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Last week we attended the Greenbuild Expo in Manchester, exploring innovative products such as load bearing insulation for thermal bridge reduction and recycled plastics for external works. We also had the pleasure of being finalists in the Greenbuild Awards.

The Greenbuild Awards 2013 recognise true achievement looking for low-energy buildings that go the extra mile to reduce their environmental impact. The Blurton Community Hub in Stoke on Trent was a finalist within the Breakthrough Award for Innovation. The building features integrated low energy measures including a 33kw GSHP, 9kw PV roof mounted arrays, large scale heat recovery system solar thermal water heating, infra red lighting controls and rainwater storage and recycling. We are monitoring the buildings performance against its expected BREEAM Excellent rating and will use the info to assist the successful future management of the building.

The building is part of the Ingestre Square development, a phased mixed use project including housing, flats, commercial/retail units as well as the Hub and its community garden. The project, due to be completed this summer, is being developed by Aspire Housing Group and Stoke on Trent City Council.

Our thanks to our clients, our project team colleagues Poole Dick Associates, RED Landscape, and Sustain, and the contractor Kier Partnership Homes.

It’s a new year and a new client for us here at Axis Design. We’re delighted to announce that we have been appointed onto Bromford Group’s framework for Architects.

Bromford have been providing homes in Central England since the 1960s. With 30 years of working for housing providers under our belt, we’re looking forward to applying our expertise to the framework and helping Bromford to achieve their goals, as well as ensuring that they continue to deliver high-quality housing projects. We’ll be working alongside Red Landscape on this framework – a collaboration which has proved successful on a number of award-winning projects to date including our work for the Birmingham Municipal Housing Trust.

More specifically, as well as applying our use of BIM for projects to be carried out under this framework, we’re also hoping to apply our extensive knowledge of sustainable housing design, including some of the lessons learned through our Affordable Passivhaus research.

Bromford are a forward thinking provider and have a strong social agenda, helping both staff and their tenants “to be the very best they can be”. Something that stands out with their approach is their ethos surrounding online communications which fits neatly with our own expertise in this area. We’ve created dedicated project websites for for community consultation and this has proved an effective way to share information and gather feedback from residents. Online project management tools are standard practice for us too.

Much like Bromford’s policy to be open and transparent about how they share information, we hope to share as much as possible about our work on the framework here on the blog. Keep an eye out for updates.

As we celebrate our 30th year in practice, we hope you’ll forgive us for rounding the year off with an element of nostalgia. We’ve raked over the warm embers of our work predominantly in the fields of masterplanning, regeneration and housing to see what we can find.

The project that started it all off, back in 1982, was a series of shopfitting contracts carried out on behalf of Walter Smith butchers. A total refit over a Bank Holiday weekend, 24 hour working and a team spirit which predated Egan procurement and partnering by close to a decade.

Our longest running project has got to be the regeneration of the Pype Hayes Estate which began back in the summer of ‘89 addressing a bunch of disgruntled local residents who were going to lose their defective Boswell Houses, but were worried about what they might be getting in their place… and this year Birmingham City Council have just completed the handover (pictured left) of the last phase of work under the Birmingham Municipal Housing Trust umbrella.

The strangest project we’ve worked on has got to be looking for buried WW2 aircraft while pretending to be doing drainage survey work – the only job that did not carry a job number or any correspondence references. Not quite in line with the RIBA project management guidance!

The most expensive project per square metre has got to be Wigan Metropolitan Council Chamber: an interior refit of the former Mining College in the town. Bespoke light poles, silk heraldic banners suspended in specially designed Perspex frames (pictured right) and a three storey hexagonal glass tower made out of Reynolds 531 tube.

The cheapest per square metre must be the Balsall Heath Tree Centre: an A-framed community space sitting within a community tree nursery (left).

The one that got us in the media for the wrong reasons: Wadbury Mill and the threat to our refurbishment of an old mill was thanks to a colony of Long-eared Bats. We made the front page of the Guardian as we recall.

Our most challenging project was probably the reconstruction of the grade 2 listed roof trusses in Crosby Court (right). Between English Heritage, imminent roof collapse and pigeons we still managed to jack the roof up and pull the lantern back into position… mind you, the roof had survived a direct hit during the war but the bomb failed to go off. It was never found and could be under our conference room for all we know. A great way of keeping client meetings short.

The one that got us in the media for all the right reasons: Eco Terraces – a radical refurbishment of terraced houses which predated the government focus on improving existing stock and the current Green Deal.

Our most embarrassing project has to be the cedar clad courtyard of bungalows in Castle Vale. They were great when new but now look miserable, grey, streaked, and shed-like in appearance – not at all what we intended.

The project we miss most: Midlands Art Centre café and its play wall which included a built-in noughts & crosses game (pictured left) – an attempt to create an interactive art space for users of every age with the in-house artists making the cushions, banners and ceramic tiles.

Our most popular project with the wider public is probably Brandwood End (pictured right), which met its core objectives of being ‘tenure blind’ and a 21st century reinvention of Bournville Village Trust housing. Our homage to Harvey and Bedford Tyler is ageing quite gracefully (unlike some of us).

The most satisfying project has got to be the one project that delighted the client, had architectural integrity, enriched the lives of its users, had us showered in accolades and earned us a mandatory scale 10% fee plus expenses… We can’t quite recall which project that would be.

Finally, the strangest coincidence in this our 30th year, is that we find ourselves working on a development in Monument Road, Ladywood, having spent much of the ‘80s and ‘90s working on the regeneration framework for the area. What’s even stranger is that we are looking at the refurbishment of the Schoolhouse, a small school building which the two founding partners looked at in the year preceding the formation of Axis Design… what goes around comes around.

We’d like to add our thanks to all our clients, collaborators, colleagues and fellow consultants for all their input, support and trust over the last 30 years. Most of all we hope that the residents we’ve met along the way have all enjoyed living in the places we’ve helped to create; we’ve certainly enjoyed being a part of their communities during our work together. We’re looking forward to the next 30 years and more projects as challenging as the ones described above.

Many poor families around the world are financially unable to purchase a house that meets their needs. Housing loans give families access to capital to improve their homes and an opportunity to pay loans back at a pace that they can handle. Last Christmas we made a donation to Kiva, and over the subsequent 12 months we helped a total of 4 families.

We’ve added to our Kiva loan fund again this Christmas and our donation will help another two families. We’re helping Primetiva (right) from a small village in the Philippines. She is 62 years old, is married and has seven children. Primetiva has a hog fattening business and she has requested a modest loan to renovate her house. In the future, she hopes to have more savings.

We’re also helping Megi (left) and her family from West Georgia. They are involved in an agricultural business and Megi works hard to do her best for her family. In particular, they run a small dairy farm with a milk cow whose milk is used in cheese products. The cheese is sold at the local open market. In addition, Megi has a pig and sells piglets seasonally. A loan will create better conditions for Megi and her son, and enable them to enjoy living in their house.

As Megi and Primetiva’s loans are repaid, along with the final repayments from the other borrowers we’ve helped, our lending portfolio will grow and we’re looking forward to reinvesting the money with other needy families.

UPDATE: We’ve now received notification that the loans we made last christmas have been repaid in full. This means we’re ready to reinvest and help more families around the world.

The newest member of our team introduces himself:

Hi all, I’m Daniel, the newest person to join Axis Design. I first met the team in the summer of 2011, when I appeared outside the office asking if it would be possible to base my year 3 Office Adoption study on the practice. The team graciously accepted, and over the course of four visits throughout the summer I got to know everyone. A year later, I applied to join the team, and they have again graciously accepted.

I’ve been at Axis for a few months now, having graduated from my Architecture Part 1 course earlier this year, and it has really been quite an eye-opening experience. Working in a team, meeting clients, learning new programs and the practical application of architecture outside of a classroom; there have been some lessons to learn since I joined the team, but I’m enjoying myself, learning new things and meeting new challenges. Everyone’s been really helpful and welcoming in what I hope will be the continuing path of my professional career.

As experts in sustainable design, through all our activities and working practices we look for ways to protect and enhance the environment. This includes getting out and about in the course of our work, so in an attempt to further lessen our carbon emissions we’re pleased to announce that the latest addition to the Axis Design team is a fully electric Citroen C-Zero car.

Most of the team here at Axis are regular users of public transport for getting to and from work, and to site visits, but there are occasions when a car is the most suitable form of transport because it saves time, and because some sites are difficult to access using public transport. Free parking for electric vehicles is available in many towns too, allowing for cost savings to be made.

We’ve been able to take advantage of a grant made available for small businesses allowing us to take the leap into fully electric zero-carbon transport. We’ll also be encouraging our clients to lead the way by installing charge points for electric vehicles on new housing developments, again, taking advantage of grants available to keep costs to a minimum.

The car itself is powered by a 16kW/h battery that generates enough electricity to power the motor, air conditioning and heating system. On a full charge it is expected to reach a total distance of 79 miles and can be charged in 7 hours (or 30 minutes when connected to special terminal delivering a 125a monophase current). It has an automatic gearbox, and reaches top speeds of up to 80mph – not bad for a little electric car, eh?

Founding Partner of Axis, Tony Goodall was a fan of Pink Floyd. ‘The Wall’ was not his favourite album but taking a leaf from it, when he died in 2006, it was our intention to put ‘just another brick’ in some of Tony’s walls. Our colleagues at Compendium Living and Lovell Partnerships graciously agreed to us building memorial stones into projects which he had worked on over the last few months of his life.

Such is the nature of the construction industry – projects can take several years to come to fruition – a wall of memories in the new Park at Weston Heights has only recently been completed but is now home to a brick dedicated to Tony, as well as bricks dedicated to the memory of other local people who were part of the estate.

Ernie Clarke, Chair of Coalville Resident Association and Wendy Lister, Regeneration Officer from Compendium Living.

The wall at Weston Heights overlooks the River Blythe which flows into the River Trent connecting his birthplace in Meir with Nottingham, his university town and by way of its tributary, the River Dove the Peak National Park around Ashbourne. Dovedale was the screen-saver on Tony’s computer.

An additional memorial brick has been built into a wall at Stoke Road in Bletchley – a road name giving yet  another serendipitous nod to Tony’s Staffordshire roots. The curved wall, part of the Waterside development built by Lovell Partnerships, is a lovely spot with in-built seats overlooking the Grand Union Canal.

Our thanks go to Compendium Living and Lovell Partnerships for their support in remembering Tony through his work.

Architectural Assistant Liz recently broke the news to us that she had received the offer of a lifetime. She waves goodbye to us as she travels East:

With a heavy heart I am saying my farewells to the team at Axis Design.

Life is calling me eastward and I am off to the bright lights and dizzy heights of Hong Kong…. to do pretty much the same as I do here in Birmingham! Although, I imagine residential design to be somewhat different to the low rise, DQS riddled design of affordable homes here in the UK. It’ll be high rise planning and tight spaces – thank goodness Mike has taught me the art of 45 degree planning!

I will be living and working in Hong Kong but my projects will be based in Mainland China, this couldn’t be more perfect for me, I can’t wait to explore!I have to thank Mike and Rob for taking me on and taking me under their wing. I wouldn’t be going where I am today if wasn’t for the chance they took when they let me though the door. I’ve learnt and grown so much, I feel incredibly lucky to have inhabited the old foundry building at Crosby Court.

Thanks for having me.

Liz.

Since she penned her farewell, we’ve received an update. Liz emailed us last week (she still remembers us – hooray!). She’s settling in well, is enjoying learning about the cultural differences in architecture that have come with her new role and she also succeeded in making us all very jealous by sharing a photo of the incredible view she wakes up to every morning (left).

We’ve loved having Liz around at Axis and she will be sorely missed. We wish her all the very best with her exciting new journey.

A couple of weeks ago we were joined by Matt, a Year 9 work experience student, who spent a day in the life of Axis Design. He’s been kind enough to share his thoughts:

I decided to go to Axis Design to find out what it was like to be an architect and what they did in the office. They had a great range of books and information that my eyes were almost sore. I looked at the different projects that they were working on. I was intrigued by all the detail and different aspects of their renovation projects.

It amazed me how much a building can do for the environment when you remove the need for heating. After making lots of cups of tea for everyone (a key skill needed for any work place) I sat down at the computer and was put through a tutorial and guide of the design programmes involved. I created my own version and layout of a design from a brief which they had been given and surprised myself with the detail of my virtual world.

I was taken to a project that was finished and talked through the development of the project from ideas to problems to finishing thoughts. The whole experience was absolutely great and answered a lot of questions as I wish to become and architect myself. I love architecture because it combines creativity with precision, art with maths and science. I love the feel of responsibility for crafting the world of today in my own hands and shaping the world.

So I thank Axis Design for the experience and especially to Rob Annable for giving me the opportunity.

This week we learned that our friend Mel Starrs passed away suddenly at her home over the weekend. Mel was an Engineer who was passionate about good quality low-carbon construction. She was a keen blogger and tweeter, and was an advocate of technology and the web. Mel was staunchly dedicated to her work – if there was something to know about sustainability or environmental design, Mel would have the answer. She was highly respected: online and in person Mel was brave and outspoken, she challenged people and she sought answers.

Rather than attempting to write something here, we’re pointing you towards Phil Clarke’s tribute to Mel over on Building Design. His writing has neatly summed up how we’re all feeling.

Her untimely death has left us stunned and our deepest condolences go to her partner Mark along with her friends and family. Mark has shared his thoughts on Mel’s blog and provided a suggestion for commemorative donations to her favourite charity. We’ll be making a donation and hope that anyone who knew Mel or has benefited from her tireless work to improve the environment will do the same.

We’ll miss you Mel.