BFF buildings open to the public as part of Open House London

Four Burrell Foley Fischer buildings are open to the public as part of Open House London, which takes place on 17 and 18 September 2011.  Open House London is the capital’s greatest architectural showcase; a city-wide celebration of the buildings, places and neighbourhoods where we live, work and play. It provides the general public with the chance to explore hundreds of inspiring buildings for free, which this year includes The Royal Society in Carlton House Terrace, the Almeida Theatre in Islington, Stratford Picturehouse and the Cine Lumiere at the Institut Francais. Please note that advance booking is required for some events – refer to the Open House London website for full details.

Cine Lumiere at the Institut Francais
Burrell Foley Fischer’s refurbishment of the, Listed Grade II, 228 seat Art Deco Cine Lumiere at the Institut Francais in South Kensington restores the character and quality of the interior whilst ensuring it is up to date in terms of projection and sound technology, comfort and operational flexibility.

Stratford Picturehouse

This new build four screen cinema has exhibition and café bar facilities, and a private restaurant integral to the design. The dominant feature is its projection room, a three-storey-high cylindrical drum, suspended by metal rods from the glass ceiling and running the length of the building. 

The Royal Society

The refurbishment and reorganisation of The Royal Society’s buildings entailed making better use of a unique set of Listed Grade I Nash buildings by providing a coherent, high profile, architectural setting for the society’s activities.

Details on the Royal Society Website

The Almeida Theatre

Burrell Foley Fischer have been the Almeida’s architects since 1982 working with successive generations of directors.  The theatre has been developed into a venue of exceptional quality for the performance of drama, opera and music, and for other related arts activities. 

Improving the cinematic experience for people with disabilities

The Guardian newspaper today highlights a report produced by the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign’s Trailblazers exposing the widespread second-class service people with disabilities experience in UK cinemas.

Read the Guardian report

Burrell Foley Fischer always ensures that all cinemas we design are fully accessible and provide a variety of seating positions for cinemagoers in wheelchairs and their able-bodied companions.  The Trailblazers report however found that this was unfortunately not standard practice in the industry, and that the smaller independent cinemas generally provide better access for disabled people than the major chains.

Download the full report

The report includes Stefanie Fischer’s tips for cinema operators and developers to make cinemas welcoming and accessible to all.  In the accompanying documentary, produced by the organisation, she comment’s, “Cinema designers and cinema exhibitors could be more aware and if the whole issue of how people access the auditoria is considered right from the outset then it is not difficult to provide a choice of seating positions”.

Watch the documentary

BFF's remodelling and refurbishment of Broadway, Nottingham's Media Centre, in a converted former Methodist Chapel was given an ADAPT award in 1998.  Our conversion of Norwich Cinema City from a single to a three-screen proved that it is possible to make a fully accessible venue even in a Grade I Listed building.  It won the National Local Authority Building Control Built in Quality Award 2008 for the Best Project for Access or compliance with Disability Regulations.  

The report also features Stratford East Picturehouse, designed by Burrell Foley Fischer, as an example of best practice, commenting “the cinema demonstrates that architects clearly considered accessibility when planning the new design.  There is inclusive access throughout the cinema and at no point does a disabled person feel segregated”.

Conservation award for Norwich Cinema City

We were very proud to be presented with The Norwich Society’s inaugural “Sir Bernard Fielden Award” for excellence in alternations and restoration of an historic building, for our remodelling and refurbishment of Norwich Cinema City.  The award was created in memory of Sir Bernard Fielden, one of the world’s leading authorities on the conservation of historic buildings.  The award, a model of one of the Assyrian lions outside Norwich City Hall,  sculptured by Do Philips and cast by John Hardy, will be passed to the next recipient of the bi-annual award this autumn.

Norwich Cinema City was converted from a single-screen to a three-screen, digitally equipped, venue to secure its future.  The cinema occupies a converted medieval hall house, Listed Grade I, that was extended in the 1920’s by Boardman, a notable local architect, to create an assembly hall on the footprint of the garden to the house.  Excavation of the area occupied by the twentieth century hall created space for the additional screens below a main screen similar in size and capacity to the previous single screen. 

The front-of-house facilities are housed in the medieval parts of the building, with the main hall providing a café bar restaurant, ‘The Bar and Dining Rooms’.  Additional seating for drinkers and diners is provided in the covered medieval courtyard to the rear and a terrace to the front of the building, all of which combines to provide an oasis of calm in the city centre.

Visit the Cinema City website

Restaurants open at Castle Quay, Bedford

The Riverside Grill has opened at Castle Quay in Bedford.  This new restaurant offers diners a stylish and artistic environment to enjoy a combination of food and art, showcasing the talent of staff and students of Bedford College.  This is the first to open of the three restaurants units on the development, all with  a south facing terrace overlooking the River Ouse and the Castle Bailey Gardens archaeological site.

Castle Quay, a Burrell Foley Fischer designed multi-use development, comprises in addition to the restaurants, 108 flats, eight speciality shops and an archaeological park. The project is built on the site of the inner and outer bailey of Bedford Castle and within the curtiledge of a Scheduled Ancient Monument, with six months of archeology preceding the construction works.

Visit the Bedford Riverside Grill Website

New Forum for the Royal Academy of Engineering starts on site

Work has begun to remodel and refurbish Nos 3 and 4 Carlton House Terrace, London, (Listed Grade I) to form the new Forum for the Royal Academy of Engineering, designed by Burrell Foley Fischer LLP.

The forum will create an invigorating venue, bringing world-class engineers together from round the world and fostering the exchange of ideas and expertise.  The venue will include new lecture and conference facilities, exhibition areas and upgraded accommodation for Fellows, visitors and staff.  The new forum will open in April 2012.

Visit the Royal Academy of Engineering Website

Planning Permission received for another Homes for Islington Scheme

A Burrell Foley Fischer scheme for two new build dwellings and the creation of a new mews and landscaped square utilising existing redundant garages for Homes for Islington, has been approved by the Local Planning Authority.

The affordable housing for rent at Vulcan Way on the Westbourne Estate includes 15 new single bedroom flats accessed from ground level and 2 three bedroom family houses with outside garden space at ground level.  The houses have access to gardens and adjacent disabled persons parking and are suitable as mobility standard dwellings.

This comprehensively considered scheme creates a new landscaped mews with trees with the vacant garages converted to dwellings. This will inject new life, activity and security at ground level.  There is a new railed off public garden as part of the scheme. Currently the site has 100% coverage in tarmac with no planting whatsoever.  Modified upper walkway balustrading will also bring more light and passive surveillance to the new mews.

Cambridge Arts Theatre reveals "Act 2" proposals

The Cambridge Arts Theatre has revealed details of their redevelopment plans to an invited audience at Kings College Chapel.  The new building project, termed "Act 2" is their vision to secure the Theatre's future through the creation of new foyer and performing spaces.  The Burrell Foley Fischer designed scheme includes a new Studio Theatre to facilitate the staging of new and experimental work.

Building on both John Maynard Keynes' founding vision and the legacy of their early nineties refurbishment their stated intention is ensure the sustainability of this wonderful theatrical institution for the long term benefit of the Cambridge community.

Read press coverage of the launch here

Park Studios at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts officially opened

Park Studios, five new dance studios designed by Burrell Foley Fischer, were officially opened today by The Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire, the Countess of Verulam.

Crucible Theatre wins Design Award on eve of 2011 Snooker World Championships

As it prepares to host the 2011 World Snooker Championships, the Crucible Theatre has been recognised in the LABC South Yorkshire and Humber Building Excellence Awards 2011.  The Burrell Foley Fischer designed refurbishment and remodelling was awarded Best Restoration and Conversion.

The refurbishment and remodelling has revived and restored this Grade II Listed building. The front of house areas have been extended providing a new and welcoming frontage onto Tudor Square, new function rooms and allowing the box office to be moved from the bowels of the building closer to the main entrance.  The integrity of the original design has been reinstated and extended and the auditoria and back of house areas have been refurbished. High quality finishes have been achieved by using contemporary materials that respect the original design intent.

The works were carefully phased and had to be completed on time to allow the venue to reopen each year for the televised World Snooker Championships.  This years tournament begins tomorrow.

New images of the Dance Studios at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts

The new Dance Studios, designed by Burrell Foley Fischer LLP have been photographed by Gentle Visions Photography.

Dance as a discipline demands a considerable amount of space and the consequent footprint (918 sq m) of the five new studios to be accommodated within the historic grounds presented a significant challenge, especially on a low budget. Ballet technique, in particular, is based on a lightness of expression, defying the pull of gravity and so vertical space, height and light to enhance the sculptural form of the dancers’ bodies are important ingredients of the physical space.

Because of the new building’s potential bulk, a decision was made to relate it to the wooded setting, taking a soft approach to its architectural form, which would sit comfortably in a green corner of the site. The new studios are broken into two blocks, with the first part comprising two studios aligning with the orthogonal layout of existing buildings and the second block of three studios fronting the exit from the grotto tunnel and aligning with the former tennis court and adjacent Park Street just beyond the school boundary. A low, flat roofed zone forming a social foyer space and informal teaching area links the two taller parts of the building housing the studio spaces.

The internal heights of the dance studios reach 6.0 m at their curved apex and reduce to 4.0 m towards the eaves. Externally, the eaves are kept intentionally low to reduce the profile of the building while the curved apex and wild flower meadow roof soften the building into the landscape. Randomly spaced red cedar posts along the extended elevations echo the vertical tree trunks on the site, while new trees were planted to layer the building into its setting. The diffused quality of natural light, the essential medium through which dancers move, and the well tempered acoustic, provides an uplifting environment for dance.