Ending one calendar year and commencing the next is inevitably a time of reflection and recalibration – taking stock and being thankful for another year of highs and lows. For us at CWa the highly unusual and unpredictable 2020 is only our third year together since founding our studio – and we are pleased to say that aside from all of the obvious difficulties and uncertainties, it has been our busiest year yet. I was invited by Instagram to review our ‘top nine’ most popular posts from this year’s studio social media feed, and it gave me reason to pause and consider all the things CWa have been busy with over the last twelve months.
Completions
Seeing projects progress through to a successful completion on site remains our primary passion, and a milestone that we never tire of celebrating with clients. This year saw the completion of our reordering project at Holy Trinity Colden Common in the Diocese of Winchester (which was CWa’s third ever commission!), following a swift 3 month contract between July and September. We were delighted to visit our friends and clients at the Owlpen Estate in October to inspect their progress project-managing the construction of their Events Hall – having achieved Planning Permission and Listed Building Consent for them back in 2018. Not all of our project completions involved scaffolding and hard hats – we finished the year by completing our Feasibility Study for Oasis Hub Bath at Hayhill Baptist Church. We have really enjoyed working with the OHB team to make their GII Victorian church better equipped (operationally, environmentally, accessibly) to host their incredible outreach work in the community (alongside strengthening their congregational worship) and creating a ‘home for the city’ in the centre of Bath.
New Appointments
Among the several new commissions in 2020, two of the larger projects are particularly notable, having been received following word of mouth recommendations from peers within the conservation sector. Our appointment at St.Michael’s church in Shute followed a recommendation from the Diocese of Exeter, and our appointment at Weycroft Manor followed a recommendation from our colleagues at Avalon Planning and Heritage. We have enjoyed getting to know the client teams at each site and are pleased to say both projects are progressing well. The final months of 2020 saw commencement of two exciting new projects that we are not yet able to announce – but are looking forward to sharing developing design drawings on the website and Instagram feed as the new year progresses.
Growth
2020 has also seen CWa expand and consolidate as a studio. We have had a great experience employing our first architectural assistant, Joe Franklin, who has fit comfortably into the team and whose talents have boosted the quality of our illustrated and modelled output considerably! I was pleased to offer Joe a position after tutoring him during his final undergraduate year on UWE’s Architecture and Planning degree, and it has been great watching Joe’s final year project garner acclaim over the last year - being nominated for both the AJ Student Prize and RIBA President’s Bronze Medal (well done Joe!).
In September we ended our two year tenure in the Spike Design hot-desking space and graduated to our own dedicated studio upstairs in the Arts Centre. We really enjoyed our time in the joint space and made some great new friends, but we are loving having our new studio with south facing views over the New Cut. Space to pin up, space to make models, and space to grow.
September also saw CWa named as one of the AJ’s top 25 ‘disruptors’ – small teams of architects exploring new paths through practice. It was a real honour to be recognised amongst a cohort of such innovative young architects, and we thank the AJ again for their continued support of our ‘reuse first’ commitment to working with existing fabric.
2021
Turning eyes to 2021 and the year is sure to kick off at a swift pace, with three projects all due to commence contracts on site before the end of January – including a conservation and refurbishment project at a higher education college in Southampton. We are particularly delighted with this as our first project in the education sector, and have enjoyed assisting the college Estates Team with the sensitive upkeep and discrete adaptation of a listed building on their campus. We are balancing working from home with a carefully managed return to the studio, where we continue to fitout our dedicated space and invest in the hardware and software required to deliver the highest standard of service to our clients. Most recently our Christmas present to ourselves – two large whiteboards for design reviews, crits and collaborative thinking.
New Year’s Resolutions
Whilst we continue to work in accordance with Government Guidelines to prevent the spread of covid, we remain hopeful for a return to more normal conditions before too long. We are looking forward to getting back out to visit the buildings that inspire us; to observe, to draw, to debate and reflect. I am reinstating my ‘one sketch per week’ challenge from back in 2018, and certainly hope to expand my travel beyond Tier 3 to achieve that goal.
Finally, having also reviewed the output of the CWa website journal over 2020, I think we will all be endeavouring to write and share more as well! Best wishes to all for a safe, healthy, busy and fulfilling 2021.
Charlie