GSS 44reviewLatest projects with transport and logistics giant

GSSArchitecture’s relationship with global transport and logistics giant DSV is going from strength to strength thanks to our most recent appointment as Architects, alongside CS2 Limited and BCAL Consulting, for their scheme in Manchester. The project consists of an external 2-storey office extension, an internal 2-storey office extension and office refurbishments, as well as a car park extension. The expansion will allow for increased staff numbers, following DSV’s purchase of Swiss logistics group Panalpina in July.

The appearance of the new office elevations will remain in line with that of the existing building by utilising similar materials. The look of the full height render finish to the elevations and the aluminium window and door fenestration will mirror that of the existing building, therefore ensuring continuity between the old and the new.

The works are due to start on site in January 2020, with an anticipated construction period of 10-12 months. Once complete, the new layout will allow DSV staff to operate more efficiently from a single location.

In addition to the scheme in Manchester, GSSArchitecture are also working on a similar project for DSV in Purfleet, Essex. The larger of the two schemes, the works include the demolition of existing buildings to allow for a warehouse extension and a brand new 3-storey office block, which will be linked to the existing offices by an overhead footbridge.

From the Editor

Staff Update

New Partner Announcements

Good Luck

Welcome to the latest edition of the GSS Review; a chance to catch up with what GSS have been up to over the last few months.

Following on from our special 140th Anniversary edition of the newsletter, this issue focuses on our work within the Industrial and Commercial sectors. With a rapidly growing population and a significant increase in demand for residential and commercial property, there is now a rush to not only construct new homes but to also provide employment opportunities to accelerate economic development.

The variety of experience that GSS has in the Commercial and Industrial sectors allows for a wide range of projects to be taken on. A selection of these projects have been included within the next few pages and provide an insight into what our teams are currently working on.

As you will read, it has been a busy six months, both in terms of projects and new starters within our growing business. Our Staff Summer Event, which took place on 5th July 2019, was a great opportunity for all five offices to get together to have some fun and to reflect on the Practice’s achievements over the last year.

In June, we hosted our annual Midsummer Drinks Reception at The Orangery, Barton Hall. As part of our 140th Anniversary celebrations, guests were given gift bags, which were very well received. We should like to thank all our clients who have attended events so far; your support is greatly appreciated and we are looking forward to hosting many more great events.

Tom Lyons

Due to the Practice’s continued growth, we have had three new Partner appointments since our last newsletter. Paul Vega, our Quantity Surveying Lead, and Darren Quincey, our Project Management Lead, both based at our Kettering Office, were announced as Partners in January and February respectively.

Paul joined the Practice as an Assistant Quantity Surveyor over 20 years ago, with Darren rejoining the company in 2018, having started his career with GSS back in 1986.

Christopher Chapman, based in our Milton Keynes studio, is the most recent Partner annoucement. Christopher started his career with GSS in 1990, and is the 25th Partner to be appointed since the Practice was founded 140 years ago.

As part of our continued growth, together with our commitment to providing graduate and training opportunities for the next generation of architects and designers, the Practice would like to welcome Chris Ryder, Senior Chartered Architect, to our Gloucestershire Studio, Johnny Rezai Namaghi, Architectural Assistant, to our Newcastle Studio and Craig Darby, Architectural Assistant, to our Harrogate Office.

Rebecca Kingston, Business Administration Apprentice; Georgia Chester, Receptionist; Liam Twynham, Marketing Assistant; Gabbie Snelling, Business Development Co-ordinator; Alex Walker, Architectural Technologist; Andrew Vallis, Chartered Architect; Cameron Kiddle, Architectural Year-Out student; and Jennifer Geear, Accounts/HR Assistant, have all joined the Kettering Office.

Congratulations are extended to Gabriele Adomaityte, based at our Milton Keynes Studio, who has successfully completed her RIBA Part 2. We also congratulate Seb Smart who has graduated from Birmingham City University with his Master’s Degree in Architecture, which he achieved whilst working at our Kettering Office and who was sponsored by GSS.

Senior Partner, Tom Lyons, said, “Our staff are the driving force behind everything we do and achieve. By investing in new talent we are able to push our services and client offerings further, ensuring GSS remain at the forefront of the industry.“

The Practice has said goodbye and good luck to Andrew Grattan, who retired from the practice at the end of May. We thank Andrew for all his hard work during his time with GSS at the Harrogate Office, and wish him a long, happy and healthy retirement.

Ryan Gorman, Architectural Assistant, is taking a temporary break to go travelling across the world, with

Mexico, Argentina, Austrailia and Fiji on his agenda.Good luck Ryan, enjoy and stay safe.

Jess Arnold and Maria Garvey have both resumed their architectural training at the University of Liverpool and the University of Westminster respectively, having completed architectural placements with us. Maria will, however, continue to work for GSS on a part-time basis.

Row 1 (L-R): Rebecca Kingston, Georgia ChesterRow 2 (L-R): Liam Twynham, Gabbie Snelling Row 3 (L-R): Alex Walker, Chris RyderRow 4 (L-R): Johnny Rezai Namaghi, Andrew VallisRow 5 (L-R): Craig Darby, Cameron KiddleRow 6 (L-R): Jennifer Geear, Gabriele AdomaityteRow 7 (L-R): Seb Smart

Clockwise from left: Paul Vega,

Darren Quincey and Christopher

Chapman.

Left to right: Andrew Grattan, Ryan Gorman, Maria Garvey and Jess Arnold

Catesby Tunnel Innovation Centre granted SEMLEP funding

Funding has now been agreed for the Catesby Tunnel Innovation Centre, designed by GSSArchitecture. Following receipt of Planning Approval in May, South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP) announced in early July that funding for the project had been finalised.

GSS is delighted to be working with TotalSim and Stepnell on the project, which is part of the Catesby Aero Research Facility (CARF). This is a unique project based around a disused railway tunnel in Northamptonshire (pictured below right), which is likely to become a worldwide benchmark for aerodynamic testing, capable of providing accurate and affordable, full-scale aerodynamic performance data. The 2740m long tunnel will allow full-scale vehicle testing in constant conditions due to the naturally stabilised environment generated from being underground.

In 2017, the tunnel project secured detailed Planning Permission to restore and convert the disused railway

tunnel into the test facility, and to build a technology park adjacent. The Innovation Centre is a key part of the development, providing a ‘hub’ facility that will bring together the automotive manufacturers, suppliers, service providers, SME’s and academia into one place to focus on collaboration and innovation around vehicle testing and development. The design of the building, based on a Victorian engine shed and station yard, draws on the site’s heritage whilst complementing the rural surroundings on the outskirts of the village of Charwelton.

The CARF development will help to position the South East Midlands as the central place to commercialise new technology, generating more of the innovation and R&D strengths of the universities and businesses within the Cambridge - Milton Keynes - Oxford Corridor. It will help to maximise and promote high-tech development and the high value specialisms that the area has in next generation vehicles and logistics.

The Catesby Tunnel Innovation Centre will provide SME’s with the facilities and advice that they need to develop ideas into pre-production products that can be tested at vehicle level. It will also enable high performance technology start-ups and early growth businesses to co-locate next to the tunnel testing facility, encouraging enterprise and innovation. The larger units on the surrounding technology park will provide space for businesses that develop and outgrow the Innovation Centre. Companies will be tackling similar problems, and people from OEM’s, SME’s and academia will be meeting spontaneously in an informal environment where they will swap experiences or bounce around ideas, which is something that happens rarely in relationships on a global scale.

The centre will accommodate a café, meeting spaces and collaborative working areas alongside rentable offices and studio space.

140th Anniversary Midsummer Drinks ReceptionOur 140th Anniversary celebrations continued with the annual Midsummer Drinks Reception, which took place in The Orangery at Barton Hall, Kettering.

Clients and guests enjoyed drinks and canapes whilst they watched live demonstrations from our in-house graphics division, 3DLabs. As a memento of GSS reaching this impressive milestone, all guests left with gift bags containing various items, including a re-usable, environmentally friendly coffee cup and a copy of our special edition 140 Anniversary Newsletter.

Barton Hall has been the venue of choice for the past 5 years, but GSSArchitecture’s link with the hotel goes

back much further. In 1938, former partner, Henry Ralph Surridge, held his retirement event in the Orangery. Our guests kindly took part in recreating the photo from Surridge’s retirement, resulting in a great keepsake for years to come.

The Midsummer Event follows on from our Newcastle Drinks Reception, held in January, and our Leeds Drinks Reception in March. Keep an eye on our social media pages for future events and other ways we will be celebrating our 140th Anniversary.

Teams smash fundraising target for MIND

Volunteer 140 Initiative

September was a busy month for teams across GSS, with numerous charity fundraising events taking place.

Firstly, our Newcastle Studio took part in The Great North Run. This half marathon is the largest of its kind in the world, with participants running from Newcastle to South Shields, totalling 13 miles. After months of training, the team successfully completed the race, setting the bar very high for those taking part in the Staff Charity Challenge later that month.

At the end of September, staff from all five of our offices took part in our annual charity event. The challenge consisted of two activities. The first, and by far the more challenging, was a 140 mile bike ride. The Coast to Coast (C2C) cycle route officially runs from Whitehaven on the west coast of Cumbria to Whitley Bay on the north east coast.

The second activity was either a 10 or 17 mile walk along the most picturesque sections of Hadrian’s Wall in the Northumberland National Park. All those taking part completed the task and met up for a well earned pie and pint in Newcastle City Centre.

So far, the combined efforts of our teams have raised over £4,500 for GSS’s charity partner for the year, MIND. There is still time to donate and contribute to this great cause! Please visit our Just Giving fundraising page at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gss-architecture1. Any donation would be greatly appreciated.

To celebrate GSS’s 140th Year, our teams, across all five offices, have committed to carrying out 140 hours of volunteering throughout 2019.

Following on from previously completed volunteering, including dog walking, gardening and charity radio show hosting, our Adminstration Team completed litter picking (for Kettering Borough Council). They chose a glorious day to carry out the litter pick of the streets surrounding the Head Office in Kettering.

In addition to our Administration Department’s efforts, a team of seven dedicated their volunteering hours to Henry Chichele Primary School in Higham Ferrers. They were tasked with painting the Community Hall, which

is used for out-of-school clubs, as well as by the local community during evenings and weekends.

Volunteering has also been completed at Stanwick Lakes, a nature reserve and at the Kettering based charity, Teamworks, where members were treated to a three course meal cooked by the GSS team.

We are delighted to announce that our teams have smashed our original target, with an impressive 152 hours being carried out so far! With a few more groups scheduled in before Christmas, we are hoping to reach 170 hours. Keep an eye on our website and social media pages for updates on this, as well as our other anniversary events.

GSS are providing architectural services for this 9-storey project in Bristol City Centre, which is set to provide 357 bedspaces, designed specifically to support the University of Bristol.

The project sits in the Redcliffe Development Quarter of Bristol and forms an important part of the exciting regeneration of this area.

In order to facilitate the £22m new build student and affordable key worker accommodation scheme the existing office block will be demolished. Scaffolding is now up at St. Thomas Street, as the basement slab starts to get broken out.

Farrans Construction have been appointed as the Main Contractor to deliver the new student accommodation, which will comprise a mix of cluster flats and studios, student social areas, a dedicated courtyard, commercial space, laundry and games area.

The building will be one of the very first in Bristol to connect to the Council-run district heating network, ensuring delivery of a new low-carbon building that forms the first stage of transforming Bristol into a carbon-neutral city by 2050.

Work starts on site at St. Thomas Street, Bristol

First school at New Lubbesthorpe Development handed overThe two-form entry primary school at New Lubbesthorpe was successfully handed over to the client in July 2019, following a 44 week construction period.

GSSArchitecture were appointed as Architects and Lead Consultant to deliver the new school for the large-scale residential development in West Leicestershire.

Once complete, the development will include 4,250 dwellings, a mixed use district centre and two mixed use local centres, featuring retail, commercial, employment, leisure, health, community and residential uses. New Lubbesthorpe is proposed to be entirely ‘green’ and the emerging masterplan has retained and protected existing landscape, ecology and heritage assets.

The school is a key landmark of the central square and provides an element of community use, including a main hall that can be operated independently from the school.

Tom Jagger, Associate at GSSArchitecture, said: “There were many factors to consider when designing the school, a simple layout allowing for natural light and ventilation will create bright and spacious internal spaces whilst a central corridor proffers naturally lit break-out spaces to encourage group learning between classrooms.

The school has been designed in a contemporary style akin to the adjacent residential development. The façade will provide an attractive street frontage, complementing and enhancing the surrounding area.”

The school building comprises largely single storey accommodation, which includes14 classrooms, a learning resources centre, hall, kitchen, staff room, studio, specialised rooms and the reception, along with external learning spaces.

The entire masterplanning scheme is based on a building philosophy that encourages wide avenues of trees and green spaces, and the school design has been developed with this in mind. The design features numerous glazed areas to maximise daylight and openable windows to provide a pleasant learning environment that is also highly sustainable, limiting the use of artificial lighting and mechanical ventilation.

The new school provides 420 spaces for pupils aged 4-11 and opened to Reception and Year 1 students in September 2019.

GSS have been commissioned to provide architectural and quantity surveying services for the refurbishment and restoration of The Hind Hotel in Wellingborough. The Grade II* Listed building dates back to the 17th century and is thought to be the place where Oliver Cromwell planned the battle of Naseby in 1645.

The project is being undertaken by the GSS Special ProjectsTeam, and is due to be completed mid 2020. The works consist of the significant conservation, repair and re-pointing of the major external elements, together with associated masonry repairs. The scheme is being funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The key focal point of the building, the Porte Cochere, has recently been surveyed and is now undergoing sympathetic conservation. With this being the entrance to the Hotel and situated on the main road, health and safety has been a huge consideration for the team.

The prominent gold hind statue, which has been an iconic part of the main facade since 1891, has been removed temporarily and placed elsewhere within the hotel for safety and protection. Once the works have been completed, the hind will be reinstated, once again taking pride of place atop the Porte Cochere.

The extensive renovation works are particularly challenging due to the Hotel being located in the centre of Wellingborough. The building will remain live throughout the duration of the works, with GSS, the Main Contractor, Stone Edge, and BCAL Consulting working collaboratively to minimise disruption to visitors and adjacent properties. The team have also been working closely with Archaeologists to record and learn more about this historic, highly interesting building.

We are delighted to announce that the Department of Education has approved plans, subject to contracts, for the Institute of Digital Technology at the historic Block D, Bletchley Park, home of the famous wartime codebreakers.

GSS have been appointed as Architects for this challenging and exciting project, which will bring significant investment into Bletchley and Milton Keynes. A group of prestigious partners, including Microsoft, KPMG, McAfee and Cranfield University, supported by Bletchley Park Trust, will lead the Institute, alongside Milton Keynes College.

The works will comprise the transformation of the currently empty wartime building, Block D, into the Institute, which will provide an inclusive centre for technical qualifications, apprenticeships, and training for key technical and digital roles, including cyber security.

Anna McTaggart, Partner, who has been leading the design for the Institute of Technology, said, “This is a fantastic project that will create a truly unique facility.”

Grade II listed hotel works gather pace

Bletchley Park development gets the green light

*

Gateway development taking shapeThe works at Corby Southern Gateway are starting to take shape now that the steel frames have been erected for two brand new retail units.

GSSArchitecture have been appointed by PGR Construction as Architect and Principal Designer for the scheme, and GSSllp have been appointed by Corby Southern Gateway as Employer’s Agent and Quantity Surveyors.

The development will provide a further range of services and amenities to the south of Corby, including a double storey McDonald’s restaurant with drive thru, Costa Coffee with drive thru, Domino’s Pizza and other retail units.

GSS previously designed the flagship filling-station at Corby Southern Gateway, which formed part of the masterplan that we created for the southern edge of Corby. The plan incorporated part of the Oakley Hay development, adjacent to the A6003, which is a key entrance to the town.

The masterplan also included commercial and retail units and parking for some 340 vehicles, together with footpaths, cycle lanes and facilities for bike parking. In all, the area covers the equivalent of just under 9 football pitches.

Successful completion of new retail unit in OlneyThe new Sainsbury’s store in Olney has been successfully completed, following 26 weeks on site. GSSArchitecture were appointed by Parkway Construction MK Ltd. as Architect and Lead Consultant to deliver the new build retail store.

The £3.2 million project consisted of the design and build of a single-storey retail store with a GIA of 1610m². The steel-framed superstructure is overlaid with a mixture of brickwork and louvre panels, with PPC aluminium curtain walling screens, doors and windows. Flat metal fascia and verge panels, together with sawn larch timber soffits, complete the very modern look of this store.

The new store, which is set to open to the public later this year, has been built on a greenfield site. The building sits in a prominent position off the roundabout on Lavendon Road, acting as a gateway into Olney.

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www.gssarchitecture.comgss@gotch.co.uk@gssarchitecturePublished: November 2019

William Assheton BA(Hons) BArch RIBA AABC Ian Bray BSc(Hons) MRICSChristopher Chapman MCIATJonathan Hunter BA(Hons) ArchTech MCIAT MCIOB FFB Thomas Lyons BA DipArch DipAP RIBAMichael Magri BA(Hons) DipArch RIBAAnna McTaggart MA MArch DipArch RIBA RIASDarren Quincey MSc MRICS MCIOBPaul Vega BSc(Hons) CEnv FCIOB MAPM

Practice AdministratorMary Lally BA(Hons) FInstAM

AssociatesRob Cundy BA(Hons) BArch RIBATom Jagger BArch MArch PGDip RIBASimon Rennison-Rae BA(Hons) DipArch RIBA

GSSArchitecture have been appointed as Architect, Principal Designer and Lead Consultant for the new Holiday Park Centre Building at Golden Sands in Northumberland.

The new leisure reception building is to be delivered in phases, in conjunction with the development of further chalets and permanent houses, over the next 5 years.

Our Kettering Team have recently completed works at Chalk Hills Academy in Luton.

The new two storey building comprises 8 classrooms, 3 science laboratories, science preparation areas and WC facilities. Ancillary works and the expansion of the existing car park have also been completed.

Our Harrogate Office has been providing Architectural Services to WSP UK Ltd., and Northern Powergrid (Northeast) Ltd., for the construction of a new building to house gas insulated switchgear for the 132kV Substation in Spennymoor, Co. Durham.

The project, which is due to start on site in the autumn, is part of a wider upgrade of power infrastructure across the region to safeguard future supplies.

Works are progressing well on site at the new Mathematical Sciences and Computer Science Building for Durham University. The external glazing and feature cladding have now been installed and works have started on the internal partitions.

The design and build project, located on Upper Mountjoy, consists of a 9,100m² GIFA teaching and research building.

The £40 million project will provide state-of-the-art learning, teaching and study spaces for the two departments, who plan to double their undergraduate student numbers by 2026/27.

Construction began in early November 2018, and the new building will be complete by summer 2020, ready for the new academic year in September.

GSSArchitecture were appointed by the Main Contractor, Sir Robert McAlpine, as Architects and Lead Consultant for the scheme, working from Stage 3 design through to completion.

GSS have worked with Durham University on numerous schemes over the past few years, including the alterations and refurbishment of the Bill Bryson Library and E-Cafe, the extension and refurbishment of the existing student accommodation blocks at Hatfield College’s Jevons Building, the development of land between Collingwood College and South Road into a multi-use games area (MUGA) and a remodelling scheme at Howlands Farm.

Latest Durham University project progressing well