Merry Christmas from Fleet

2021 has been a strange and challenging, but exceedingly successful and enjoyable year for Fleet, and 2022 promises to be be even more exciting.

Father Christmas/Santa Claus (Delete as appropriate) could choose from a broad range of projects for our Christmas message from Critical Care Units, co-work spaces to boutique hotels, to concept stores in Soho to accommodation for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services – quite rightly he opted for the job with the biggest chimneys and secure roof access, Peterson’s Smokehouse, a Grade II listed fish smokery we are currently working on with the National Lottery Heritage Fund and The Architectural Heritage Fund.

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Benedict Spry (Re) Joins Fleet Architects

Ben Spry is a speaker, architectural designer and environmental campaigner. Having worked extensively on community-led projects, Ben uses his skills in critical design to drive positive change within the built environment. Ben has a wealth of expertise in co-design and has facilitated several consultation sessions for housing projects in London.

Ben is a co-founder of Power Out of Restriction, a social enterprise that focuses on the development of communities through the elevation of young people. POoR sees the power of the younger generation and seeks to get young voices heard. Through knowledge sharing and design, POoR aims to bring together a wealth of demographics, and empower the youth of today.

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Ground Broken at Leicester for Community Diagnostic Hub

Work has started on the fast-track volumetric install for the Community Diagnostics Hub at the Leicester Royal Infirmary.

More Project information to follow.

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Work with Fleet Architects!

Fleet would like to hear from Qualified, Part 2 or Part 1 Architects interested in joining our London or (new) Margate studios.

Please send brief CV, work examples and covering letter (Max 5mb) to:

mail@fleetarchitects.co.uk

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The Third Party

The avoidable pitfalls of healthcare in mixed-use development

Fleet Architects often design healthcare uses into ‘third party’ spaces within larger mixed-use developments. However, the process, which promises so much value as community-based care, repeatedly falls foul of the same recurring issues which might stymie the opportunities or scupper them altogether.

The benefit for healthcare uses, typically GP practices but increasingly enhanced services, is often identified in pre-planning and captured in the final planning approvals under one of the planning gain mechanisms. Even without the planning leverage, health uses can provide attractive and robust tenancies, yet still the spaces fall short of the opportunity. Why is this?

Firstly, the time between the initial planning and the delivery, particularly where this is wrapped up in a much larger development joint venture agreement with a Local Authority. This perceived gap is actually where the design engagement needs to happen but doesn’t. Instead, in our experience, a proxy, arguably too naïve, design is used to carry the proposals through to financial close.

It is only at that time, when ground is due to be broken that there is collective focus on how the space can be realised but, by that time, changes risk destabilising and adding cost and time, where it is not welcomed. The result is many prospective tenants are left with the ultimatum; take the space and live with less-than-perfect or walk away. Both are common, both are unfortunate.

How can developers and LAs, whether as a client or a planning authority, bolster the process to avoid this?

The ideal solution would be to complete the detail design (RIBA stage 3+ at least) with the prospective tenant earlier but the vagaries of the NHS business case approvals and funding procedures, coupled with the time and appetite for the tenants to engage, conspire against this, rendering it near impossible.

The actual requirements aren’t complicated though, and while it would serve our business to argue that a health experienced architect is critical at the shell and core stage, we don’t believe it is strictly true. Here is our 10-point plan to ensure a third party space is ready to enable the best possible outcome for healthcare use:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/third-party-jaime-bishop/?trackingId=k1H79VlnQPOP529%2B8LO5Ig%3D%3D

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Fleet back in Great Grimsby!

We can finally confirm that the Fleet Architects led team has successfully been reappointed to complete the Peterson’s fish smoke-house project in the Kasbah Heritage Action Zone (HAZ).

The project is funded by NHLF and AHF. We are working with the fantastic team at The Great Grimsby Ice Factory Trust, NE Lincs Council and Associated British Ports.

Our team consists of BB Heritage Studio (Conservation Architect), SWECO (Building Services) and QED (Structures).

We’d also like to thank YOU&ME who worked the team through RIBA stages 1 to 3.

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Planning Application – The Mini BBC

Fleet have recently submitted a planning application for a new media centre for Grazebrook Primary School in Stoke Newington, Hackney. Watch this space for updates.

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Jaime Bishop IHEEM Healthcare Estates Talk – Future Hospitals

Jaime joined the rest of the Architects for Health Team at IHEEM and took part in a presentation speculating on the future of Hospital design.

The film of the event will be shared here in the near future.

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Modular and Fast Track Healthcare Buildings

Fleet have been working extensively on a wide range of fast track modular schemes with our close friends at Health Spaces.

Projects include a Critical Care Unit, Orthopaedic Treatment Centres, a combined Pathology and Pharmacy unit, an FM department and several multi-functional ward-blocks.

We’ll be publishing more on these projects and our collaboration with Health Spaces in the near future.

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2021 Wolfson Economics Prize Finalists

The shortlist for the final of the 2021 Wolfson Economics Prize, second only to the Nobel Prize in value, has been revealed by the Policy Exchange, Daily Telegraph and the BBC Today Programme today:

We are delighted that our submission, ‘THE WELL PLACED HOSPITAL’ has been selected as one of only five finalists:

https://policyexchange.org.uk/wolfsonprize/

Our team, consisting of Mungo Smith and MAAP, Andy Black, Anthony Farnsworth, Tim Kershaw of Place and Purpose CIC, and our own practice, Fleet Architects Ltd, proposed the radical reintegration of hospitals and broader health and social care systems within host towns and cities to abundant mutual health, social, environmental and economic benefit.

We are now entering the last 2 months of the process, after this period we can also reveal a little more about our proposal.

The Fleet and Place and Purpose Team:

Tim Kershaw, Spatial Data

Kai Xin Tan, Urban Designer and Architectural Designer

Richard Henson, Architect

Callum Boult, Architect

Jaime Bishop, Architect & Health Planner

MAAP

Mungo Smith, Architect

Jos Poortman, Architect & Urban Designer

Also

Andy Black

Anthony Farnsworth

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