The Northamptonshire Society of Architects (NSA) has organised an exhibition celebrating the work of small to medium sized architecture practices in Northamptonshire. The exhibition, funded by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), is now on display to the public and free to visit up until 14th April 2013.

Our practice is  showcasing four projects for private and commercial clients and Lucy Collins, our year out student designed the logo and invitations for the exhibition. The preview evening held on 1^st February was attended by eighty guests from across the county and Harry Rich, the RIBA’s Chief Executive will be visiting the exhibition in March.

The chosen venue at 78 Derngate is one of the key architectural sites situated within The Cultural Quarter of Northampton. Remodeled by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1916 for the Bassett Lowke family, the building stands as an icon for the Arts and Crafts movement. Details of the building, its opening times and location can be found here.

We have posted below some images to give you a taster of the exhibition. Please visit 78 Derngate to view the full display and help us celebrate the contemporary work of  Northamptonshire’s architects’ practices.

MBE for the Wellingborough HOPE Project.

It was announced by Buckingham Palace last summer that the Wellingborough based HOPE Project was to receive The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. This prestigious award recognises excellence in voluntary activities carried out by groups in their local community and was awarded to The HOPE Project for the support they have given families and individuals on the deprived Hemmingwell Estate.

The HOPE Project was founded in 2002 and has grown to support local residents through a range of activities including a popular youth club, family support service, music workshop and adult learning. In order to facilitate these activities Morton Wykes Kramer were commissioned in 2009 to refurbish the Hemmingwell Community Centre. Read more about our project on its project page. 

The Wellingborough Mayor, Cllr Ken Harrington joined the charity in celebrating its achievement at a formal presentation within the Community Center last November.

We are very pleased to see the Hope group’s hard work gaining the recognition it deserves and have enjoyed the small part we have played in their amazing achievement.

We are delighted to introduce you to our new team member Lucy Collins. Lucy graduated from her first stage of architectural training from The University of Liverpool in July. She will be with us for a year to complete her professional experience before returning to university to continue her architectural studies. Lucy is interested in sustainable architecture as well as the conservation and the restoration of historic buildings.

Honda Bracknell Open for Business.

We are pleased to announce that our latest Honda car showroom for The Cloverleaf Group in Bracknell is now open for business. The building originally housed Honda’s Formula One development team and is now one of the largest stand-alone Honda car showrooms in Europe.

Below is a brief description of the interior spaces. There are also pictures available to view on the project page (click here)

The showroom’s courtyard style entrance can be found on the south of the site beneath a large steel canopy. It’s warm up-lighted timber decking leads you from the car park into the building. Upon entering you are greeted by the bright, distinctly Honda double height interior where the use of simple lines create the ideal environment in which to frame the new Honda range of cars.

The vehicles are displayed along the entire length of the front façade with up to 60 ‘Approved Used’ vehicles visible in the forecourt through the full height glazed curtain walling. The key customer spaces have been accented in warm colours creating comfortable zones within the larger space.

The central core of the building forms the administration and workshop space with a seven-bay workshop providing service and repair work. Further dedicated bays offer MOT testing and wheel alignment facilities. The third strip of the building, to the extreme rear of the site, is used for the storage of spare parts and staff parking.

Why not visit the building yourself and view Honda’s new range of  modern and fuel-efficient cars. Bracknell Honda, London Road, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 9RF

New Housing Scheme in the Cotsworlds.

Warwickshire Rural Housing Association’s development of eight houses at Millers Way in the picturesque village of Lower Brailes has now been completed.

Villagers and councillors  have supported the scheme, built on the edge of the Cotswold’s Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, as it will provide much-needed affordable homes for the local community.

Our new development has been built under Stratford-on-Avon District Council’s ‘Local Choice Initiative’ meaning that only villagers or those with a strong connection to Brailes will be able to live there.

Because of  the scheme’s sensitive location the homes have been built with gable roofs and carefully selected materials to ensure they blend in with surrounding buildings. A four-meter buffer zone of  hedgerows and shrubs have been planted behind the development and a large open space has been provided in front of the homes.

The scheme has been built to The Lifetime Homes Standard, so they are easily accessible and adaptable to meet the changing needs of their residents. The homes also boast energy-saving features such as air-source heating systems.

National Home Improvement Show.

If you are toying with the idea of improving your home and are looking for a few ideas to get you inspired why not join us at the National Home Improvement Show this September. The show, held at Olympia London between the 28^th & 30^th, is one of the UK’s leading exhibitions and is a one stop shop for all your home improvement needs.

Whether you’re looking to add space to your home, enhance the value of your property, create an extension, convert your loft or re-configure your internal space – The Show is crammed full of products, services and advice to suit all needs and budgets.

And the best bit is that as we are exhibiting we are able to offer you tickets for the show for FREE. To claim your tickets simply click on the image on the left and follow the on screen instructions! Our stand is F130 so please do come and visit us and we would be happy to offer you advice on everything from the new Planning Regulations to the latest sustainable technologies. See you there!

It isn’t often that a practice is asked to design an experience centre for an events company but that’s just what happened to practice partner Dominic Kramer.

Expecting to be working on a warehouse refurbishment, he was asked to produce a concept drawing for the experience centre.

Dominic was able to draw on his experience designing marinas for British Waterways to design the site which is located around three lakes. Whilst currently in its conceptual phase, the project will allow visitors to experience motorcycles and quad vehicles in both on and off the road conditions as well as use jet skis and other marine craft. The layout also incorporates a welcome centre, restaurant and changing facilities to get clean after all of that off road action.

Tompkins Knight & Son Optometrists have been looking after the eyesight of Northampton’s residents for a staggering 140 years! 30 years of which has been from their premises off Kingsley Road.

Part of the longevity of the practice comes from its commitment to pursuing innovative medical technology whilst maintaining the traditional high service and personal touches that patients appreciate.

It was with this in mind that proprietor Brian Tompkins approached us to come up with a proposal to replace what was an outdated conservatory into a modern but sympathetic entrance to the rear of the Victorian building.

Working closely with the clients, the Engineers RAS and Contractors Hauge Wilkins, our design was for an open plan reception and product display area which utilises a large area of glass to create a light elegant space with views over The Racecourse.

Sections of timber cladding and metal flashing add interest to the building exterior. The footprint of the old conservatory has been retained and a customer patio area has been incorporated with new steps and handrails.

As you move further into the opticians towards the private consultation rooms the building’s original features are on display, including the restored mosaic floored hallway.

We have welcomed this opportunity from the optometrists to expand our portfolio in the healthcare sector.

Bells Motor Group.

We have always enjoyed our work designing showrooms for the motor industry and we were very proud to discover in the April edition of The Financial Times an article which praised our recently completed extension to Bells Motor Group in Northampton.

The facility, designed by Morton Wykes Kramer’s partner Jim Morton, was identified as significantly contributing to the Volvo dealership achieving this year’s converted Volvo Quality Award. The award is only presented to a select few dealerships which can demonstrate quality throughout all their operations.

The article describes how the new £1million pound state of the art service center has made Bells Motor Group into a ‘flagship dealership not just for the (Volvo) brand but for the industry’. The alterations designed by Jim and constructed by Warwick Burt include a new ten bay workshop which is fully equipped with the latest one man specialist MOT equipment.

The dealerships customers have the opportunity to view the state of the art workshop and Bell’s skilled technicians at work via a unique specially designed customer area which features a floor to ceiling viewing window from the service center reception into the workshop. In the words of director Clive Bell it provides ‘a window into the world under the bonnet’ and has proved very popular with customers.

By overhauling the showrooms workshop and increasing the connection between the service reception and the superb showroom we are very please to have assisted in the dealerships success. We are also very pleased that the dealership have approached us for assistance on their next potential venture – we’ll keep you posted!

New Restaurant Mezzanine

Walton High Mezzanine.

This month we are delighted to see that the new restaurant Morton Wykes Kramer has designed for Walton High School in Milton Keynes is now being used and enjoyed by students and staff alike. A 220m² bespoke steel frame mezzanine was introduced by Morton Wykes Kramer Partner Dominic Kramer as a cost effective solution to solve the problem of the schools overcrowded canteen.

This is the second mezzanine we have installed at the school the first being to upgrade the library’s ICT facilities. We have found this to be a cost effective and aesthetically pleasing solution to tight budgets and the increasing need for space.

 As is common with alterations of this nature the construction requires specialist skilled equipment such as ‘micro’ drilling machines which are capable of getting inside the existing building fabric. It is to this end that we would like to extend our thanks to the contractors involved in the different phases of this project; Wright and Smith, Sutton Construction and Warwick Burt. We would also like to thank our Student architect Charlotte Rosier for her contribution to the project and her sourcing, delivery and coordination of the canteens furnishings and servery equipment.