Buro Happold secures Listed Building planning consent for extensive renovation work in Bath head office
Work now continues to create easy access for disabled staff and visitors plus top quality spaces where people can greet, meet, eat, think, gain inspiration and relax.
Bath has been home to Buro Happold, a leading international building engineering consultancy, since being founded in1976 and the company has occupied the Camden Mill riverside offices for approximately 20 years. In recent years the firm has grown considerably with the Bath office doubling in headcount to 450, putting pressure on the existing internal space.
This, coupled with a desire to improve access to the building for disabled employees and visitors, resulted in plans to extensively modify the ground and first floors within the building. The architect Design Engine has worked closely with Buro Happold to create a scheme that encompasses a new entrance area and reception at ground level, a large meeting room, model shop, post and print rooms, and other storage and service areas including showers for people who cycle to work or exercise in their lunch hour. The new reception area will create a long, double height space running parallel with the river to connect with the adjacent Bayer Building which is also occupied by Buro Happold employees. The first floor will feature a new a library café and meeting room overlooking the double height space and river.
Externally a modest balcony is planned at first floor level overlooking the River Avon, where staff will be able to sit and enjoy a coffee or lunch with colleagues. Access to the balcony will be through two sets of doors at either end, one that is reached via a small bridge crossing above the reception spaces.
An electricity sub-station is located adjacent to Camden Mill’s main entrance. This was difficult to relocate so it will be given a new set of clothes by the addition of a contemporary circular enclosure formed from vertical timber fins. This installation will signal the new riverside entrance.
Listed Building consent was approved at a Bath and North East Somerset Council planning committee hearing on 8 August 2007 in spite of six objections including one from the Bath Preservation Trust. A report written by a Listed Building officer recommended the scheme for approval.
“I am delighted with the successful outcome of the planning hearing,” says Gavin Thompson, managing director of Buro Happold and a Bath resident, who personally spoke for the scheme at the hearing. “As a professional service company our people are our lifeblood and we must focus on attracting and retaining the very best people we can within a highly competitive market. Providing our people with a high quality working environment, where they can also eat and socialise together, or take time out to think quietly in the library or seek inspiration from their surroundings, is of paramount importance to us. We draw great enjoyment and inspiration from the buildings in which we work - some are contemporary while over two thirds of our offices around the world are over 100 years old and several are in riverside locations.”
“We encourage our people to cycle to work through a bike purchase scheme, for environmental as well as health reasons and we subsidise gym membership for staff because we know how important it is for people to remain fit, so two shower areas will be created for them to use within the new space.”
“The building modifications are equally important to us from an access standpoint – our Specialist Consulting team offers Inclusive Design services therefore we have been acutely aware of the need to improve access to Camden Mill, Previously wheelchair users could only access the building through a back entrance to the kitchen, which was simply not acceptable,” says Gavin.
Design Engine architect, David Gausden, adds: “We have designed the first floor balcony, the part of the scheme that received the majority of objections, to echo the existing platforms projecting from the building. Historical records and photographs show that Camden Mill accommodated many more projecting platforms during its previous lives than those that currently remain. The stonework bears many markings that indicate these platforms were often changed to meet the use of the prevailing occupier. We believe that our contemporary addition is entirely appropriate, placed beneath the most dominant elements on the façade, the two hoist housings.
“Our new balcony represents another very positive chapter in the life of this robust industrial building and the life of the river. It provides a place for people working in a modern office and studio environment to enjoy and engage with the natural environment, in this case the River Avon as it passes through this very beautiful and historic city.
“The planning process and subsequent realisation of this project has been made complicated due to the spot listing of the building. Credit should go to the planning authorities that have been constructive, supportive and proactive throughout this unusual sequence of events.”
Camden Mill is a former steam-powered flour mill built circa 1879-80 by architect Henry Williams and extended in 1892 by F W Gardiner. It was converted to office use in 1974-5 after which a series of interior alterations have been made to the building over the years.
The works going on inside Camden Mill will greatly enhance the original fabric of the building. Some interior walls will be stripped and cleaned to expose the original stone, as will the massive timber beams. The new steel and glass stairs and balustrades are designed to respect and enhance these original features.
Planning permission for the recent modifications was originally granted in October 2006 by Bath and North East Somerset Council’s planning committee and works began on site in May 2007. At the end of May Camden Mill was Grade II spot listed, meaning that Listed Building consent had to be obtained before the work could continue. Following the successful Listed Building planning consent hearing on 8 August 2007 works will now be able to proceed.
In recent months a number of significant building projects in Bath have faced setbacks in obtaining planning permission or failed to obtain permission altogether. The Dyson Academy, which is close to Camden Mill, was forced to alter initial designs to retain the existing facade in the face of opposition from local residents, while the nearby Holburne Museum was less fortunate with permission for an extension refused in spite of support for the project from English Heritage. Local campaigners also fought unsuccessfully to prevent the demolition of Churchill House in the centre of the city, part of the Southgate retail development.
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Buro Happold
Press Office and practice information at www.burohappold.com
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For more information, please contact the Press Office:
Louise Gaiger or Hannah Green
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Email pressoffice@burohappold.com
Buro Happold is a multi-disciplinary international practice of consulting engineers established in 1976 offering civil and structural engineering, mechanical and electrical engineering, quantity surveying, building services and environmental engineering, health and safety management, infrastructure and traffic engineering, ground engineering, façade engineering, fire engineering, computational fluid dynamics analysis, inclusive design consultancy, project management, urban design and a range of specialist CAD services.
