BFF 30th Anniversary - Tomorrow's New Communities

A concept using the contemporary vision of a small town to inform the transformation of former asylums (often with listed buildings and landscapes) into communities or urban quarters.

John Burrell’s ground-breaking and award-winning work on the reuse of institutional brownfield NHS land was published in 1987 with the aid of an RIBA Research Award as ‘The Psychiatric Hospital as a New Community’. It has had far-reaching influence on planning policy and John Burrell became a member of the Labour Party working group on Urban Design and Planning.

In 1991 it was the outright winner of the joint Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Town and Country Planning Association competition for ‘Tomorrow’s New Communities’ for new settlements between 4,000 and 10,000 people.

BFF 30th Anniversary - Institute for Government

The Institute for Government is an independent centre formed in 2008 to help make government more effective. They aims are to carry out research, look into the big governance challenges of the day and find ways to help government improve, rethink and sometimes see things differently.  Burrell Foley Fischer LLP were the Architects for the refurbishment and remodelling of the Institute’s new Listed Grade II* headquarters in Central London. 

The building incorporates space for researchers, training and social events, a boardroom, a lecture theatre, meeting rooms, offices, a library and dining and reception facilities.  

BFF 30th Anniversary - Harbour Lights Cinema, Southampton

A landmark building located in the former P&O docks, provides two auditoria for film and video exhibition and conferences, an exhibition space, a café bar and education facilities.  The design celebrates the experience of cinema going, and being the antithesis of the black-box space, it provides a contrast to its multiplex rivals.  The foyers, café bar and offices have an open aspect which fully exploit the centre’s dockside location.

The building, completed in 1995, was shortlisted for The Sunday Times/Royal Fine Art Commission Building of the Year Award 1995 and gained a Civic Trust Commendation 1997.  Harbour Lights is attributed with having had a leading influence on the design of a new generation of cinemas.

Faye Davies accepted onto RIBA Conservation Register

We are pleased to announce that Faye Davies, an Architect in the Practice, has been accepted on to the RIBA Conservation Register.  The register enables those looking to commission work on heritage buildings to find architects with the specific skills and experience they require, encompassing all aspects of historic building conservation, repair and maintenance.

The Royal Society History of Science Centre

Faye has extensive experience in the conservation of Historic Buildings and has been the Project Architect on a number of projects involving the repair, conservation and remodelling of buildings Listed Grade I, Grade II* and Grade II.  She has completed the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings "The Repair of Old Buildings" course and has a strong track record of working on historic buildings from feasibility to completion. 

The Academy of Medical Sciences

Faye was the Project Architect on the refurbishment of an early Georgian terraced house linked to a mews house (Listed Grade II), into a family residence, the refurbishment of 41 Portland Place (Listed Grade II*), to form the new headquarters of the Academy of Medical Sciences and the refurbishment of rooms in the Carlton House Terrace headquarters of the Royal Society (Listed Grade I) to form their History of Science Centre.  She is currently working on the refurbishment of a Crown Estate property on the edge of Regent's Park (Listed Grade II) to form a private residence for a private client.   

BFF 30th Anniversary - Theatre Royal Winchester

The building started life in 1850 as a market hotel and through a number of transformations became a cine-variety theatre.  It was subsequently used as a cinema until the mid 1970s when it was brought back into use as a theatre after threatened demolition.  Prior to development, the Theatre Royal suffered from extremely cramped front- and back-of-house areas.  The acquisition of two adjacent Listed Georgian terraced buildings offered the opportunity for comprehensive renovation and extension of the existing building.

Burrell Foley Fischer LLP won a design competition to develop a new strategy for the Theatre, providing a new entrance foyer, a bar foyer in a covered courtyard, improved stage and backstage facilities, as well as a comprehensive programme of refurbishment and improvements to the auditorium, seating capacity 420. Careful articulation of the building’s surface textures, materials and spaces has allowed the history of successive generations of use to be revealed while opening up new and delightful spaces.

Awards for the building include The Winchester City Council Award for Good Architecture 2001 and a Civic Trust Award 2003.

BFF 30th Anniversary - British Museum Temporary Shop

Happy New Year.  2012 marks the thirtieth anniversary of Burrell Foley Fischer.  Over that period we have become recognised as one of the leading practices specialising in buildings for cinema, media and the performing arts, together with urban design, residential and educational design and the adaptation and restoration of historic buildings. We are proud that the buildings designed by the Practice stand the test of time and are being used and enjoyed by large numbers of people every single day, whether as places to live, to work, to learn, to collaborate or simply to socialise and relax.

Over the course of this anniversary year we will take the opportunity to look back at a number of our schemes, those that were built and those that never progressed beyond the drawing board (of course in the early days it really was the drawing board!).  Starting with a project designed to exist for just three years...

Burrell Foley Fischer LLP won a design competition in July 1997 to design a temporary shop on the forecourt of the British Museum while the existing shop was decommissioned for the Great Court Project.  The challenge was to design a contemporary building that could sit happily in front of Smirke’s great portico and that would provide an accessible, enticing environment for trading by December 1997.

A simple trabeated structure of large Douglas Fir sections, reflecting the rhythm of the adjacent colonnade, allowed the shop to evoke references to the origins of the Museum’s classical architecture in the primitive hut.  The shop was designed so that it could be taken down after three years leaving no trace on the forecourt, obviating the need for Listed Building Consent.

Merry Christmas from all at Burrell Foley Fischer LLP

A Rolls-Royce engine, the inspiration for the design of the reception desk at the new Forum for the Royal Academy of Engineering, opening in Spring 2012.

Marimeko shop opens in Cambridge

A new shop, Nord, is open in Cambridge, with a fit-out designed by Burrell Foley Fischer.  Nord is the latest of the 32 Marimekko shops in the United Kingdom and can be found in Bridge Street. 

Marimekko, established in 1951, is a Finnish textile and clothing design company renowned for its original prints and colours. The company designs and manufactures high-quality clothing, interior decoration textiles, bags and other accessories.  The design uses clean lines and neutral colours in order to give prominence to the merchandise.

Stefanie Fischer gives evidence to All Party Parliamentary Group for Young Disabled People

Stefanie Fischer today gave evidence to the All Party Parliamentary Group for Young Disabled People as part of their Inquiry into the issues that affect young disabled people and prevent them from living fully independent lives and how this needs to be improved.  Today’s session was on the subject of leisure with a focus on cinema.

Stefanie was invited to discuss examples of good and poor practice regarding disabled access to cinemas and to give the benefit of her extensive experience of designing independent cinemas.  Also giving evidence were representatives from Trailblazers, who recently investigated this issue (see previous post), the Cinema Exhibitors Association, and the cinema operators, Cineworld, Odeon, Vue and Picturehouse.  They were shown a screening of the Lights, Camera, Access documentary, which outlines the problems disabled movie-goers face and ways to address them, which is currently being screened at film festivals throughout the UK.

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. 

See the Trailblazers report on the session

Mark Foley joins Shape East Design Support Steering Group

Mark Foley has been invited to join the Shape East Design Support Steering Group.  The group consists of a group of respected built environment professionals from a range of fields including development, architecture, engineering, planning, transport, ecology, heritage, sustainability and energy efficiency, landscape architecture, urban design, public art and leisure.

Shape East is a Centre for Design Excellence and Sustainable Innovation based in the East of England and a part of the Architecture Centre Network. They seek to provide a positive influence on the quality of urban design and the built environment through supporting the professional community, engaging the public and educating the future generations.  They promote sustainable and high quality living, providing people with both the knowledge and passion to participate more actively in changes and developments in their local and global built environments. 

Mark brings to the panel his experience of undertaking studies to explore cultural regeneration working closely with arts business and management consultants to develop strategies and establishing the feasibility of particular cultural projects and his specialist expertise in the design of theatres, auditoria spaces and buildings for the performing arts.

Visit the Shape East Website