John Burrell takes part in Article 25's 10x10 2012 Drawing event in London

John Burrell will be participating in the charity, ‘Article 25’s’ ‘10 x10’ drawing weekend in the streets of London in the West End of London on Saturday and Sunday, 15^th and 16^th September. He will be drawing the area around Berners Street which amongst many other associations is known for sightings of the ghost of the 'White Woman of Berners Street'.

A 100 invited architects and designers will be drawing and painting their response and impressions of a piece of the city defined by a 100m x 100m ‘square’ allocated to each participant.  Framed artwork will be auctioned on 14^th November at Somerset House and all proceeds will go to the Article 25 Charity who are the built environment’s charity for disaster relief and international development.

John's work entitled ‘Something in the City’ sold in last year’s first 10 x 10 event was successfully auctioned as part of the total of £70,000 raised by the Charity for their work.

Visit the 10x10 Website for more details of this year's event

John is now a member of the Society of Architectural Illustration and he will continue to undertake bespoke commissions for illustration ranging from major projects through to concept sketches diagrams and fine art work.

Visit the Society of Architectural Illustration Website

Visit BFF Projects as part of Open House London 2012

Once again it will be possible to visit a number of BFF's projects in London as part of Open House London.  There is a chance to visit the magnificent Grade I listed headquarters of the Royal Society in Carlton House Terrace, two of our cinemas Stratford Picturehouse and the Cine Lumiere in Kensington, and the Almeida Theatre in Islington. Open House takes place on 22 and 23 September.  Please visit their website for further details using the links below.

Stratford Picturehouse

BFF designed this purpose built four-screen cinema with exhibition, cafe bar and restaurant facilities.

Details of Open House - Stratford Picturehouse

The Royal Society

BFF were responsible for the refurbishment and remodeling of the Grade I Listed Nash building in Carlton House Terrace. 

Details of Open House - The Royal Society

The Almeida

BFF have been the theatre's architects since 1982, shortly after its inception, and have been responsible for the refurbishment and remodeling of the building, Listed Grade II, including a new extension.

Details of Open House - The Almeida

Cine Lumiere

BFF were responsible for the refurbishment of the Listed Grade II Art Deco cinema at the Institut Francais in South Kensington.

Details of Open House - Cine Lumiere

BFF 30th Anniversary - New Theatre Royal Portsmouth

The New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth is a Listed Grade II* Theatre, originally designed by Charles Phipps as a Variety Theatre and subsequently remodelled by Frank Matcham as an Opera House.

Burrell Foley Fischer’s restoration comprised the refurbishment of the historic, predominately cast iron, front elevation and remodelling of the auditorium, to include a thrust stage, stalls seating and bringing into use the grand circle and upper circle levels. It received the  “Best Restoration Award – 2005” by the Portsmouth Society.

BFF 30th Anniversary - Academy of Medical Sciences

Burrell Foley Fischer’s refurbishment and remodelling of 41 Portland Place created new headquarters for the Academy of Medical Sciences.  The building is a significant example of a townhouse designed by John Adams and forms part of a Nash’s proposal to create a processional route linking Regent’s Park to former Carlton House, now Carlton House Terrace. 

The building provides a platform for Academy activities.  This includes Academy workspace, meeting rooms, a dedicated room for Fellows, space for small public exhibitions and function rooms with the capacity to host outreach events, receptions, dinners and public engagement activities, and a room suitable for holding press conferences.

In addition to housing the activities of the Academy, the building is used to provide a forum for scientific exchange and networking for medical scientists, clinicians and health professionals from across the world, a centre for lively interaction with press and media, and a welcoming space for members of the public. 

BFF 30th Anniversary - Mary Rose, The Final Voyage

Competition entry for a world-leading museum on the Tudor Navy, based upon the re-uniting of the hull of Henry VIII's flagship, which sunk in the Solent in 1545, with the thousands of conserved objects salvaged from the wreck when it was raised in 1982.

Burrell Foley Fischer’s scheme was designed to protect the Mary Rose in an iconic new home, with a new enclosure to see it, and HMS Victory, all year round.  The site would be restored to a harbourside, with the heritage enhanced and providing a stunning new setting for historic ships.

The structure minimised the final volume requiring critical environmental control and allowed for progressive enclosure, using off site prefabrication.

Broadway Nottingham featured in Guardian Cine-files

Broadway, Nottingham's Media Centre, is the latest of Burrell Foley Fischer's cinema projects to receive the Guardian Cine-files stamp of approval.  The cinema is described as having "an environment that is unique yet comfortable without trying too hard".

"I'm biased, having spent my entire life in Nottingham, but Broadway is probably the best cinema in the UK".

Read the full Guardian feature here

BFF 30th Anniversary - The Menuhin Hall

The Yehudi Menuhin School provides highly specialised tuition in piano and stringed instruments for about sixty boys and girls aged between 8 and 18 years.  The Menuhin Hall is a new purpose-built, 316 seat concert hall designed with a "supportive acoustic" for the highly gifted, young musicians of the School as well as professional performances and recordings.  It was completed on time and budget and received many awards.

"If I were asked what has been the school's greatest moment over the last twenty one years, I would have to answer - the opening of The Menuhin Hall with Slava Rostropovich conducting the school orchestra.  At last the school has a performing space worthy of an institution with an international reputation, and what a change this has brought to levels of performance."  Nicolas Chisholm Headmaster

BFF 30th Anniversary - New Pym House, Angell Town

Burrell Foley Fischer LLP was appointed in 1999 to design the first new housing at Angell Town, based on our new Masterplan for the Estate.  The 127 new dwellings establish an urban-block layout which integrates the new streets, mews, open spaces, squares and already existing mature landscaping and outdoor sports area, with the existing street pattern and offer routes across the site to connect areas that were formally isolated.

"Could easily be taken for a smart, modern upmarket private development... the generous, intelligent planning of the dwellings themselves should ensure that these do indeed become 'lifetime homes', in every sense of the word".  Housing Design Awards 2000

"The architecture of this community housing for London Borough of Lambeth is exemplary in many ways, but especially in the delightful quality of environment that is created for the users".  RIBA Award for Architecture 2002  

10,000 sq ft Office fit out for Charitable Trust completed

We have completed the fit out of new offices for a major Charitable Trust.  They have moved to the Peak building, close to Victoria Station in Central London.  Our Clients have leased an entire floor of 1,000 sq m (10,800 sq ft).

We carried out space planning, design of the reception and partitioning to form meeting rooms and private offices.  We also advised on the selection of new furniture and the re-use of their existing furniture where appropriate.  The project was completed to programme and within budget.

BFF 30th Anniversary - The Almeida Theatre, Islington

Burrell Foley Fischer LLP have been the Almeida’s architects from 1982, shortly after its inception as a theatre in 1980, 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.

Despite its modest size, the space works equally well for performances on an epic scale as for intimate productions.  The audience occupies the same space as the performers and neither is further than twelve metres from the other.

Development works have included extending the backstage accommodation, the building of completely new foyer, bar and technical areas, new services installations and seating, and improved disabled access and acoustics.  The new foyer continues the theme of the former open-air yard where, because of limited site access, the single entrance is used as the foyer for the theatre-goers and as the space for the technical get-ins.

The extensive overhaul of the auditorium, seating capacity 321, has preserved the special ‘found’ quality of the Theatre.  It was awarded a Civic Trust Award 2004.

Robin Fischer the lighting technician at the Almeida has created this short film showing the development of the theatre.