2020 Favourites: Castle Park Energy Centre

“This has been a fantastic project to be involved with. gcp has always been passionate about designing low energy buildings and Castle Park Energy Centre has given us the opportunity to work on a project which will deliver renewable energy. In a prominent location on the Floating Harbour on the edge of Castle Park the proposed Water Source Heat Pump forms an exciting part of the council’s ambition for Bristol to be a carbon neutral city by 2030”
— Jon Briscoe, gcp
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We asked everyone in the office to name their favourite project of 2020. Jon has an interest in low energy buildings and was thrilled to help deliver this project which was granted permission in November.

2020 Favourites: Brentry, Bristol

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“A very interesting project working alongside a flexible main contractor, able to adapt to LiveWest requirements as they developed.

The resultant building achieved an attractive domestic scale frontage to the residential streetscape and provided the residents with an accessible building with high levels of safety built in”
— Martin Spear, gcp
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We asked everyone in the office to name their favourite project of 2020. Martin has chosen a lovely scheme in Brentry for LiveWest and Fisher & Dean. This scheme is for 8 flats for residents requiring additional support.

2020 Favourites: James' Home Office

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“Designing (and building) my home office has been a fantastic challenge, one that has certainly developed my skill set.  I feel I have a greater understanding of the challenges that are faced on site, even on a small scale, procuring materials, site logistics and sequencing has certainly been testing.

I have come out of it with a lovely, calming workspace that provides an area for focus. It is great that it is separate to the house and even though I’m only walking to the bottom of my garden it’s enough to provide the necessary separation. With the likelihood of working from home more in the future with gcp, I am lucky to have such a nice spot to show off on our weekly teams calls.”
— James Pilling, gcp
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We asked everyone in the office to name their favourite project of 2020. James has had an exciting time whilst working home this year and has decided to talk about his own home project with the support of his partner @personalised_by_amy

2020 Favourites: Radford Cottage

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“It’s currently on site and we can’t wait to see the finished project! We’ve seen this year in particular how important it is for mental health to have an inspiring working environment. This project will create a bright office with fantastic views over the countryside and features a beautiful oak frame crafted by local carpenter @CarpentersMarkltd.”
— Sarah Makroum, gcp

We asked everyone in the office to name their favourite project of 2020. Sarah’s favourite scheme is a little home office for a longstanding client of gcp.

Advent Day 8: Chocolatey Coffee Morning

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It’s an office favourite today: gcp’s Hot Chocolate Bar!

With current social distancing in the office and homeworking, we weren’t able to do the Bar in the way we normally do. Everyone got a hot chocolate spoon with marshmallows in their box, we snuck in a baileys and some candy canes for thoe who fancied it too.

Quick catch up on teams with a hot chocolate warmed me up on this frosty morning & gave me lots of Christmassy feelings.

Advent Day 7: Desk Decorating!

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It’s Desk Decorating Day in the office (and home office) today! Will update with pictures as they arrive …

2020 Favourites: Elizabeth House, Holborn

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ELIZABETH HOUSE, HOLBORN

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“We have really enjoyed the challenges posed by this project to maximise the available lettable space of this office building in central London. Devising a method to add a rear extension and two storeys on the roof where the only access to the site is through a pedestrian archway was an interesting technical challenge requiring close coordination with a great project team”
— Tom Mellor, gcp
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We asked everyone in the office to name their favourite project of 2020. Tom has chosen Elizabeth House, known in the area as Fulwood Place in Holborn.

2020 Favourites: Mental Health Week

In the midst of a pandemic, where the line between home and work life is blurred, it is important now more than ever to talk about our #mentalhealth and #wellbeing. It wasn’t too long ago when there was a stigma to these words. Some progress has been made as our understanding of the issues and ability to talk about it is so much better, but there is still more to do!

In October it was national work life week. It provided an opportunity to discuss our work-life-balance, wellbeing and mental health. We ran a series of activities to mark the week including daily brain teasers, a few games, a one million step challenge and we finished the week with a virtual pub quiz. The most important activity we held was a virtual coffee morning because although the activities were great fun, a huge part of mental health and wellbeing is communication and it asked the question, ‘although we see each other’s faces in meetings, how much do we actually chat and check in with how each other are doing?’

These weren’t one-off events, but something gcp are keen to continue to improve on. Since this week we have signed up to Thrive at Work West of England and have embarked on a two year commitment to improve and evaluate our working procedures in a way that puts keeping our team mentally healthy at the core of what we do.

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2020 Favourites: Southmead Co-Housing

“Having worked for Southmead Development Trust on three previous occasions (youth club refurbishment feasibility, 90kW PV installation on the Greenway Centre and the early stages of the Glencoyne Square development), I was really pleased to join up with a multi- disciplinary team of construction and housing consultants to prepare a long-term masterplan for their north Bristol site. This commission draws on the 30 years plus of experience in supporting clients similar to Southmead Development Trust and including sports facility design, integration of specialist housing and small scale business space provision. Having completed a high-level Stage 1 Options Appraisal the team have now been asked to develop the Stage 2 Masterplan”
— Jonathan Platt, gcp

We asked everyone in the office to name their favourite project of the year. Jonathan chose Southmead co-housing.

2020 Favourites: Homelands, Dundry

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“It was really satisfying to have achieved Passivhaus certification for these lovely self-build clients, who put so much into building their home and achieved such a high standard of finish and detailing. It is a real pleasure to work on projects like this where the end result is all you hoped it would be.”
— Colin Powell, gcp
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We asked everyone in the office to name their favourite project of 2020. Colin has chosen Homelands Dundry, a private dwelling which was a self-build to Passivhaus certification.

Advent Day 2: How Much?!

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An old favourite returned to the advent today. The team were challenged to guess how many coins were in this jar. The scale rules weren’t allowed this year as the jar was home-working, but there were still a number of mathematical equations submitted along with the answers.

There were 299 coins in the jar & James Pilling was the closest with a guess of 275.

2020 Favourites: Durdham Down Tower

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“Known to generations of Bristolians as simply ‘The Water Tower’ this iconic landmark is located at the highest point in Bristol on Durdham Downs. gcp has been delighted to continue it’s long standing association with Bristol Water as assist in restoring this massive concrete structure to its former glory and taking in some breath-taking views in the process.”
— Jeremy Pilling, gcp
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We asked everyone in the office to name their favourite project of 2020. Jeremy has chosen the refurbishment of the 1950s water tower for Bristol Water.


2020 Favourites: Ambition House, Lawrence Weston

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“I am proud to have been involved in this project as this is a community driven building, desperately needed in this active but underfunded area of Bristol.  This has been in the making for several years and has had many challenges along the way. I am hopeful that the latest scheme being developed with the client, Ambition Lawrence Weston, will be the final design and we can get this building out the ground to provide a well-deserved functional community hub for future generations to enjoy. Public consultation is now well under way with responses due back by 8 December”
— Tom Hubbard, gcp
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We asked everyone in the office to name their favourite project of 2020. Tom’s favourite is the new community centre at Lawrence Weston Ambition Lawrence Weston.

Walwyn Gardens receives planning consent

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gcp has secured planning consent to refurbish and extend Walwyn Gardens retirement housing in Hartcliffe, Bristol. Bristol City Council who own and manage the site appointed gcp to provide designs for this comprehensive refurbishment and upgrade of the 1960’s apartment blocks.

The building has suffered historic issues with damp and structural issues and requires substantial internal and external maintenance and repair works. Following a consultation event with the residents, proposals were finalized that will rejuvenate the site improving the quality and appearance of the site brining a new lease of life to these old buildings.

The following works are included in the proposals: 

·         Replacement of existing common room & ancillary facilities building including the addition of two new flats over and new lift in lieu of a ramp on ground floor

·         Replace uPVC curtain walling enclosing the access walkways with new walls.

·         Construct two new fire escape stairs on east wings of the building

·         Improve energy performance and appearance of the building by over cladding the existing walls.

·         Internal alterations to improve the accessibility of the building

·         Landscaping of the gardens

The scheme is already out to tender, it is hoped work will commence on site in the new year.