MAY 2010

Pascale Scheurer to Speak on 'Future of BSF' at Westminster Education Forum in July
Director Pascale Scheurer has been invited to speak at this prestigious event series, on July 20th. Pascale will set out the results of our research into the '5 best and worst aspects of BSF', from a design perspective. She will also set out the main points of our current research into refurbishment options for a range of common school typologies, from Victorian to Modern. If you would like to contribute your experience or a case study to either of these pieces of research, which will be distributed to policymakers and commissioning bodies, please get in touch via the Contact page. [link]

New SEBD School in Listed Building Nearing Completion
The Penthouse and Courtyard at Langford Primary School in Hammersmith will be opening at the end of May. This is a special school for children with SEBD (Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties) co-located with an existing primary school. The Penthouse is a new staff work space in the Grade II Listed Victorian schoolhouse, with the Courtyard providing a range of specially-designed learning spaces in a contemporary extension to a Victorian outbuilding.

Surface to Air to Invite Architects to Design Eco-Pavilions for Major Exhibition in September
Following on from the success of our student workshops at BSEC in February, we have been invited to assist in the selection of architects to work collaboratively with students at a number of schools across the UK. The resulting Eco-Pavilions will form part of a major event aiming to give positive, inspiring and straightforward examples of actions people can take to live more sustainably. More details to follow soon.

'Now We Are Six!' weekend at MVRDV's Balancing Barn
We are delighted to have beaten the crowds to book a weekend at the first 'Living Architecture' project, the Balancing Barn by Dutch architects MVRDV, for our 6th anniversary weekend in December. This amazing project is bringing specially-commissioned holiday retreats by world-class architects to the UK, as a contemporary take on the Landmark Trust concept. Book your stay before it sells out - and look out for Peter Zumthor's next year.[Living Architecture]



MARCH 2010

WIRED down to last two in Wandsworth BSF bid
WIRED, our joint venture business with Pringle Brandon LLP, has successfully gone through to the final stage of Competitive Dialogue as part of the Willmott Dixon team. We are working with Southfields Community College, building on WIRED's strong combined expertise in refurbishment projects and sta's long-standing relationship with the school. [Article in BD]

Remodelling/refurbishment is a particular strength of ours, both in schools and in the private commercial sector, where Pringle Brandon have been leading the Workplace Revolution for over two decades. ICT integration, zero-carbon design and strategic planning to support organisational change are three key pillars of our core offer.

Could we help you with a project in these areas? Do get in touch.

S2A Launch into Healthcare Sector
S2A have made our first inroads into the healthcare sector with a 'Smart Working' guide for GlaxoSmithKline's global operation. Working together with Faithful & Gould, Atkins and DEGW, Surface to Air compiled the guide to inform the restructuring of GSK's various workplaces according to their new organisational philosophy.

We are very interested to hear from public and private sector clients with healthcare projects looking for a fresh design approach.

Mayday! Election Party
We will be inviting our friends, clients, supporters and inspirational movers and shakers to our Election Special party in May, to debate, create and celebrate together in style. The event will also mark S2A's first five years, and the opening of our third built project (see above).



FEB 2010

Surface to Air @ BSEC2010 - Design My Learning Space Live!
We are running a two-day design charrette with 10 schools and 10 young architects, in conjunction with EC Harris, Building Magazine and the RIBA Young Practitioners Panel

SEPTEMBER 2009

Appointment as BSF Client Design Advisor for LB Hillingdon and Navigant
Following competitive interview we have been selected as Client Design Advisors for London Borough of Hillingdon's BSF programme. We will assist the school to develop their Design Briefs as a core part of the OBC submission suite of FSOS documents, being prepared by the Borough and Technical Advisors Navigant.




JUNE 2009

Rotunda Shortlisted for BCSE Award
The Rotunda PRU, Slough, has been shortlisted for the BCSE Awards 2009 (Best School Extension, Refurbishment or Remodel Category).

Surface to Air are Recruiting
We are delighted to welcome Flavia di Bello and Michael Dillon to our expanding team, and are currently seeking an experienced senior architect and an office manager, to help us keep delivering an excellent service to our clients and effectively manage our expanding workload. [link]

3-UP - Building Magazine
We are looking forward to being featured again in Building magazine in July, as a follow-up piece to our cover story three years ago.

Surface to Air / WIRED to Hold Design for Education Charette at BSEC2010
Following on from the success of the Design for Education Charette at RIBA in February, we have been invited by BSEC 2010 to help create a larger design charette, again bringing together young architecture practices and schools. This will be a major event at the leading education design exhibition, which in 2010 will be held at London's Excel centre.

Langford Primary School Starts on Site
The Langford Primary School SEBD project is about to start on site having obtained Planning Permission, and following the appointment of contractors Lakehouse to undertake the construction.

Camden BSF Update
Camden BSF has commenced Competitive Dialogue, where we are supporting the local authority in our capacity as Client Design Advisers.

Appointment as Technical Architect for Hounslow BSF
Following on from our CDA work at Camden and Hammersmith & Fulham, WIRED have been appointed as Technical Architect for Hounslow BSF, as part of the Turner & Townsend Technical Adviser team.

WIRED Joins Contractor Bid Teams for BSF
WIRED, our Joint Venture with Pringle Brandon LLP, has been engaged by several major contractors as part of their BSF bid teams. We are Design Champion on the VINCI Education team bidding for Hertfordshire BSF, and included on the design teams for bids led by Willmott Dixon and Laing O’Rourke.







Design for Education Event
On February 6th, we hosted over 100 people from 15 schools and 15 emerging architecture practices at RIBA headquarters, for a day of feverish design and dialogue. Supported by RIBA YPP, Building magazine, the Home Office and the Design Council, judges included Sebastian Conran, Mairi Johnson (PfS Design Director, formerly CABE) and former RIBA president Jack Pringle. Images and article at Building’s website and video footage will be available soon on Gleeds TV.

Jacques Prevert School Appointment
Surface to Air have been appointed to extend and remodel the Jacques Prevert School (a private French school in Hammersmith).

Riverside Nursery Appointment
Surface to Air have been appointed to design the external landscape and internal refurbishment of Riverside Nursery, Hackney.

Interviews
Holly Porter took part in an NBS video debate at MTV Studios, analysing the impact of the economic crisis on the construction industry.
Pascale Scheurer took part in a debate for OnOffice magazine’s OnSchools special edition, commenting on the outlook for public sector procurement. The article compared design and procurement in BSF (Pascale Scheurer of Surface to Air), independent schools (Oliver Richards of ORMS) and Academies (Helen Taylor of Architecture PLB). Our Design for Education Charette, supported by RIBA, was also featured.



New Staff
Surface to Air are proud to welcome the following to our staff team:
- Italian Architect Sara Criscenti joins us from SOM, previously with Odile Decq.
- Architectural Assistant Oliver Sheppard joins us from Matthew Springett Associates.
- Architectural Assistant Emma Elston joins us from Ash Sakula.
- Marco Boettcher joins us as a consultant Project Manager.

Holly Becomes FRSA
Director Holly Porter has become a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.



Pascale Joins Building Magazine Panel
Director Pascale Scheurer was invited by Building magazine to join the industry-wide ‘Gloomwatch’ panel as a regular contributor, commenting on the economic crisis from an architect’s perspective.



Appointment as CDA for Hammersmith & Fulham BSF
Following on from our appointment as Client Design Advisor (CDA) to the Camden BSF programme, we are delighted to have been selected as CDA for Hammersmith & Fulham’s BSF programme, working with 13 secondary schools. Director Pascale Scheurer has been a RIBA-accredited Client Design Advisor since 2007, specialising in school procurement and design.

New Built Project Completed
We have completed our second built project - the extension and refurbishment of All Saints School, Croydon, following the Federation of the co-located Infant and Junior schools. Contact us directly for more information and photographs for publication.

Gibbs Green SEBD School Appointment
Surface to Air have been appointed to design the new Gibbs Green school for primary-age children with SEBD (Social and Emotional Behavioural Difficulties), to be co-located on the Langford Primary School site, Hammersmith. The project will add a substantial contemporary extension to an existing Victorian outbuilding, integrated with a new external landscape.



Staff
Architectural Assistant Isobel Ward has now joined us full time, having worked with us part time during her studies at Westminster University.





Over the last couple of months Surface to Air have taken on some exciting new projects.

We are delighted to announce that we have been appointed as the Client Design Adviser for Camden Borough’s BSF programme.

We have also been asked, by Jack Pringle (Senior Partner of Pringle Brandon Architects and Immediate Past president of the RIBA) to run the campaign to Re-Build the Skylon - one of the most striking structures ever built in this country.

In 1951, London’s skyline was transformed, as part of the Festival of Britain, by the erection of the Skylon. The Skylon was a 300 ft tower - an architectural and engineering marvel designed by two young architects Jacko Moya and Philip Powell still in their twenties, of Powell and Moya Architects. The architects' design was made structurally elegant and minimal by the brilliant engineer Felix Samuely. With a base 40 feet from the ground and the top nearly 300 feet high - the Skylon was more sculpture than building: it was part Zeppelin, part-rocket, part-minaret, and floated like an up-ended airship above the South Bank. Dramatic by day, Skylon was even more radical, luminescent and exciting at night. For more information please visit the 'projects' section of our website.

To start the campaign we designed and exhibited Skylon projections onto the Shell building in Jubilee Gardens, on the Southbank , on the 10th, 11th and 12th July. The launch was held in Conran’s 'Skylon' Restaurant in the Royal Festival hall, which was a great success. We have invited the public to vote for where they would like the Skylon to be rebuilt. To have your say please go to our website www.rebuildtheskylon.com and vote.

We are also delighted to confirm we have been commissioned to take forward our designs for Gibbs Green School's relocation to Langford Primary School, Hammersmith and Fulham. This project will serve as an exemplar for designing for SEBD (Social and Emotional Behavioural Difficulties) Schools. The new addition to the school will be contemporary, fresh and innovative - while enhancing the quality and professionalism of the existing school’s environment and buildings.

All Saints School in Croydon, is currently progressing well on site and looks set to be completed by September 2008.

In other news, Holly Porter, Director of Surface to Air Architects was invited to become an Academician of the Academy of Urbanism. Holly was delighted to accept the post.