Best Sustainable Project

Winner: Ecospace Studios, UK
Spinney Retreat, Surrey, London

Judges’ Comments
‘A beautifully designed small studio living/work space. It is inventive in its form and plan achieving rich spatial qualities despite its modesty. It is sustainable in all senses — from offering a compact space to live, that can be fitted to different sites, to its construction and performance.’ Kate Goodwin

‘Inspiring architectural and airy workspace subtly embedded in its surroundings.’ Tina Norden

Ecospace Studios has been creating modular prefabricated buildings for 15 years, and applied all of its knowledge and experience to the design of this custom-made garden hideaway in Surbiton. The 50-square-metre structure is tucked away in the corner of a suburban garden, and contains a bedroom, kitchen, living area and office space that enable the clients to work from home or host guests.

Spinney Retreat utilises o -site construction methods developed by Ecospace Studios in response to growing demand for small-scale, sustainable and flexible modular structures, which it is able to deliver at a fixed cost and with a short delivery period. The building features a sloping roof that allows a mezzanine at one end to accommodate an additional lounge or sleeping area. Sustainable natural materials are employed throughout the project, with interior birch cladding incorporating built-in furniture including the kitchen and desk space. The structure is covered externally in cedar planks that lend it a homogenous aesthetic, which is mitigated by natural variations in the wood’s tone. The cedar boards also form a deck that wraps around the building on two sides, and can be reached through sliding glass doors set into the walls of the bedroom and living area.

Publication: Financial Times

Date: September 2017

British artist Polly Morgan talks personal taste in the latest Financial Times and guess what Polly is eyeing up next.

‘And the thing I’m eyeing next is a plot of land in Gloucestershire – I’d like to put up a prefab modern house with huge picture windows. I’ve always been inspired by beautifully simple structures like Philip Johnson’s masterful Glass House in Connecticut. The London-based architectural practice Ecospace offers a similar aesthetic. ecospacestudios.com.’

Link: Click here

Publication: dezeen

Date: December 2016

Article title: “Prefabricated garden studio in south London is clad in cedar and lined in birch”

Link: Click here

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We are delighted to announce that Howe Farm won the Housing Exterior Surface Category, as well as the Supreme Award at the Surface Design Awards 2016.

The judges’ comments about the project: “…The judges praised the accomplished use of material that enhanced the building in its setting, describing the treatment of the roof as artful and with a number of judges proclaiming ‘I want to live there’.”

32 projects were named as finalists for the 2016 awards with 40% being from outside the UK covering an extensive 12 countries. With admissions including private residencies, hospitals, restaurants, and even a sewage works the judging panel had a difficult task in selecting the finalists and winners of each category. The range of exciting and creative projects inspired an animated debate on the virtues of each project from the panel with projects described as ‘stand out’, ‘modern’, ‘unusual’ and ‘strong’.

http://www.surfacedesignshow.com/surface-design-awards

Howe Farm will be featured in episode 4, which is due to be broadcasted on November 25th at 9pm on Channel 4. Don’t miss us!

Howe Farm has been awarded both RIBA South Award 2015 and RIBA Special Award for South Small Project of the Year 2015. The entire project programme equated to less than twelve months to design and deliver the project including gaining all necessary statutory consents. The superstructure of Howe Farm was completed in just 15 weeks within the client’s budget of £275k without compromising the quality of the design and its execution.

James Robinson, RIBA Regional Director said: “There was a fantastically high standard of entry to the RIBA Awards this year and we are very lucky in the South to have the local ambition and design talent to be able to complete buildings of this quality.  From important civic and public buildings to private houses and the conservation of our valuable historic built environment – these Award-winning architects have demonstrated the value of good design as well as the transformative effect it can have on the places where we live”.

RIBA South Award winners will also be considered for the highly-coveted RIBA National Awards in recognition of their architectural excellence: these will be announced on 18 June.

Charlecote Park is a grand 16th century country house surrounded by its own deer park, on the banks of the River Avon about five miles south of Warwick. The Estate is in the care of the National Trust who have a requirement for an additional cafe due to significant growth in visitors to the Park.

The proposed modular system build uses a steel portal frame with prefabricated timber infill panels allowing the building to have a ‘light’ impact to the site to reduce site disturbance and build time. The off-site fabrication in factory-controlled conditions also ensures superior airtightness. Upon completion of ground works the main structure was erected in ten days and is due for completion April 2019.

Publication: Elle Deco

Date: March 2017

Article title: “THE POP-UP PAD”

Opening of our Triumph Pavilion 2014 “Dream Pavilion”

We are delighted to announce the opening of our competition winning Pavilion at the MuseumGardens of the V&A Musuem of childhood. The pavilion will be open to the publicduring the London Festival of Architecture in June 2014.

The tranquil gardens of the museum can be a place to temporarily escape from the demands of reality. The Dream Pavilion at the heart of MuseumGardens is an idyllic place to allow thoughts, images and collected impressions of the city to unfold within this peaceful interactive public space.

Our response to this is two main forms that gradually open out and increase towards the centre from human scale volumes at each end. This allows people to meander through and explore as the openings increase and frame views to the garden and city beyond. It’s a heavenly contemporary structure creating a space with a sense of tranquillity, beauty and mysteriousness.

The Dream Pavilion’s informal entrances are directed towards the axis of the main site access routes providing a visual focus when entering the site. There can be a fine line between a dream and reality and the perception of the pavilion constantly shifts from solidity to transparency depending on the vantage point. The form of the pavilion also creates inspiring and ever-changing shadows according to the movement of the sun.

The pavilion aims to provoke discussions about architectural aspirations and creativity through exploring geometries to create inspiring spatial forms. Although there is a prescribed circulation route through the pavilion, thresholds between inside and outside are blurred and participants can weave through the spaces towards the perimeter seats for further reflection.

The materials and fabrication method are based upon simplicity and sustainability using diagonally cut orientated strand board panels. Each frame comprises of a structurally efficient diagonally cut OSB panel to form the vertical elements with a further diagonally cut sheet forming the horizontal cross brace. This configuration ensures no material waste. The three elements are connected to form a structure frame, and each frame is spaced apart with horizontal ties which vary in length according to the space between each frame. Galvanised base shoes proved stability where the frame connects to the ground.

Ecospace completed their first Information Centre for an RSPB Nature Reserve in Dorset. Complete with a one-way glass wildlife viewing area and information about the reserve, it acts as a warm welcome to Arne. Ecospace won the project due to their buildings’ sustainability credentials and natural materials which complemented the area of outstanding natural beauty and encourages new visitors.

We are delighted to be one of 5 finalists in Grand Designs Home of the Year Award 2014 for a holiday retreat in Cornwall. The judging panel included Kevin McCloud, Phil Coffey, Carl Turner, Lisa Allen & Naomi Cleaver.

The contemporary design of this project sits effortless in its surrounding within the World Heritage site. The mono pitch roof building responds both to the sites topography and protects views to the coast from the neighbouring dwelling to the rear. A traditional board on board cladding was used in a contemporary manner wrapping over the roof creating a robust covering to the building within this unforgiving and exposed location. Local concerns of light pollution were cleverly addressed by incorporating timber slats over some of the glazing without compromising on beautiful framed views towards the coastline.

The practice held a talk about its shortlisted project Howe Farm at Westminster University during the London Festival of Architecture in June 2015. The exhibition and presentations were organised by the World Architecture Festival.

In 2007 we received a Certificate of Merit from the RHS Chelsea Flower Show for the outstanding presentation of our stand. It was a great experience – we couldn’t believe how many people were interested in both our Ecospace and Ecocube™. We must be doing something right.

Chelsea Flower Show is a fair walk from the station. And we just hated to think that people would have to get taxis when they come to visit our environmentally-friendly Ecospace. So, we hired some rickshaws for the week to ferry people to and from the show. And for a bit of fun, we covered them in grass, just like our Ecospace roofs.

Even Joanna Lumley jumped on board our eco-wagon. She said the grass very comfortable and thought that providing green transport to a flower show was – what were the words she used – totally fantastic?! Well, something like that…

“New London Architecture launched a competition this autumn, in association with The Building Centre, Time Out, Royal Institute of British Architects London and Elle Decoration, to find London’s best and most innovative home extensions.”

“This exhibition displays the 32 shortlisted and winning schemes, which will provide inspiration for homeowners looking to create more space in their homes. The projects demonstrate a wide range of approaches to extending your home, including basement excavations, rooftop extensions, innovative mezzanine insertions, and entire retrofitting projects, which use a range of materials at a variety of budgets.””

Ecospace submitted a typical example of a garden home office project in North London – we were shortlisted and included within the exhibition.

“On Saturday 23 January, a special day of free ‘Don’t Move, Improve!’ public events will take place at NLA, with architect surgeries offering advice on home extensions, lectures from architects and designers, plus advice on being more green and energy efficient. Many of the leading furniture retailers around Tottenham Court Road will also be offering design advice and special promotions for ‘Don’t Move, Improve!’ visitors during the day. Further details coming soon…”

Located within Besson Street Community Gardens, New Cross, Ecospace have completed a multi functional community building for local residents and the adjacent primary school. Ecospace worked closely with the regeneration team at Lewisham Council to create the building which features a fully bio diverse planted roof. The community garden and Ecospace building act as a sanctuary against the backdrop of high density housing and busy one way road system.

Howe Farmhouse was within the top 16 finalists in the completed house category and we presented our scheme at Marina Bay Sands Conference Centre, Singapore.
It was an inspiration to experience both the innovative architectural projects throughout the world by architects that are truly pushing the boundaries of our built environment. World Architecture Festival is the world’s largest international architectural event. It includes the biggest architectural awards programme in the world, dedicated to celebrating excellence via live presentations to delegates and international juries. WAF is the annual meeting point for international architects, clients and suppliers and we look forward to attending next year’s event in Berlin.

Publication: Building Design, issue 1669

Publication Date: 18th November 2005

Article Title: How we cracked it.

Article content: “The studios are a response to a homeowners’ demand for additional living or work space without the inconvenience of building a traditional house extension.” The challenge: To reduce on site build time for fast–track prefab studios The solution: Devise an adjustable bearing to support the floor.”

Some of the Ecospace team saddled up and left Big Ben for a three day bike race from London to Paris on 24th July. Cycling through the French byroads with nothing more than a change of underwear and a map, we arrived beneath the Eiffel Tower 3 days later for a well earned night in Montmartre followed by waking up the next morning with incredibly stiff joints! Anyway, it was all worthwhile as we raised £1007 for charity which supports those in poverty in Africa. Many thanks for all your support!

Watch this space for the 2010 big green bike race.