Cambridge Student Accommodation Completed

CGA are pleased to announce the recent completion of new student accommodation for the Bell Language School in Cambridge.

CGA were instructed to design new accommodation within a former Georgian villa which had once been home to the trust’s founder, Frank Bell. Through a number of sensitive alterations CGA were able to provide space for up to 20 students in a total of 17 rooms.

The project marks the first built phase of a campus masterplan, which CGA have worked up with the school over a number of years. Phase 2 which is currently in for planning includes the addition of a further 98 bed new-build unit adjacent to Hillscross.

Cambridge Design & Construction Awards Win For The David Parr House Project

CGA are proud to announce that the recently completed conservation of the David Parr House in Cambridge has been awarded the 2019 Cambridge Design & Construction Award for Best Conservation, Alteration and Extension (under £2 million construction costs).

The David Parr House is a rare survival of a C19 painted domestic interior.  It was the home of David Parr, an artisan painter from 1886-1927.  The interiors reflect the work that Parr was carrying out for a local firm with important commissions all over Britain. 

Cowper Griffith Architects were appointed to secure a change of use and to prepare a scheme of repairs following a Conservation Management Plan by John Maddison Ph.D, FSA. Work to the interiors has involved the careful removal of friable plaster and its replacement with new lime plaster, together with the painstaking repair of joinery, architraves and decorative finishes. 

The house opened its doors to visitors in May 2019 & visits/tours can be booked online at davidparrhouse.org

More project information and photographs can be found within the project page on our website.

Sensitive design for new house in AONB granted permission

CGA has recently secured planning permission for a high-quality bespoke home within an area of outstanding natural beauty on the North Norfolk Coast.

CGA were appointed by the client following a design competition held over the autumn (2018) to develop proposals for a unique family home. Two architects were shortlisted to participate in the competition and after a selection process CGA were awarded the contract owing to their distinctive response to the client brief and innovative design proposals.

The house is designed with 2 distinct parts, a solid plinth of brick and flint that encloses the ground floor rooms, and a series of lightweight pavilions which house the principal living spaces and maximise long views out over the surrounding landscape.

CGA are currently preparing technical design information and construction is intended to start in June 2020.

Planning permission granted for Old Plantation Cottage

After a 2-year planning battle CGA has recently secured planning permission for a unique new build house within a sensitive woodland setting in South Cambridgeshire.

CGA were appointed by the client following a design competition held over the summer (2018) to develop proposals for a high quality, highly sustainable residential dwelling to replace an existing outmoded, and poorly functioning house. A total of four architects were shortlisted to participate in the competition and after a rigorous selection process Cowper Griffith Architects were awarded the contract owing to their carefully considered, sensitive design that fulfilled the client’s brief and integrate well in the setting.

The proposed house uses materials & building styles referenced from the surrounding village and adapts them to suit the client’s unique needs and design tastes. The design is arranged around ‘spine’ path which runs through the centre of the house connecting the different rooms to the surrounding landscape and flooding the centre of the house with natural daylight.

We are in the process of preparing construction drawings, and the project is due to start mid-2020.

New Build dwelling in Barkway completed

CGA have recently completed a new build dwelling for a couple in Barkway. After a challenging planning process involving a great deal of consultation, the project was delivered on site by PB Doyle Ltd, who managed the construction with great efficiency and professionalism. The design consists of three bedrooms, with all primary accommodation located at ground floor for accessibility purposes and guest rooms above. The roof height was kept low, to minimise the impact of the new building on the surroundings and neighbouring houses. Internally, living spaces are provided with large, full height corner windows, looking out over the generous garden to fields beyond. A contemporary long-format brick was used, with vertical batten cladding in western red cedar. Natural zinc roofing to linking areas compliments the more traditional natural slating on the pitched roofs. Anodised finishes to metalwork and window frames add warmth to the material palette. Photovoltaic panels have been recessed into the slate roof to create a modern, clean appearance. In addition, excellent levels of insulation and air tightness mean that energy demand and therefore running costs are expected to be extremely low.

CLT installed at Suffolk Wildlife Trust

The specialist timber-frame company KLH have successfully completed the installation of their hybrid cross laminated timber frame at Carlton Marshes for Suffolk Wildlife Trust. The quality of the timber and workmanship is excellent. The new centre will be open for visitors to the expanded nature reserve early this summer.

Thremhall Park Buildings 1 & 2 completed

CGA has recently handed over two substantial office buildings for Mantle, at their Thremhall Park site in Essex, further expanding our growing ‘workplace' portfolio.

These two buildings represent the first phase of Mantle’s ambitious plans to expand this heavily wooded and heritage-rich site, to offer greater capacity and variety of commercial floorspace. Consent for these and two further buildings was secured by CGA in 2016. The buildings stand next to a moat, a protected tree belt, a Georgian Mansion and a grouping of Grade II barns, and take some visual cues from the local vernacular in their use of black timber and plain tile, whilst remaining clearly modern, robust and practical. Exposed feature structures on concrete columns and a very dark, low sheen paint finish give the buildings their more contemporary aesthetic.

Planning consent secured for contemporary new house in Norfolk

CGA has recently secured consent for this unusual, contemporary four bedroomed SIPS house in Norfolk, for a local couple.

The design ‘floats’ a timber clad bedroom block above a free-flowing ground floor, with a glazed southern aspect and heavy, masonry wraparound back wall.

We make reference to the local vernacular with our use of flint, though we will handle it in a contemporary fashion. The house becomes increasingly soft and woody as it extends away from the street and into the tree belt.

Views are carefully managed and considered, and the internal planning highly bespoked to our clients.

We look forward to helping them fulfil their long held ambition to create a striking, sustainable and affordable family home, on a beautiful, wooded edge of settlement site.

Concept designs for a Community Theatre in East Cambridgeshire

A concept scheme has been prepared investigating the conversion of a derelict mill in East Cambridgeshire into a flexible, low cost and contemporary community theatre.

Extensions containing an auditorium, backstage areas and vertical circulation are clearly expressed and reference the local ‘black Fenland shed’ typology in their dark, simple, humble and agricultural form, cladding and detail.

Further interest derives from the sensitive conversion of the historic mill building, placing sharply executed new fabric against richly textured and at times dilapidated existing brickwork and timber, and revealing our contemporary auditorium interior through careful handling of existing window openings.

Mersea Barns opens to the public

Cowper Griffith Architects has completed a new shop, café, play and community hub in East Mersea, on the site of a former 'pick your own' fruit farm.

The building takes its inspiration from the modest, black-painted timber barns and sheds which dot this sparse yet stunning landscape of tidal mudflats and fertile lowlands

The shop and café act as a rotating gallery for local artists and craftspeople, and the café showcases the best local produce.

The scheme is the brainchild of a local family, wishing to create a focal point for their community. We wish them tremendous success!

We also offer our thanks and appreciation to T J Evers, local Building Contractor, who were diligent, collaborative and committed to achieving excellent results.

Find out more at: www.merseabarns.com