BFF 30th Anniversary - Renoir Cinema

The facelift of the former Gate Bloomsbury was completed in 1986 within just seven weeks and, on a budget of £80,000.  Notwithstanding the tight budget the scheme successfully evoked the feel of a French Art House and attracted a loyal cinema going audience.  The decoration incorporates cream walls with a curve free pattern in dark grey.  The bar has a black laquer finish, mirrors and the carpet was designed to reinterpret the entrances to 1930’s French apartment buildings. 

There was insufficient budget to readdress problems arising from the twinning of the original single screen however new seating was installed in light blue velvet and the front of house areas improved.  The strong graphic identity for the Renoir is used to mark the entrance through a Miesian box on the forecourt to the Brunswick Centre.  This has proved to be an inspiration to photographers and we have curated a collection of our favorites published on Flickr.     

Click here to see the full size images on Flickr

Visit the Renoir cinema website

BFF appointed to the School of Arts, Birkbeck, University of London

We have been commissioned to refurbish and remodel the main reception areas for the School of Arts at Birkbeck, University of London.  The School of Arts occupies 39 – 47 Gordon Square, Listed Grade II, in Bloomsbury and wish to create a stylish, flexible space that provides a distinctive image for the School, including reception, exhibition and teaching spaces.

Thomas Cubitt, then London’s best-known builder, developed Gordon Square in the 1820s. It is famous for its association with the Bloomsbury Group, a collective of intellectuals, writers and artists, including Virginia Woolf and E.M. Forster, who lived and worked around Bloomsbury in the first half of the 20th century.  The economist John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946) lived at 46 Gordon Square, which is marked by a blue plaque. The same house was used by the Bloomsbury Group when the painter Vanessa Bell lived there before Keynes.


Visit the Birkbeck School of Arts Website

BFF 30th Anniversary - Brighton West Pier

Burrell Foley Fischer LLP was appointed by St Modwen Properties Plc as heritage architects for the restoration of the West Pier in Brighton.  A full architectural scheme for the restoration of the pier to its original design was prepared by the Practice, based upon a combination of surveys of the remaining structure and historic research.  However a catastrophic storm in June 2004 brought restoration plans to a halt. 

John Burrell’s association with the Pier goes back to his student days when he prepared measured drawings of the kiosks and the entire pier.  These are now deposited with the Royal Commission for Historic Monuments.

BFF 30th Anniversary - Bliss Mill

The Restored Mill

Burrell Foley Fischer LLP was commissioned to bring a new lease of life to the derelict buildings of Bliss Mill, Listed Grade II, built by William Bliss II in 1873 for the weaving of high-quality tweeds. The project involved converting and restoring the main Mill Building, the weaving shed, the Warping House, the Lodge House and outbuildings into residential accommodation, with landscaped grounds, a swimming pool, squash courts, tennis courts and other leisure facilities for use by residents. The restoration work included administering an English Heritage Grant for fabric repairs.

The Derelict Mill prior to restoration

Stefanie featured in the AJ Women in Practice Special Issue

Stefanie is amongst sixty female Practice Directors and Partners featured in the "Women in Practice" special edition of the Architects' Journal.  She reveals that she became an Architect as a result of visits to her grandmother in Vienna, where she developed an interest in Wagner, Hoffman, Olbrich and Loos.

Christine Murray, the editor of the AJ, states that the purpose of the issue is "to give aspiring female architects the courage and determination to pursue a successful career in architecture".

Read the Special AJ issue - Stefanie's on Page 51

BFF 30th Anniversary - Frensham Heights Performing Arts Centre

The performing arts centre is a new theatre built for both teaching use and public performance, including dance, drama and music.  The auditorium, with a seating capacity of 340, is modelled on double cube proportions, creating a very adaptable space rising in three tiers to an exposed, trussed rafter roof.  Staging can be arranged in a variety of layouts to suit the performance space required: from an open-end stage to a proscenium frame; and from a thrust stage to theatre-in-the-round.  The seating can be electronically retracted to the rear wall to give a level floor surface throughout.  Each of the staging configurations can be set up by three people in about 45 minutes.

The building is sited within the grounds of an Edwardian Mansion, which accommodates the main part of the school, in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.  It rests calmly behind a screen of mature oak trees, through which the lively foyer areas can be seen from the direction of approach.

Awards for the building include The Farnham Society Amenity Award 2001, The Royal Fine Art Commission/Sky TV ‘Building of the Year Award’ in the Education Category 2001, The Timber Industry Award 2001, The Waverley Design Award 2001 and a Civic Trust Award 2003.

Visit the Frensham Heights School website