Blog

An awarding week! by Tom Bloxham MBE

May 27th, 2010 [ No comments ] [ Add comment ]
by Tom Bloxham MBE

270510_1

I was really pleased to learn we had won another two RIBA Awards for Architecture this week for Chips in Manchester and Mills Bakery in Plymouth.

We’ve now received 22 RIBA awards for architecture. As satisfying as this it’s also a burden to ensure we keep striving to be innovative and build real quality schemes that will continue to win awards.

As I tell every member of staff who joins Urban Splash, we’re only as good as our last (or should that be next!?) scheme, so we must keep striving towards the next project, and hopefully the next award! If you go into a restaurant and have nine good meals and one bad one, it’s the bad one that gets talked about; we’ll just keep trying to avoid the cock-up!

270510_2

Here’s a full list of the Awards for Architecture that we’ve received over the years:

RIBA Award for Architecture 1996 - Concert Square Buildings
RIBA Award for Architecture 1996 - Schoolhouse
RIBA Award for Architecture 1997 - Modo
RIBA Award for Architecture 1998 - Smithfield Buildings
RIBA Award for Architecture 2001 - Britannia Mills
RIBA Award for Architecture 2001 - Old Haymarket
RIBA Award for Architecture 2002 - Matchworks
RIBA Award for Architecture 2002 - Collegiate
RIBA Award for Architecture 2003 - Chorlton Park
RIBA Award for Architecture 2003 - Timber Wharf
RIBA Award for Architecture 2003 - Box Works
RIBA Award for Architecture 2003 - Waulk Mill
RIBA Award for Architecture 2006 – Clarence and Brewhouse Buildings
RIBA Award for Architecture 2006 – Moho
RIBA Award for Architecture 2007 – Budenberg HAUS Projekte
RIBA Award for Architecture 2008 – Chimney Pot Park
RIBA Award for Architecture 2008 - Guest Street, New Islington
RIBA Award for Architecture 2008 - Fort Dunlop
RIBA Award for Architecture 2009 - 3 Towers
RIBA Award for Architecture 2009 - Midland Hotel
RIBA Award for Architecture 2010 - Chips
RIBA Award for Architecture 2010 - Mills Bakery

We also won the RIBA Client of the Year award in 2002 (you can only win it once!), here’s all the other RIBA awards we’ve won too…

Housing Design Award (NHBC, DETR, RTPI, RIBA) 1997 - Smithfield Buildings
Housing Design Award (NHBC, DETR, RTPI, RIBA) 1998 - Smithfield Buildings
Housing Design Award (NHBC, DETR, RTPI, RIBA) 1999 - Collegiate
Housing Design Award (NHBC, DETR, RTPI, RIBA) 2000 - Chorlton Park
Housing Design Award (NHBC, DETR, RTPI, RIBA) 2000 - Timber Wharf
Housing Design Award (NHBC, DETR, RTPI, RIBA) 2001 - Tea Factory
Shortlisted for Best Commissioner Award 2001
RIBA Client of the Year 2002
Housing Corporation Award (NHBC, DETR, RTPI, RIBA) 2003 - Chorlton Park
Housing Design Award (NHBC, DETR, RTPI, RIBA) 2003, Highly Commended - Box Works
Housing Design Award (NHBC, DETR, RTPI, RIBA) 2003, Highly Commended - Old Haymarket
Housing Design Award (NHBC, DETR, RTPI, RIBA) 2003 - Burton Place
Housing Design Award (NHBC, DETR, RTPI, RIBA) 2003 - Timber Wharf
Housing Design Award (ODPM, NHBC, RTPI, RIBA) 2005 - Clarence & Brewhouse Buildings
Housing Design Award (ODPM, NHBC, RTPI, RIBA) 2005 - Langworthy
Housing Design Award (DCLG, NHBC, RTPI, RIBA) 2006 – Burton Place
Housing Design Award (DCLG, NHBC, RTPI, RIBA) 2006 – Piercy Street
Housing Design Award (NHBC, DETR, RTPI, RIBA) 2007 - Lake Shore
Housing Design Award (DCLG, NHBC, RTPI, RIBA) 2008 - Overall completed Chimney Pot Park
Housing Design Award (DCLG, NHBC, RTPI, RIBA) 2008 - Historic Award Smithfield Building
Housing Design Award (DCLG, NHBC, RTPI, RIBA) 2008 - Project Award, Tribeca Housing
Housing Design Award (DCLG, NHBC, RTPI, RIBA) 2008 - Project Award, Tribeca Phase 1
RIBA Crown Estate Conservation Award 2009 - Midland Hotel

Filed under: Chips, Manchester, Mills Bakery, New Islington, Plymouth, Royal William Yard, Tom Bloxham MBE, Urban Splash No comments

My first serving of Chips by Will Alsop

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

It was great to see Tom at Chips last week when he and I visited the building with Stephen Bayley from the Observer.

For me as the architect it is very important to be with the client. The building has turned out as I hoped with joy, colour and delight. I hope the locals enjoy it. The only thing missing is the possibility of a glass in the Raw Bar and a large bowl of chips with lashings of ketchup.

Read the Observer article from mine and Tom’s visit here

tb_wa

Filed under: Chips, Manchester, New Islington - tags: , , ,
No comments

Dezeen: a magazine of our time? By Tom Bloxham MBE

June 22nd, 2009 [ No comments ] [ Add comment ]
by Tom Bloxham MBE

Just stumbled across Dezeen, not only does it feature a nice article on our Chips scheme at New Islington but I think this will be a real classic magazine.

Magazines for me are symbolic of different periods of my life. As a teen in the mid 1970s NME was the one I’d look through for punk gigs, or for buying stay-press trousers from the classifieds at the back or eagerly picking up what was happening with my pop star heroes. Every Thursday I couldn’t wait to get my hands on its dirty newsprint.

As I got older into my late teens, The Face took over as the magazine of choice; filled with its glossy pictures, snaps of Paul Weller’s latest hairstyles or reviews of new bars and clubs which I aspired to visit.

The next iconic magazine was probably Wallpaper. When it first came out there was a real freshness for beautiful buildings, shops or objects to buy and a reverence for lost and forgotten towns and cities. Not just trendy places like London, Paris and New York but obscure Icelandic airports, Scandinavian hotels and Latin American shops.

Perhaps now Dezeen is the magazine for today. Its free(!), clean, easy to get in your inbox and there are images of wonderfully designed objects, buildings and things from right across the world – most of which I haven’t seen before.

If I had to make a criticism of it, it’s a lack of critical comment – or indeed any comment – but I can live with that. It’s a bit like the old Smash hits, great pictures, simply laid out and easy to consume.

Thanks to Marcus Fairs and his team. I hope that this magazine might have the same impact on me as NME, The Face or Wallpaper did many years ago. I love people who try new things.

Filed under: Chips, Manchester, New Islington, Tom Bloxham MBE, Urban Splash - tags: , , , , , ,
No comments

Chips and Rent to HomeBuy

June 8th, 2009 [ No comments ] [ Add comment ]
by Shona King

Met up with some of our partners for a meeting over at Chips, New Islington yesterday to show off our new apartments, they all loved them! Took some pics of the views, I wish we had brought our deck chairs to sit out in the terrace to catch the sun whilst it hung around in Manchester. A nice cold beer would have topped it off too, however the meeting could have turned out to be a little less productive!

Our Rent to HomeBuy offer at Chips is certainly generating a lot of interest. Not surprising really as it’s a great way to be able to save money on rent and build up a deposit by paying 80% of the market rent. Then you can buy shares of your apartment from a minimum of 25% of the apartment price until you fully own it. At the meeting we were chatting about the Homes and Communities Agency’s ‘Key Event’ (www.thekeyevent.org ) they are hosting at Urbis on Monday 22nd June to help people understand how they can own their own home. We’ll be there serving up Chips (sorry not the greasy sort) along with other developers, independent financial advisors and lenders. It’s free to attend and there will be plenty of advice on hand, definitely one for the diary if you’re looking to buy a home.

New Islington, Manchester

Filed under: Affordable homes, Chips, Manchester, New Islington, Urban Splash - tags: , , , ,
No comments

Will Alsop serves up his views on Chips

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

Chips, New Islington, Manchester

This week the Architects Journal published a long article on Chips, our apartment building in New Islington. I am pleased to report that they liked it and recognised the tremendous effort that everyone has put into this area. It is sad that the bar is not occupied at the moment as it represents one of the central features of the master plan. i.e: to be able to sit near your home in the centre of the city with a glass of something in your hand and look South over a strip of water and observe people.

We have all tried to create a place where anyone will be happy to sit and do nothing. I think we are well on our way to achieving this and when we have I hope you will come and join me and Tom to watch the world from a cosy urban retreat.

Will Alsop, Alsop Architects
www.alsoparchitects.com

Filed under: Chips, Manchester, New Islington - tags: , , , ,
3 comments

3 comments to Will Alsop serves up his views on Chips

  1. Albion-worker says:
    June 13, 2009 at 12:46 am

    Well done Urban Splash. You’ve done it on this side of town too. Chips is fab! Thanks for putting a big fat stamp on the area. I too look forward to a local pint. A bar is much needed around here. Could also do with your attention to detail and high management standards too.

  2. Leanne Forshaw, Urban Splash says:
    June 2, 2009 at 3:28 pm

    More interesting Chips reading… Today Dezeen have posted this blog about the building: http://www.dezeen.com/2009/06/02/chips-by-alsop-architects/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=online&utm_campaign=twitter02jun09_ch2

  3. tom bloxham says:
    May 29, 2009 at 2:47 pm

    Looking forward to that pint with you in the bar, Will ,(preferably of decent wine !), hope to get ground floor taken soon ,we have a number of possibilities we are working on ,but if anyone out there has some wonderful ideas give us a shout!

Urban Splash on Google StreetView

April 7th, 2009 [ No comments ] [ Add comment ]
by Leanne Forshaw

So Google StreetView has launched. I wonder if there’ll be a surge to the confessional? Come on, I know you’ve been peaking in your neighbour’s windows…

It’s great to see some of our projects cropping up on there. The famous Urban Splash Loft Shop in Manchester looks good.

It’s also interesting to take a glimpse back in time at the Chips building during the early stages of construction – just the top layer of writing can be seen.

How far we’ve come – this is how she looks now!

Chips New Islington Manchester Urban Splash

Filed under: Chips, Manchester, New Islington, Urban Splash - tags: , , , , , ,
No comments