagement, and our ‘More than design’ message will be ever more relevant”

Peter joined Bond Bryan in 2007 and has been integral to the growth and development of the Bond Bryan London Studio alongside fellow Director, Geoff Halliwell. As one of our residential and, MMC experts, Peter will be focusing on our expanding residential and commercial portfolio within central London – and in creating successful, long-term business partnerships to drive viable schemes in the South.

Peter will also be responsible for developing our nationwide Interior Design offer. This will be an exciting opportunity to add yet another industry leading sub-brand to Bond Bryan’s expanding portfolio.

It is incredibly fulfilling for us to be able to share this news and to recognise the hard work, skill and dedication of our people. We would like to congratulate Matt, Steve and Peter and wish them every success for the future.

Bond Bryan are nationally recognised as experts in strategic planning and, for over 25 years, have been working with further education colleges to respond to the ever-changing needs of this sector.

Details of the Further Education Capital Transformation Fund were announced last week.  In light of this, we sat down with our FE expert, Roger Newman, to gain some valuable insight into how colleges might respond.

I think that the first piece of advice is don’t panic.   The timescales for the initial funding application are tight; however, it’s important not to rush to a solution; if successful, you’ll be living with the result for many years.  Within the time available, there is still an opportunity to carefully consider how any investment can best support your educational needs: If you focus on meeting just the immediate needs, it is then often difficult to find time to stop and consider the longer-term vision.

However, strategic estates planning offers a wealth of potential operational benefits – from both improved space efficiency and reduced running costs to potential disposal receipts for surplus assets.

Exactly that. The evolving demands of building users, new technologies and market opportunities, are constantly altering the types of spaces in which we need to learn, work and live. This has been highlighted – even more so – in the current pandemic. As a result, the existing estate may not be suitable for future demands: it’s really important to question assumptions here and to offer practical and deliverable solutions. The goal is always to help colleges to identify an estate solution that is flexible and imaginative enough to allow you to deliver your educational vision.

We have witnessed the ever-changing funding regime of the FE sector, from the earliest days of the FEFC, through the growing ambition of the LSC, to the more recent and measured funding opportunities of the SFA/ESFA/DfE and LEPs.

We’ve also been fortunate to have developed many of these projects through the detailed briefing, design and delivery stages. We understand the real-life complexities of implementing major changes to the estate and we bring this experience to bear to ensure that we can offer practical and deliverable solutions at the bidding stage. Yes, timescales are short – but that’s what we do and where experience lends a hand; it’s important to begin with a proper conversation about the vision and aspirations of a college – as well as the hard facts – in order to be able to develop a fully-comprehensive and robust strategy.

Our strategic education expertise has been recognised by the DfE and we have provided a range of direct consultancy commissions for them. Most recently, this has included helping to develop national Space Needs Guidance for the FE sector, aiding development of standardised information to support the DfE’s GenZero carbon ambition, and undertaking Post Occupancy Evaluations of the first wave of Institutes of Technology – in order to identify best practice and provide recommendations for future rounds of investment.

We have a dedicated team that, through years of experience, are adept at all of the analysis, option and appraisal skills which are nowadays required to explore the estate needs of the future. If you would like to get in touch, please contact Roger or the team at info@bondbryan.co.uk.