_space to be EXCEPTIONAL in Durham!

Newcastle-based architects _space group have been awarded the highest environmental assessment accolade possible on a scheme that will change the face of Durham City.

The education architects have secured a BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) ‘Excellent’ rating for the £32m Durham University Gateway project, which is currently on site on the city’s Stockton Road.

The project, which sits within a World Heritage Site, comprises the design for a new flagship building to accommodate the internationally renowned Durham Law School, and the Palatine Centre housing student services, professional support services and a catering outlet. The project also includes a major extension to the Main Library.

A visualisation of the new flagship Durham Gateway building, due to be completed next year

Trevor Armour, deputy director (projects), estates and buildings, Durham University, said: “We’ve been working closely with _space group since 2008 to ensure that we create a building that makes the most of current sustainability practices and is a fitting piece of architecture for the estate and the city landscape.

“For the Palatine building to achieve a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating at this stage is a great indicator that we are on track to accomplish our goals. The Palatine building represents a significant investment in both the University estate and the City of Durham and we are very satisfied with the work _space group has done so far. We are keen that the finished Palatine building will be an iconic part of the university, embracing 21^st century design standards.”

_space group is also responsible for the landscape design strategy for the Science Site campus that surrounds the Gateway project. Plans include the pedestrianisation of the Science Site, creation of new site gateways and public ‘heartspace’ in front of the Main Library. A new and vibrant pedestrian and cycle friendly public realm will be created, rich in public art, specimen tree planting and generous landscaping.

Andrew Grounsell, associate director, _space group, said: “Our company philosophy is to create sustainable communities in the regions in which we are based. While we have offices across the North, we have a long history in the North East and to be able to make a positive change in the city of Durham is very rewarding.

“Our work is underpinned by green thinking at every turn, and the Gateway project is no exception. Working with the concept architects, ph partnership, we have incorporated a number of features such as natural ventilation, solar shading, solar collectors, photovoltaics and sedum roofs, and we have selected eco-friendly materials at every turn.

“Our goal is not only to deliver a building that is iconic and sensitive to the historic setting, but also meets very stringent green standards. I believe that this BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating is a hugely important step to fulfilling the criteria both we and the university have set ourselves.”

The Durham Gateway scheme is scheduled for completion in the autumn of 2012.

_SPACE GROUP IS ONLY ARCHITECTS IN TOP 25 BEST COMPANIES TO WORK FOR

The _space team "wear it pink" on Breast Cancer Awareness day last year

National architectural firm, _space group, has become the only architectural firm in the UK to rank in the top 25 of the ‘Sunday Times Best Small Companies To Work For’ list.

The company, which employs 130 people across offices in Manchester, Newcastle and Leeds, placed 24^th, a 23 place jump from 2010.

_space group is also the only architectural firm to be awarded three star accreditation status by the Sunday Times ‘Best Companies’ projects team, and one of only 84 organisations in the UK to receive this accolade.

_space group chief executive, Rob Charlton, said: “It is absolutely incredible to think that we are highest ranking architectural firm in the UK in the ‘Sunday Times Best Small Companies To Work For’ list.

“We aren’t the sort of organisation that looks to be validated by how many awards are on our mantelpiece, but we do judge ourselves on the happiness of our people, as we know this has a marked effect on how well we perform as a business, and the high level of service we’re able to provide our clients.

“That our team thinks _space group is worthy of being a ‘Best Company’, and that this opinion is shared externally, is incredibly heartwarming. I am very proud of each and every person who works for _space group and hope that we are able to continue performing to this high a standard.”

Best Companies accreditation is based on eight different categories – my manager, leadership, my company, personal growth, my team, giving something back, fair deal, wellbeing.

_space group achieved its highest ranking in the ‘giving something back’ category, with the most common response being “my organisation makes a positive difference to the world we live in.”

The company, which has the vision of making life better for the communities in which it works, contributes time, resources and money to charity organisations in the North East, Yorkshire and Humberside and the North West, and has fostered a special relationship with organisations such as Children:North East, and Young Enterprise, working with the latter to coach teenagers on business and enterprise skills.

Janet Woodhouse, development officer, Young Enterprise North East, said: “We’ve been working with _space group since 2008 and they have consistently helped to make a positive difference to our students and their projects, encouraging them to think differently and creatively. Their high ranking comes as no surprise and we are very pleased for them.”

Creating space to halt in Haltwhistle

Our environmental arm, _space environment, has been called in to help put the official geographical centre of Britain - Haltwhistle - firmly on the map as a destination site and gateway to attractions such as Hadrian’s Wall and the Northumberland National Park.

Experts at the firm have worked with Haltwhistle Town Council and the Haltwhistle Community Partnership to produce a brief to encourage innovative developers to put forward proposals for a 7.5 hectare site south east of the town, close to the A69. The site is owned by Northumberland County Council, which has commissioned _space environment to act as its adviser.

The Council’s vision is to create what will be known as the Haltwhistle Gateway, to encourage people who would otherwise bypass the town to stop and explore what is on offer, both in the town centre, and the surrounding area.

Phase one is likely to see construction of a visitor information point, hotel, restaurant and petrol station, which will be surrounded by footpaths, cycle track and public open spaces.

The Council is inviting developers to submit expressions of interest before the end of January, after which the shortlisted developers will be given the _space group brief to help them create detailed proposals.

The _space group team will then assess the proposals and advise the Council on which submissions they feel best show exemplary design and build quality.

This is the latest in a series of Tyne Valley community projects carried out by _space environment, which provides urban design, master planning, historical and natural environment and landscape services. Earlier this year the team completed a £2.2m extension to Haltwhistle Library, giving local residents more library space plus community activity spaces and offices.

Tony Wyatt, associate director of _space environment, said: “This is a very exciting development opportunity that could really boost the fortunes of Haltwhistle and the surrounding area.

“It’s a beautiful example of a Northumberland market town and the perfect spot for people to use as a base for exploring the area. With the World Heritage Site Hadrian’s Wall right on the doorstep, and thousands of hectares of stunning scenery in the Northumberland National Park, there are a host of things to see and do.

“Around 10,000 vehicles pass Haltwhistle every day and therein lies the problem – they currently pass by.

“What the town needs now is a developer with the imagination and skill to create the right mixed use development that will establish Haltwhistle as a special destination. This will help to encourage people to eat, shop and visit its local attractions, all of which will bring in much needed tourism revenue and create employment for local people.”

Hooray for new starters!

Our new team members: (back to front row, l-r) Lisa Rogan, Judith Forster, talent manager Diane Charlton, Imran Zulfqar, Ed Cutler, David Owen and Andrew Wilson

_space group has doubled its graduate recruitment intake this year as it looks to supply the country with the next generation of architects.

The budding architects, who fought off stiff national competition for their placements, will work with us, across our offices in the North East, North West and Yorkshire.

Ed Cutler from Great Ayton, near Middlesbrough, has joined _space group after recently qualifying from the Manchester School of Architecture (MSA). He will now fulfil his part one qualification at _space group’s North West office.

He said: “I graduated from the MSA with a BA in July 2009, but was unable to find work, prompting a decision to take a Masters degree a couple of years earlier than planned. I am delighted to have been accepted onto _space group’s graduate recruitment programme, giving me the opportunity to further both my personal and professional development.

“Being part of a team working on exciting educational projects will really help me develop a range of skills that will hold me in good stead for the rest of my career. Not only am I looking forward to developing my experience in a working environment, but _space group has a great reputation for training its team members.”

The training will see the graduates work on live projects with senior architects, gaining a practical insight into architecture, alongside tailored seminars with _space group directors that expose the new starters to a wide variety of theoretical topics such as practice management and legislation.

The news comes as graduates are facing intense competition for jobs as the class of 2009 was rocked by the recession. According to gradplus.com, recruitment growth in the UK continued to slow in September this year.*

_space group talent manager Diane Charlton said: “Every year we look forward to welcoming the latest fresh young talent the UK has to offer and we have some excellent recruits this year.

“Training is something at the core of _space group’s principles – we are a company who want to provide as much opportunity to young talented individuals as possible, and our training programme is a great platform for them to shine. Our graduate programme also creates fantastic career opportunities. Some of our past training programme recruits have come back to work with us as qualified architects, and have become respected in the industry.”

A previous recruit onto _space group’s training programme was Carinna Gebhard. Carinna has now worked at the design, build and operate firm for a number of years, seeing her career expand into the education sector with a portfolio of high profile projects to her name.

The new recruits will complete the same in-house training as _space group chief executive Rob Charlton undertook 19 years ago when the organisation was known as Waring and Netts.

It almost goes without saying (but we're going to say it anyway) that we're thrilled to have been able to do this, and offer opportunities to the next decade's brilliant architectural minds! Watch this _space to see how they get on...

New beginnings…

Although January 1^st is usually associated with new beginnings, this time of year, blessed as it is with being the time of year that youngsters go back to school, and Freshers get a short, sharp introduction to the wonderful world of student life, is also a natural time for people to look at turning the page and starting a new chapter of their lives.

The government is pushing the “September as a new beginning” line by encouraging local authorities and businesses to submit their proposals for Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) by September 6. What exactly these LEPs, which stand to replace Regional Development Agencies, will do, is still unclear, but hopefully they will unite local authorities and businesses in common goals like never before.

Indeed, there’s a buzz in the air across the UK as it looks like, we might, possibly, be looking to come out of the recession. Yes, of course we’ve seen signs before, and everyone’s tired of the phrase “green shoots of recovery”, but the retail market in Manchester being reported as being one of three areas in the country set for investment, and the new Nissan Juke being built on Wearside, securing hundreds of North East jobs (to name but two positive signs of growth), perhaps, at least in _space group’s home regions, we could finally be climbing, not falling. Could September then, mark the start of a new, more positive chapter in our economy?

This is the time of year that we’re also lucky enough to have some year out students working with the company, spread over our North East and North West offices, each one starting a new part of their lives. Not only are they working full time after spending a great amount of time in education, but they’re also getting to sit down and spend time understanding what it’s like to work in a busy, vibrant, design, build and operate business and really get to grips with what their careers will be like after they graduate.

In the next year, it is our job to give them all a full grounding in all aspects of the demanding, time poor but reward rich career that is architecture, and help them to develop both professionally and personally. Much like the positive hints we’ve seen on the economy and the impact of LEPs, the overriding factor in telling us how successful we are with these students is time.

At _space group, we always work hard to produce the best results for our customers, and that’s how we view all new members of our team – customers that we need to do our best to satisfy. Just like our customers, we’ll be asking them for feedback and working hard to improve in the areas where we feel we can, and just like our customers, we’re confident that we can deliver what they want, how they want it.

Our new recruits:

(l-r) Lisa Rogan, David Owen, Judith Forster, Imran Zulfqhar, Andrew Wilson and Ed Cutler, with Talent Manager Diane Charlton