POD Architects support The Architecture Foundation through monthly donations. The Architecture foundation is a coalition of architects, clients, professionals and the public campaigning for a better built environment in the city and society. Find their website and support them here.
POD Architects have made regular monthly donations to UNICEF for the last 5 years and continue to do so.
Placemaking
The built environment has a huge effect on our sense of well-being, and as such, we see it as our responsibility to create spaces that are memorable, comfortable, and engaging. We achieve this through innovative design solutions and our continued research into the latest sustainable construction methods.
No two sites are the same and therefore each project must have a unique response. Our design ethos is driven by a deep understanding of the local history, the stories of the residents, and the vernacular architecture of each site.
With public and private stakeholders seeking to create financially sustainable and socially engaging places, the key to successful placemaking lies in part in understanding place on a local level. The social responsibility of POD Architects is in believing that architecture can create better places, that architecture can affect society, and that it can have a role in making a place civilised by making a community more liveable. This is one of the key drivers through POD’s design work.
Supporting charities, Community Groups and Organisations
POD is underpinned by the strong commercial base described within our Place Making. This allows the opportunity for some humanitarian projects to take place that furthers our social responsibility and research. POD has been working in Northern Greece on design initiatives for refugee camps. It involves collaboration with the Worldwide Tribe and the Global Practice Unit. The project has developed dignified solutions for the refugees and has curated an exhibition, completed a school, and has developed a new community space for the residents of the camp.
Collaboration
POD have a collaborative working style which allows clients to bring their knowledge and experience into the design process. We have a system which tracks the design process to understand the development and stakeholder requirements and to determine the priorities. POD has developed its collaborative style to encourage client involvement in producing creative and commercially viable design solutions that make the most of challenging sites and spaces. POD engage with a number of consultants and key stakeholders by identifying the potential of large town centre sites to influence wider town developments. This allows us to deliver appropriate developments that are highly supported by consultants and a proactive design team.
Engagement
From the outset POD recognise that there needs to establish clear lines of communication and we seek to establish a clear brief for our projects. From this we seek to establish strong connections with key stakeholders such as the local authority and design review panels. Many of the projects Pod are involved in feature strategically important sites, such as the Church Shopping Centre in the heart of Caterham which are closely linked to local authority masterplans. Such key sites require engagement at the outset in order that we can deliver on the full potential. Often Pod and the wider design team can use their expertise to engage with the senior local authority figures such as head of the council or chief executives. This is why we see engagement as critical to driving projects forward.
Building Information Modelling (BIM)
POD Architects knowledge and expertise in Building Information Modelling will bring added value to the project, enabling a truly collaborative design environment to deliver an exemplary scheme. BIM is transformable when applied well to projects, greatly reducing waste, enabling collaboration and increasing the value of project outcomes. Combined with the emphasis we place on collaboration with our multidisciplinary teams this puts us in a unique position. Our ability to create coordinated structures and service models provide us with insight into the existing and proposed site conditions.
Architects Declare
POD Architects are signatories of Architects Declare who advocate change in the construction industry regarding climate change. The open letter declares a climate and biodiversity emergency and calls for positive action in the construction industry. Find their website and support them here.
POD Architects is committed to going green and tackling climate change by creating a sustainable environment. With this in mind, POD Architects have developed the expertise to calculate carbon efficiencies of buildings and whole life carbon modelling.
