Re-Format

Re-Format’s annual study trip this year was to Valencia, Southern Spain. Guided by a local architect we toured this intriguing city and gained a great insight into its unique urban development. The most impressive feature of Valencia is the 18km long linear urban park that was created in the vast disused river bed of the Turia when the waterway had to be diverted due to devastating floods.

Re-Format has submitted a detailed planning application for a new hall and 7 classroom extension to Lindfield Primary School. The project for West Sussex County Council also creates a dynamic new reception entrance providing additional staff and community facilities.

Re-Format won the commission in an invited architectural competition to design 28 dwellings in a sensitive rural location. The scheme sensitively responds to the unique character of the specific edge of the village location in Pensford near Bristol with the use of local building vernacular.

Work has commenced on our scheme for a bold contemporary addition to Wandsworth. The house, built within the grounds of an existing house fronting Wandsworth Common, is expected to complete early in the new year.

Re-Format has secured planning permission for an 8 classroom extension and remodelling of Arunside Primary School in Worthing. The project is being constructed by Sunninghill Construction for West Sussex County Council and is due to start on site in May.

Re-Format has launched a unique interactive guide to the principles of ‘designing out crime’. The online tool seeks to raise the standard in how such guidance is disseminated and engage new audiences to raise awareness of the Secured by Design principles.

Construction has begun to expand and restore a Grade II listed barn and farm complex to create Re-Format’s enlarged studio and conference facilities.

The new premises are conveniently located in Petersfield, Hampshire near to the mainline railway station and adjacent to the A3 for easy access.

Re-Format has submitted a detailed planning application to Wokingham Borough Council for a new £6 million gateway building and independent Student Support Centre at The Bulmershe School, Woodley.

Creating a dynamic new reception entrance, the gateway building adds a new 6th form centre, school hall and teaching block to the school’s existing accommodation.

Re-Format have secured planning permission for an 8 classroom extension and remodeling of Downsbrook Middle School in Worthing. The project which is out to tender is for West Sussex County Council and is due to start on site in April.”

Re-Format has won planning consent for 7 contemporary dwellings in Winchester.

The scheme provides a high density development on the sites of 2 existing properties and is our second successful project for Hazeley Developments.

Bolnore Village Primary School, shortlisted amongst twelve other schemes, has been chosen as Overall Winner at the Mid Sussex Design Awards 2012. The school is the first new build, parent-promoted, self-governing primary school in the country.

The panel unanimously agreed noting that the “highly successful building”, designed by Re-Format, “delivers an ambitious brief and achieves a high standard across a number of criteria”.

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This major £4.2m extension and reorganisation of an existing primary school adjacent to Twickenham stadium reorganises the existing two form entry school to add a further form entry to provide a 630 place primary school. We identified two existing buildings to retain which then required re-linking. Our solution was to create a piece of origami which folds, adapting in form to provide entrances, views, canopies and light and ultimately to connect the two disparate blocks. The result is a unified and free flowing series of spaces; a reworking of the inward facing school to provide welcoming public spaces with a real sense of community outreach. Headteacher Andrew King said ‘Working with Re-Format has been a pleasure – always friendly, helpful and professional. As well as initiating creative designs they have also listened to ideas from the school and interpreted them in ways that work aesthetically and practically. Our new school building certainly has something of a ‘wow’ factor!’

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The innovative £11m Woodlands Meed special
school has opened for the new academic year
in Burgess Hill. The two-storey school designed
by Re-Format provides 130 places for 2-14 year
olds and includes a series of external garden
rooms that allow natural light and ventilation
to penetrate into the heart of the building.
The principal of this flagship scheme Gill Perry
said “I feel very lucky and privileged to be the
head teacher of this beautiful new school.”

click here for more project details

Re-Format’s annual study trip this year was to Hamburg in northern Germany. Guided by a local architect we toured this great city and were shown many fine examples of contemporary architecture and urban planning – from houseboats to the new HafenCity (HarbourCity) and everything inbetween.

We are delighted to welcome Dan Brunt and Mark Walker to the office. Dan, formerly an associate at BDP and Mark, a senior technician also of BDP, will contribute excellent design skills and technical expertise to our studio team.

Re-Format’s new £3.8 m building four-storey building for the charity Step by Step has been shortlisted for an award in the prestigious CIH (Chartered Institute of Housing) 2012 awards. The scheme has been selected for the Specialist Housing Provider of the Year category and acknowledges the multi-faceted requirements of this unique project.

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Partner, Stephen Lampard has written this article for Architect’s Choice magazine. The article discusses the importance of secure residential design in contemporary architecture and how Re-Format’s interactive toolkit for Secured by Design is helping to build an understanding of security in housing developments and highlight best practice solutions.

You can read the full article here and the magazine editorial here.

For the fifth year running Re-Format has been shortlisted for this national award. The scheme in Farnham is for a terrace of 9 houses built into an embankment with unique roof gardens. The site is next to the listed Bourne Mill in Farnham and planning consent was won on appeal with the inspector remarking on the ingenuity of the solution.

For more information, view our project page here

Visit the Housing Design Awards website here

Gosport Railway Station receives Commendation Award at the 2012 Civic Trust Awards in Edinburgh.

Our innovative conversion of the Grade II* former railway station was given this prestigious award at the awards dinner hosted in Edinburgh. The project was chosen from 306 star studded international submissions. Notably the scheme was the only social housing scheme alongside other award winners which included glamorous museums and galleries both in the UK and abroad.

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Planning permission has been granted for a dramatic contemporary house set within the Wandsworth Common Conservation Area.

Following a protracted planning history, a forward thinking client charged new architects, Re-Format with achieving planning permission for a large family house in the sensitive conservation area of Wandsworth Common and Re-Format could not resist the challenge.

Wandsworth Planners granted permission for the low energy 400 sq m 6 bedroomed home noting that the contemporary approach “results in a modern building which sits comfortably within the site and minimises the impact on the surroundings”.

Owner Gerald Divall commented “After numerous false starts it was a relief to meet the team at Re-Format. Their collaborative approach and willingness to listen was in stark contrast to our previous experience. They skilfully navigated their way through numerous planning issues to produce this stunning modern design, which has surpassed all our expectations”.

Re-Format has achieved detailed planning consent for the substantial remodelling of the Millmead Centre, home of Guildford Baptist Church. Planning consent within the Guildford Conservation Area was granted in late December 2011.

Re-Format has won planning consent on appeal for a bespoke development of 9 four storey town houses at Bourne Mill Farnham. The inspector described the design as “ingeniously designed to fit into a seemingly very constrained site.”

Sensitive housing design on rear gardens gains planning consent.

Despite the popular view that so called ‘garden grabbing’ has been outlawed Re-Format has achieved planning consent in Winchester for four new dwellings as a replacement of one. The scheme was acknowledged by the planners as being very well conceived and demonstrates that good design in response to planning policies is the key to achieving development permission.

If you would like to know more please contact stephen.lampard@re-format.co.uk

Re-Format has gained a detailed planning approval for a dramatic contemporary commercial scheme in one of Nottingham’s most historic and attractive areas. The mixed use scheme creates two attractive ‘urban courtyards’ and a major new pedestrian route in the heart of the renowned ‘Lace Market’ conservation area.

The project provides a total of approximately 10,000 square metres of commercial space in both new state of the art ‘Grade A’ office accommodation and within converted listed buildings. The scheme also benefits from 78 car parking spaces located in two basement levels.

The building is anticipated to achieve a BREEAM excellent rating and to attain a 17% reduction in carbon emissions through connection to the district heating system.

Visit the project page here

Re-Format’s Langley Green Centre has been chosen for the best new building award at the West Sussex County Council Design and Sustainability Awards. The project combines a new community centre, children’s centre and new entrance and administration for the Langley Green Primary School.

West Sussex County Council has run an award scheme every 2 years, promoting and celebrating the construction and restoration of buildings and open spaces throughout the county since 1978. Previous winners have included Heatherwick Studio, Walters and Cohen and Penoyre and Prasad

The judges commented “An extremely well designed bold addition to an existing neighbourhood that contained valuable new facilities for the community. This is a modern design that creates a real sense of place.”

More Images can be found here

Re-Format’s design for a ground breaking Community Fire Station in Weymouth has opened to widespread acclaim. Constructed by Morgan Sindall for Dorset Fire and Rescue, the unique transparency of the building puts on show the fire fighting machinery as well as inviting the public in to promote full community engagement with the fire safety and prevention service. The building includes a real fire education centre called ‘Firewise’, also designed by Re-Format.

The new building for the charity Step by Step has opened in the centre of Aldershot. The £3.8 m four-storey building includes living accommodation for 30 young people and also houses a training room, IT suite, support services, interview rooms and staff offices. The multi-faceted requirements of this unique project were meticulously designed into the new ‘eye-catching’ building to maximise the available space whilst creating inviting and generous internal spaces.
“I really like being in the new building,” says Jordon Jones one of the first new residents, “I like having my own personal space but also enjoy being part of what feels like a close knit family.”

More Images can be found here

Canford School has just been given planning consent for a major external and internal remodelling and new build to provide a central teaching facility comprising chemistry physics, maths, economics and classics together with a new IT suite. Working drawings have commenced with a start on site planned for early 2012.

Step by Step, Aldershot – Young Persons Hostel and Training Centre is currently in construction.

This short-stay residential accommodation for young people comprises 18 en-suite bedrooms and four no. four-bedroom flats for Sentinel Housing Association. It includes communal facilities, community teaching and counselling facilities and administration space.

The building uses a central combined heat and power unit which was selected for its low running cost, centralised system and appropriateness for the scheme.

This was a complex multi client and user project for Sentinel Housing Association and Step by Step, a local charity that ran their operation from a series of inadequate premises in Aldershot. The project gained backing from multiple funding bodies including the Homes & Communities Agency, Dept for Communities & Local Government (a 'Places of Change’ grant) and seven local authorities (Hampshire CC, Rushmoor BC, Hart DC, Waverley DC, East Hampshire DC, Surrey Heath DC, Basingstoke & Deane DC).

Re-Format’s Langley Green Centre was officially opened last week.

The project is a simple and innovative new building jointly funded by WSCC and CBC as part of the Langley Green Regeneration Project.

The scheme will be the first of its kind in West Sussex comprising of a new SureStart Children’s Centre, new school entrance and admin facilities for Langley Green Primary School and a new community centre . This will replace the existing undersized community centre which will become a youth centre.

The design has been conceived as a simple and elegant framed pavilion which is punctuated by a glass clad double height hall. The centre creates a strong linear form using precise in-situ exposed concrete columns and soffit frame which is in filled with tonal colours of Trespa panels.

More project images can be found here

Mid-Sussex Special School, a £15 million development designed by Re-Format has just received planning consent.

The proposed two-storey school will provide 130 places for 2-14 year olds and a nursery on the campus shared by London Meed Primary School and Oakmeeds Community College.

The plans were approved unanimously by the West Sussex Planning Committee on Tuesday, November 30.

More Images can be found here

An exciting remodelling and extension of St Polycarp’s RC Primary School in Farnham has just commenced on site. The new entrance forum, administration wing and four new classrooms are due to be completed by the end of summer 2011.

Re-Format Your House was launched in November and featured in Grand Designs magazine. This is an extension of our design service aimed at bringing bespoke housing to a broader market, infused with sustainability.

Please see our dedicated site here

Re-Format has submitted for planning & listed building consent this contemporary new office complex on the historic cliff edge of the Lace Market conservation area in Nottingham.

The scheme provides 75,000 square feet of office accommodation in both new and renovated buildings with 80 covered car parking spaces.

Read more about the project here