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The Uncommon Beauty of Common Things

Charles and Ray Eames explored what they characterised as ‘the uncommon beauty of common things’ through a rich variety of media. The pleasures of everyday activities, familiar objects, and ordinary encounters were shown to have profound emotional and aesthetic significance, and this sensibility underpinned their design work. In this exhibition, Hoskins Architects brings together a wide range of friends and collaborators working across diverse fields, to examine through a variety of media the special potential of everyday things. The exhibition is part of the Architecture Fringe 2018 Programme and admission is free

Date : 09th, 10th, 16th, 17th, 23rd, 24th June 2018

Time : 10:00-16:00

Location : The Pipe Factory, Glasgow, G40 2LA

Hoskins Architects’ Certified Mediator – Gabriele Bernatzky

Our congratulation go to director Gabi Bernatzky, based in our Berlin office, who has become an accredited Mediator in Design, Construction and the Environment. Hosted by the Bavarian Institute of Architects over the last year, the certification course included: training in conflict control procedures, conflict regulation as a communication process, and mediation in private construction and major projects.

As planning processes become increasingly complex, the involvement of conflicting interest groups in decision-making is becoming increasingly important. Mediation is an excellent way to handle such conflicts constructively; the impartial mediator provides the process, structure and support to assist in resolving conflicts or difficult negotiations.

These skills apply not only to contractual disputes but are also exceptionally useful in supporting early decision-making processes within client bodies. Clear and timely decisions are critical to identifying and developing a strong brief, which we see as a vital part of any successful project. Mediation techniques also underpin a professional and substantive approach to wider stakeholder engagement, often not taken seriously enough in our industry.

If you have a project where identifying a common goal amongst stakeholders or developing a cohesive and well-structured brief is important, or a situation where professional mediation could be of assistance please get in touch via [email protected] April 2018

#mediation #berlin

Vacancy - Part II graduate Architectural Assistant/Recently Qualified Architect

Hoskins Architects is looking for enthusiastic Part II architecture graduates/recently qualified architects to join us in our Glasgow studio, initially for a twelve month fixed term.

The successful applicants will work alongside project architects, associates and directors, on a wide range of projects.

Our practice is a busy and creative environment with an award winning portfolio of projects across a whole range of sectors. We’re looking for the right people to help us build on that success by joining our talented teams working on recent new project wins and our existing varied workload.

We look for people who are articulate, curious, creative and interested in design. We want good designers, good communicators and people who want to contribute. The ability to sketch beautifully and/or produce top quality visuals is a must. The office uses Vectorworks, Sketch-up and Photoshop and a knowledge of these is preferred but not essential. Experience of producing tender and construction drawing packages would be an advantage, as well as some site experience.

Our office is fast paced, friendly, focused and fun. It’s a great place to start and grow your architectural career.

Hoskins Architects is an equal opportunities employer. No agencies please.

Closing date 2 March 2018

Please email your CV and examples of work to: [email protected]

Successful applicants will be invited for interview and required to present their portfolio.

Celebrating Rockvilla’s RIBA National Award win

The National Theatre of Scotland’s new HQ, Rockvilla, was amongst 49 winning projects (one of only three from Scotland) being celebrated at the RIBA National Award Winners Party, held recently at Francis Kéré’s 2017 Serpentine Pavilion.

Director Chris Coleman-Smith and Associate Rory McCoy, the team responsible for delivering Rockvilla, journeyed to London for the event. They greatly enjoyed the chance to visit the pavilion, with its beautifully crafted wooden canopy and blue curving walls resembling something of a simplified, textile-like, patterned tree, which provided the perfect setting for the summer evening reception.

Rockvilla, adding the RIBA National Award to its already impressive haul of awards, has been described by the client as a ‘game-changing resource’ for the National Theatre of Scotland, and have greatly commended the building for transforming the way they are able to function on a day-to-day basis. Lucy Mason, the Company Director, said ‘Instead of being in tiny offices at our old base in Civic Street, or scattered around across the city, we’re now all in the same space, and able to see that we are a company. It makes all our communications so much easier and more efficient, and everyone is really loving it.’ In addition, thecclient has recognised the design team personally for their commitment to the Company’s ethos, and for their understanding and enthusiasm throughout the project.

You can learn more about the project here.

July 2017

#RIBA #RIBA National Award 2017 #Serpentine Pavilion #Hoskins Architects #UK Architecture #Rockvilla #National Theatre of Scotland

Double win at the RIAS 2017 Awards

Celebrating the best in new Scottish architecture, both Eastwood Health and Care Centre, and Rockvilla - the new HQ for the National Theatre of Scotland - have won Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland awards. We are delighted to be the only practice with two projects among the twelve inspiring buildings given RIAS awards this year.

This follows the news earlier in the week that Eastwood Health & Care Centre won the design award for best building under 25,000sqm at the European Health Care Awards in London. Caroline Bamforth, East Renfrewshire Councillor and Chair of the East Renfrewshire Integrated Joint Board, said: ‘It is a fantastic state-of-the-art facility, bringing together health and social care services under the one roof for the first time in Eastwood. The busy community café on the ground floor also makes it a great community hub for local people.’

These awards bring recognition to not only to those in the project team, but also our wonderful clients. Simon Sharkey, associate director (Learn) at the National Theatre of Scotland spoke of his experience now working in their new purpose-built space: ‘The luxury of being able to walk a few yards to have a vital conversation with your colleagues cannot be underestimated. The impact of the building and how it allows us to work makes me wonder how we managed before. Seeing our students, community members and professionals all share the same space, finding out about each other’s projects and all feeling part of the same thing is simply joyful.’

These great buildings are the result of much hard work and belief of many individuals, and we would like to thank everyone involved for their continued support and enthusiasm throughout the process of bringing them both to very successful completion.

More about the projects can be found via the following links:

Eastwood Health and Care Centre

Rockvilla - National Theatre of Scotland HQ

June 2017

Easterhouse public charrette 13 May – 24 June

Over the next few weeks we are teaming up with Thriving Places Easterhouse and landscape architects, Erz, to run a community design programme to plan a better centre for Easterhouse.

The project seeks to identify major improvements required to both the Shandwick Centre and the surrounding facilities. The ambition is to create an overall better environment, and increase the activities available to the community – plus anything else the public think needs to happen.

From now until 12 June, the team will be in the old Savers unit in the Shandwick Centre on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. Everyone is welcome to come in, hear more about the project, and tell us your thoughts over a cup of tea. Free events will be run, including portrait drawing, photography workshops, and pop-up music and film studios. Family and kids activities will be run on Saturdays.

Following on from this, between 21 June - 23 June, we will have a busy programme of events in the Phoenix Centre, and welcome the public to attend and give input.

Keep an eye on Thriving Places Easterhouse’s Facebook page for news and regular updates.

Portraits taken by Colin Tennant featuring some of the locals who came by to share their thoughts.

May 2017

Architectural Staff Required

Part I Architectural Assistant Part II Graduate Architectural Assistant Experienced PT III / Recently Qualified Architect

Hoskins Architects are looking for enthusiastic and experienced applicants to join our Glasgow studio, initially for a fixed term contract.

Successful applicants will work alongside project architects and the wider management team on a number of high profile projects.

We look for people who are articulate, curious, creative and interested in design. We want good designers, good communicators and people who want to contribute. The ability to sketch beautifully and/or produce top quality visuals is a must. We are looking for people who enjoy working in a team and relish a challenge. The office uses Vectorworks, Sketch-up and Photoshop and a knowledge of this would be an advantage but not essential. For PT II/Architect positions experience of producing tender and construction drawing packages would be advantageous.

Our office is fast paced, friendly, focused and fun. It’s a great place to start and grow your architectural career. Salary based on industry average.

Hoskins Architects is an equal opportunities employer. No agencies please.

Closing date 8th May 2017.

Noting the position you are applying for in the email title please email your CV and examples of work to: [email protected]

Successful applicants will be invited for interview and required to present their portfolio.

Visiting Florim’s ceramic tile factory in Italy

Last year architect Kirsten Stewart was invited by Ora Ceramics to visit the Florim headquarters and factory in Modena, Italy. It was an insightful trip, rewarding her with a detailed understanding of the product and manufacturing processes. Kirsten gave a presentation on what she learnt, allowing us all to better understand the journey from dust to tile.

Background

Modena, Italy, is an area renown for tile manufacturing with some 300 different companies based there - Florim is one of the largest ceramic tile factories in this area.

They offer tiles for a variety of uses, projects and markets. The largest tile they produce is the magnum wall and floor tile, which is available in an extremely large format with sizes up to 1600 x 3200mm - huge! During our visit the Florim team demonstrated how this tile size is handled, which is similar to large sheets of glazing, with four men required to lift the tiles in to place.

Interesting facts

Having seen bicycles parked all around the factory, we were amused to discover that because the factory is so large, the team ride them to get from one side of the factory to the other.

All the water used in the factory is recycled, cleaned, and reused on site. The majority of the factory processes are carried out by machines and robots, which transport materials around the factory; except the last process – the visual inspection – which can only be done by human eye in order to check for imperfections on each tile. Those carrying out this job are only able to do so for 30 minutes at a time, before they have to switch and take a break.

The impressive vertical warehouse used for storing tiles ahead of transportation, cost 14 million euros to build, and stores 35,000 palettes at any one time – which is however, only a relatively small part of the factory.

April 2017

#Florim #ceramic tiles #italy #Hoskins Architects #factory

The Garden of Playfulness at Brodie Castle wins planning approval

Moray Council have granted planning permission to the ‘Garden of Playfulness’. The project is part of a £2.8 million investment in one of the National Trust for Scotland's ‘priority properties’ – Brodie Castle.

The castle, near Forres in Morayshire, was the ancestral home of the Brodie family until Ninian, 25th Brodie of Brodie, negotiated the takeover of the estate by the National Trust for Scotland in 1980. Now it has been earmarked for a transformation to make it a key visitor attraction to support Scotland’s heritage.

Hoskins Architects have collaborated with erz, landscape architects, to create a landscaped space for exploration and adventure within Brodie’s walled garden, based on themes of family and play. To realise the National Trust for Scotland’s ambitions, the garden will be supported by a Visitor Pavilion, which will also act as the main entrance to the Garden of Playfulness. This will act as a gateway to the estate for visitors, and provide retail, catering and indoor play spaces. The design is intended for year-round use, and to support special events or exhibitions as necessary.

Site works are due to commence during spring.

March 2016

#Brodie Castle #walled gardens #Scotland #Moray #erz #Hoskins Architects

As part of our internal Continuing Personal Development (CPD) sessions, Architectural Assistant Joanna Lee gave an insightful 60-minute talk on UK power stations. Following her thoughtful comment on the architecture and the dramatic settings of some of the UK’s power stations, Joanna led us to reflect the use of the countless post-industrial buildings we in Glasgow are surrounded by.

The Buildings of Industry, by Joanna Lee

This topic was sparked by an ongoing debate on the preservation of building fabric – what do you keep? Are all building typologies equally important?

Coupled with an awareness that we are an architecture practice in Glasgow: a city characterised by its 19th Century industrial boom, which now presents many opportunities for the reuse of industrial buildings.

This is no less encouraged by an interest in the pervading trend for an industrial aesthetic; and that I was brought up by a power station-enthusiast father.

Part 1 – UK Power Stations

Drax

A coal-powered monster in Yorkshire. While it was not chosen for its architectural merit, it is a personal choice, the power station my Dad worked at for years and a catalyst for this CPD.(IMAGE 1)

Battersea

A brick cathedral to power production in London. A swansong before it is redeveloped. (IMAGE 2)

Trawsfynydd nuclear power station

Designed by Basil Spence with the moody breath-taking landscape of north Wales as a backdrop. This decommissioned nuclear power station has an impressively foreboding presence, and is surrounded by listed landscaping. (IMAGE 3)

Fawley

Perched on the coast by Southampton, this is a station with an extraordinary glazed boiler house and fantastical 1960s techno futuristic aesthetic. (IMAGE 4)

Loch Rannoch

Operational since 1930, this northern Scottish Hydroelectric power station shows the long life of the renewable station, compared to the other fossil fuel examples selected. This building is joyful in its readability. Large pipes shoot down the hill to the turbine building from which water flows into the loch below.

Part 2 - Industrial aesthetic

Lauriston, a district of Glasgow sitting across the River Clyde directlysouth the city centre, is an example post-industrial area of the city and proposed development. In this small area alone there are many large listed factory buildings left derelict, while new-build development inches towards them. Reusing these buildings is a challenge: they are vast, cold, decayed, and dictates that their redevelopment is economically viable, like Battersea Power Station in London? Should they be delisted and demolished? Or just left unprotected to be absorbed into the urban fabric?

In reality, what we keep and repair is a mixture of all of these things. A balance of cost, taste history, and nostalgia. However, in order to do this well you have to deduce what is of worth. While there are of course statutory guidelines, the positioning of hindsight seems to bear relevance when reflecting the industrial buildings of 20thCentury.

By going through typologies of factory buildings in decade increments to test my own feelings of attachment to these industrial buildings, I felt protecting those of the late 1950s to early 1960s to be my comfortable limit. I asked my colleagues the same question: did they want to preserve the 1980s Hoover Factory in Camberslang (PICTURE 5) as typical of this time? Or the giant Morrisons depot of the 2000s? It seems that these feelings are trends, maybe in the future we will think that insulated panels have that bygone solid honest feel about them.

Has this nostalgic element been driving the popularity of the current industrial aesthetic? The desire of the office worker to be in an exposed-brick environment, and a longing to be closer to the making process. A good example is Google’s main UK office, which is set to be housed in the soon-to-be refurbished Battersea Power Station, symbolising its productive nature and stability.

To take this point full circle, larger companies and manufactures have picked up on this interest in process, presenting factory workings to the public in transparent, showcase buildings. Like Copenhagen’s Amager-Bakke power plant (PICTURE 6, image credited to Bjarke Ingels Group), which is designed to demonstrate the consequence and pollution of power production to a wider population.

March 2017

#hoskins architects #power station #glasgow #post-industrial

A visit to Kemabo's workshop in Budapest

Jan Stauf from our Berlin office travelled to Budapest last month to visit the workshop of Kemabo, the manufacturers who are fabricating all the fixed furniture for our World Museum Vienna project.

While reviewing the first samples for the new reception desk, café, and shop, Jan received a fascinating insight into the brass patination process for the cladding that will be used on these elements. We are looking forward to seeing the final product once it is complete.

February 2017

#World Museum Vienna #Hoskins Architects #Brass #fixed furnature #museum

Maquettes: Jan 20 - Feb 20

Models are useful. No other device comes close as a means to communicate and scrutinise an idea about a space, a building, a part of a city, or the construction of a detail, than a physical model.

But models are useful for other, more powerful reasons too. The special value of making a model as part of the design process is that a model has two lives: one representational, but another as an artefact in its own right. Models are also simultaneously concrete and abstract. They are an attempt to scratch out a specific investigation into the consequences of certain geometries, proportions, and massing arrangements; but their gift is that the finished model – an abstract object exhibiting the accidents of its own making and the traces of the designer’s missteps and adjustments - might ‘talk back’. It might suggest new lines of enquiry, or offer answers to questions we didn’t even think we were asking.

In this way, models are objects built with a purpose, and then read with an open mind. The relationship between these activities is where their particular value lies.

In Jan 2017 we made a small exhibition about models and their usefulness. In the gallery space of the building we share with an exciting bunch of artists and creative industry practitioners (South Block, in Glasgow’s Merchant City) we exhibited a range of our working models, particularly those concerned with our ongoing work at Aberdeen Art Gallery, alongside a remarkable plasticine city …

We Built This City

As part of the Doors Open Days Festival 2016, Hoskins Architects invited visitors to take part in an experiment which we called ‘We Built This City!’ A grid of 190 empty squares was set up, and throughout the day visitors contributed their own plasticine designs for a city block to the grid. As the day went on, a very strange and heterogeneous city took shape – with much more accident, humour, coincidence, anomaly and eccentricity than any single author could possibly generate in a lifetime.

Plasticine is an unusual material for architectural models; but it is very fast to work with and also very biddable, and therefore imposes a minimum of resistance between an idea and its execution. Many of our makers were children, but something about plasticine and its connotations with childhood play, seems to have infected the efforts of the adults too. The contributions are therefore wild, instinctive, silly, and in the best sense deadly unserious. This city would not look as it does had the materials been cardboard, timber or resin, or had the makers been architects. In its extreme vitality, the completed work is a rich, joyous and exciting thing.

Aberdeen Art Gallery

This project, currently on site, tackles the redevelopment of Aberdeen Art Gallery: the wholesale reorganisation of the building’s interior, and the addition of a rooftop extension for temporary galleries and public terraces. The design process was lengthy, reflecting the complexities of radical reimagining of an existing listed building, and model making was central to the process. Four of these models – a representative selection across a range of scales and materials – are described and illustrated below.

Context Model 1:200

This model studies the massing, rhythms, scale and language of a small parcel of city: one building, a triangular piece of public realm, and its immediate edges. This is the context into which our proposal nestles and to which it seeks to respond.This is an interesting scale to work at: small enough to understand a bird’s-eye overview of the urban composition, and grasp the totality of the composition at once; but also large enough to test pedestrian eye level experiences from a range of locations by crouching down and peering into the spaces made by the model. To be able to shift between verifying the success of big organisational ideas, the aerial overview, and the fleeting pedestrian experience of approaching the project and moving around it, is invaluable.

Study Models 1:200

We made a series of models to test a suite of ideas about the rooftop element – both to assess their internal logic as convincing form, and to test the success of their contribution to the immediate context. These card models were set onto the previous context model before the final copper iteration you see there now was settled upon. How the new element and the existing roofscape relate to each other is, in many ways, the central concern of the project. Different strategies, each with their own implications for the arrangement of the internal programme, were tested quickly and thoroughly. Ideas about degrees of enclosure, about darting skyline presence, and about a form that feels like it adjusts itself to act as a good neighbour to the various domes it joins on the skyline, were proposed, tested, and refined through this process.

Sectional Model 1:50

A shift in scale, and a shift in model type. A 1:50 sectional model of the central sculpture court at Aberdeen Art Gallery was built at an early stage in the project, and allowed us to get understand the extremely complex spatial interactions between the existing fabric, the new rooftop element, and the new staircases connecting those parts. This model is carefully made, and looks like a model made to present a final idea, but that could not be further from the truth. It has been adjusted, reworked, broken, repaired, improvised with, and endlessly photographed, as we worked through our ideas and discarded iteration after iteration. This is a wonderful and provocative scale to work at: large enough for decisions about how elements come together to carry significance, and large enough to get your eye into the spaces made by the proposals, but also small enough to describe a full cross section of the building proposal in one object.

Façade Model 1:20

This 1:20 scale fragment of the facade is the largest scale model exhibited. It shows that it is not always the case that the scale is increased to add detail – here, the large scale model is still very abstract, and is used to assess the relationship between a human figure and the width, depth, and height of a set of ideas about a cladding module. The model convinced us of the validity of a scalloped language, and led us to seek technical solutions to achieve this. Importantly, we enjoyed the way the model was ambiguous as to the solidity of these scallops – inviting a reading both as solid, cast monolithic elements, and also suggesting lightweight, billowing, tensile structures. We have fought hard to imbue the finished proposals with something of this quality, and that aspiration has remained a touchstone for the team throughout the detailed design of the project.

January 2017

#architecture #models #hoskins architects #aberdeen art gallery

The National Theatre of Scotland’s opening reception for Rockvilla

We are pleased to announce the unveiling of Rockvilla - the new headquarters for the National Theatre of Scotland on the banks of the Forth & Clyde Canal in Glasgow - which was officially opened Monday 23 January 2017 by Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs.

The evening’s opening reception welcomed guests with a spectacular sight: projected onto the façade were moving images that lit up the canal, and included a construction time-lapse and scenes from various past productions by the Company. Along with speeches by Fiona Hyslop, Councillor George Redmond and Dame Seona Reid, guests were invited to look around the newly opened building and meet some of the brilliant folk who produce, promote and facilitate the National Theatre of Scotland’s productions.

In keeping with the Company’s declaration of being a ‘Theatre Without Walls’ – committed to performing to diverse geographic audiences and engaging with the community - this new facility will not host public performances, but rather will be a creative engine room for the Company. Rockvilla will facilitate their expansion nationally and internationally, and will continue to reinvigorate a part of Glasgow that is fast becoming its cultural quarter.

The redevelopment of a disused industrial warehouse provides the Company with approximately 3700sqm of space over two levels, and incorporates: three rehearsal rooms of varying scales, a learning and community suite, wardrobe department, production workshop and technical store; plus office space and social areas.

You can see more about the project on our website, and watch the featured construction time-lapse here.

January 2017

#National Theatre of Scotland #Rockvilla #hoskins architects #Glasgow #architecture

Maquettes Exhibition

From study models used to test ideas to presentation models communicating our vision to others, models play an integral part of our design process. This exhibition explores the role of the model as a design tool throughout the various stages of a project.

January 2017

The Inukshuk

Returning to work today we received a beautiful, thoughtful and touching gift from our friend and former colleague Chloe van Grieken, now living and working in Canada. The following description of her gift was written in the accompanying card.

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The Inukshuk

Inuit word for “the image of man”; the Inukshuk was traditionally a stone structure used as a wayfinding device in the northern wilderness.

The Inukshuk provides direction, and guides the way. It is a marker of those that have travelled the path before us, and are watching out for us to ensure we don’t lose ourselves and our purpose.

As a structure, the Inukshuk is dependent on each individual stone, and requires balance and unity.

In more modern times, the Inukshuk has become a symbol of hope, safety and friendship, as well as symbolising the human spirit and the strength we can find in terms of adversity.

---

Thanks Chloe, we’ll cherish it.

January 2017

2016 - Reflection

As 2016 draws to a close we have taken time to review and reflect on what has been an extraordinary and tumultuous year, and look forward to 2017.

In early January, returning from the festive break, the staff at Hoskins Architects were rocked by the news that the firm’s hugely respected Principal was gravely ill in hospital. The gruelling week that followed culminated in the devastating news that we had lost the man who started our firm almost 18 years prior, and since cultivated our close-knit team, many of whom worked side by side with Gareth for well over a decade.

Over the challenging weeks that followed the inherent strengths of that team became ever more evident. Buoyed by the incredible outpouring of condolences from clients, contemporaries and friends alike, the team rallied to support one another, pulling together and focusing on carefully redistributing the numerous tasks Gareth undertook.

Throughout the year since, the team has been taking stock and planning the way forward for the studio. Formally implementing the changes required, engendered not least by the need for the company to adopt Gareth’s shareholding, is a necessarily lengthy process that is still on-going. To begin with though, and in recognition of the significant contributions they have made to the practice (throughout previous years as well as over the turbulent last twelve months), a number of colleagues have been promoted to new roles as Associates and Associate Directors, with our Board of Directors continuing above.

In spite of the effort required to get through this difficult period, our team not only pulled through but has continued to perform to the highest standards, delivering our customary excellence on our on-going projects, evidenced by the numerous awards gleaned for them, and winning new and exciting jobs.

During the year we’ve seen two major award-winning healthcare projects completed and opened to the public: Ballymena Health and Care Centre, in Northern Ireland, delivered in collaboration with Keppie Design; and Eastwood Health and Care Centre, just outside Glasgow which, as a hub reference design project, provides a benchmark for excellent, sustainable, and good value design for future health centres across Scotland. Eastwood went on to win the NHS Design Excellence Award, and the prestigious NHS Paul Taylor Award, with the centre at Ballymena bringing in a host of awards too.

Over the summer the £14.1 million third phase of the National Museum of Scotland’s redevelopment opened to the public, including 10 major new galleries dedicated to decorative art, design, fashion, science and technology.

Rockvilla, The National Theatre of Scotland’s £6.5 million headquarters in the Speirs Wharf regeneration area of Glasgow, completed on-site in November. The project repurposed a disused industrial warehouse, enabling the Company, for the first time to house all its rehearsal and production activity under one roof. NTS has moved in and will host an official opening in January 2017.

Also completed this year were the redesign of Berlin City Library’s interior and the first phase of our RIBA competition winning proposal for new dance and drama school for Bird College in South London.

As the year draws to a close we have a couple of projects, of very different scale and programme, finishing on-site and imminently due to complete: Hillside Gardens Lane is a project to deliver six luxurious townhouses in Glasgow’s West End for clients Noah Developments; on the other side of the country 3-8 St. Andrews Square, a significant, commercial, mixed-use development for Standard Life Investments, delivered in collaboration with CDA provides, provides 100,000 sq ft of much needed, Grade A office space, 70,000 sq ft prime retail, and a suite of luxury apartments in the heart of Edinburgh.

Currently on-site and due to complete next year is the Aberdeen Art Gallery redevelopment including its spectacular, copper-clad, rooftop extension. Also due to finish is the revitalisation of Vienna’s World Museum exhibition and visitor facilities, as well as a further two new NHS health centres in Blackburn, Midlothian and Firrhill in Edinburgh.

Work on the £16.8 million redevelopment for the Scottish National Gallery project, Celebrating Scotland’s Art, is due to start on-site in spring 2017. The project is set to treble the exhibition space for Scottish art, and vastly improve visitor access and circulation. On nearby West Register Street, our office and retail development with client Chris Stewart Group will also start on site in 2017.

Working once again with the National Trust for Scotland, proposals for The Garden of Playfulness at Brodie Castle in Moray were recently submitted for planning, with design work progressing straight onto the next stage. Following review by the Salvation Army, revised proposals for the world famous site Strawberry Field, Liverpool have been developed and submitted for planning and we continue to develop proposals for the Royal High School in Edinburgh with clients Duddingston House.

Despite closing-in on the end of a few projects the practice remains extremely busy, with the buzz of a busy studio returned and some exciting new projects to be announced next year.

Gareth’s death – and other significant losses, felt more personally by some of our team – undoubtedly provoked reflection and re-evaluation for everyone affected. However, the arrival of no less than five beautiful, healthy, babies (and the joyous news of more to come), reminds us to look forward. With numerous new and exciting projects underway, and even more on the horizon we look forward to a relaxing Christmas break and coming back refreshed, to take on the challenges that 2017 brings us.

To all our wonderful colleagues, clients and contemporaries we send our warmest wishes for the forthcoming festive season.

December 2016

Berlin celebrates Christmas 2016

This year our Berlin office combined their annual Christmas dinner with a printmaking workshop. Hosted in an atmospheric art studio, the event combined outstanding food with printing using a range of mediums. As the wine flowed a wide range of images were produced, a selection of which accompany this post.

December 2016

#Christmas #Hoskins Architects #Berlin #printmaking

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