Greg Pitcher

England

Freelance Journalist at Freelance

Luton Town supporter, freelance journalist, 90s indie fan whose glass is half empty but tastes good

Articles

New ‘disruptor’ developer to oversee retrofit of No 1 Poultry

3 days ago | architectsjournal.co.uk | Greg Pitcher

Named MORE, its first job will be overseeing a retrofit of James Stirling and Michael Wilford & Partners’ Grade II*-listed No 1 Poultry in the City of London. MORE says the project will revamp ‘outdated’ energy systems in the 1997 building while celebrating ‘the idiosyncratic quirks of the design that have been previously shied away from’.
WGP Architects gets the nod for timber-clad Suffolk care home

1 week ago | architectsjournal.co.uk | Greg Pitcher

The London-based firm (formerly Waind Gohil Potter Architects) was recently granted planning permission by Suffolk County Council for the scheme on a plot surrounded by nature on the edge of Haverhill. Backed by operator Country Court and submitted in summer 2023, the care home is spread over three conjoined blocks on a gradually sloping site. WPG said the building changed orientation according to the space between groups of mature trees that set the tone for the scheme.
‘Check your PI cover’ warning to architects after Supreme Court ruling

1 week ago | architectsjournal.co.uk | Will Ing |Greg Pitcher

The judgement, which interprets important elements of the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA) and the Defective Premises Act 1972 (DPA), heightens the need for practices to hold ‘comprehensive’ professional indemnity (PI) insurance, according to top lawyers.
New Hospital Programme: P+HS to lead in Yorkshire, BDP approval in Sussex

1 week ago | architectsjournal.co.uk | Greg Pitcher

Health secretary Wes Streeting in January revealed a phased approach to deliver the remaining schemes in the previous government’s troubled hospital construction programme. Under the revised timetable, projects will get under way in waves, starting with three relatively small jobs in Dorset, Plymouth and Cambridge over the next two years. Jobs at the Royal Sussex and Airedale General Hospital are among 16 schemes expected to start on site between 2025 and 2029.
Manalo & White scoops Welsh Building of the Year award

1 week ago | architectsjournal.co.uk | Greg Pitcher

The London practice scooped the RSAW’s top architecture prize for its conversion of a Grade II-listed Victorian Church in Bangor into a community arts centre. It was one of four RSAW award winners – equivalent to RIBA regional awards. The Nyth scheme, hailed by judges as ‘a sophisticated and at times delightful architectural collage’, also garnered the RSAW’s Sustainability and Client of the Year awards at a ceremony last week.
FaulknerBrowns unveils Crystal Palace sports centre overhaul plans

1 week ago | architectsjournal.co.uk | Greg Pitcher

The Newcastle-based practice is part of a team named last week to redevelop the facility, which has hosted major football, swimming, athletics and motor racing events over the past six decades. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan confirmed that main contractor Morgan Sindall would lead the project, which will see the reopening of an Olympic-sized swimming pool and a range of internal and external improvements.
Approved SimpsonHaugh tower heads back to committee after admin blunder

1 week ago | architectsjournal.co.uk | Greg Pitcher

The Viadux 2 scheme has been returned to the local authority’s planning and highways committee after it emerged a key body – which had not been properly consulted – had lodged an objection, requiring fresh consideration. Councillors in April gave the green light for the 246m-tall skyscraper, which could become the tallest building outside London and create almost 600 homes, as well as a five-star hotel.
Fresh talks planned over EU recognition of UK qualifications

2 weeks ago | architectsjournal.co.uk | Greg Pitcher

A summary of the ‘substantial package’ agreed by London and Brussels, published by the UK Government on Monday (19 May), included a relaxation of some border controls, as well as co-operation on defence, energy and criminal justice. However, there was no immediate resolution to the professional qualifications conundrum, with the UK having signed bilateral deals with EU and non-EU countries post-Brexit to allow architects to move and work between the UK and other countries.
Moxon Architects completes part-timber bridge in Germany

2 weeks ago | architectsjournal.co.uk | Greg Pitcher

The London and Aberdeenshire-based transport infrastructure design specialist worked with local engineers IB Miebach on the structure for the town of Baiersbronn. The 25m-long, 6m-wide bridge will make the region’s 2025 garden show, which covers 8km, fully accessible to pedestrians and cyclists. It will also accommodate occasional vehicles. Block-laminated timber beams with a stepped bottom edge form the primary structure of the crossing.
AHMM gets green light for overhaul of Denys Lasdun’s ‘glass castle’

2 weeks ago | architectsjournal.co.uk | Greg Pitcher

The City of London gave the green light to the scheme last week (16 May) via delegated powers to kick-start redevelopment of Milton Gate, a 1980s block designed by National Theatre architect and former Royal Gold Medal winner Lasdun. Backed by developer Brookfield Properties, the part-demolition scheme will provide about 27,800m² of office space at 60 Chiswell Street, near the Barbican, through a demolition and façade replacement strategy which retains 70 per cent of the substructure.