POD attended Futurebuild this week and sat in on interesting discussions highly relevant to our sector, particularly during the energy and cost of living crisis that the country currently experiences.

Discussions around how we build and how we power our buildings were high on the agenda. PassivHaus and Zero Energy Developments are becoming the norm as the industry transitions towards the Future Homes Standard and tighter regulations. But more prescient is how we are all struggling with the rising cost of living, and in particular, our energy bills. When done correctly, Passivhaus can lead to a significant reduction in the amount of energy used and therefore a reduction in costs. Emma Odmundsen, Chief Executive of Sixty Bricks, Waltham Forest Borough Council Housing Development Company and Bill Dunster of ZED Factory, touched on the operational costs in presentation on these areas. It took a crisis to change mainstream attitudes in the UK – which can only be a good thing. There is a lot to learn globally as Sebastian Moreno Vacca pointed to in his range of global projects. POD are looking at PassivHaus standard homes on some schemes and we are also examining environmental retrofitting over rebuilding for some of our client’s assets.

As the built environment looks towards the future, how we build is changing as we tackle the issues of our time – rising costs of construction, shortages of labour, and most importantly, the climate crisis. POD have been heavily researching modern methods of construction (MMC) and modular as a way to change the way we build. Like most practices, we have seen how the rising cost of construction and the shortages of labour are affecting projects, and we look to modular to solve some of those issues. During the Futurebuild, there was much talk on how modular is achieved, extending into the field of Platform-Design for Manufacture and Assembly (P-DfMA). Can lessons from the car industry be applied to the building construction and manufacturing sector?

Other areas of MMC discussed other challenges, for example the CLT sector has had to confront how to build in this way whilst meeting more stringent Part B and NHBC requirements. Delegates touched on the need to engage with industry insurers at the earliest stages to make them part of the approval process and create guidance. It seems like the UK could learn from Europe where a clearer set of rules and constraints are set.

These are just a few topics that stood out on a thought-provoking day that give us ideas for our research. Futurebuild once again had a range product suppliers and experts on hand to quiz that we will use to inform our outputs moving forwards.

We are excited to announce that our residential-led mixed use scheme, Bardell Wharf, has been granted planning permission.

The development has been designed on behalf of Donard Living and will deliver 374 high quality homes across four separate buildings, along public realm improvements. Bardell Wharf will play a crucial role in the on-going redevelopment of this historic quarter of Rochester. The significant development will introduce a vibrant new community into the heart of Rochester and will enjoy excellent connections to all essential amenities.

Situated in the Star Hill Conservation Area and on an important junction in the centre of Rochester, the plans will transform a cluster of derelict buildings into much needed high quality homes. With significant heritage assets close to the site, the design demanded a sensitive and considered response. The design team achieved this with a deliberate choice of materials, brick hues, massing, and detailing.

The scheme was developed through an iterative process driven by productive engagement with Medway Planning Department and public consultations. The result of which is a scheme that feels part of the urban context, issuing in a new chapter in the long history of Rochester.

POD Architects have developed a vision for a sustainable, high-density, affordable housing scheme, located on the corner of Hankinson Way and Belvedere Road in Pendleton that will provide much-needed, high-quality homes.

Salford (first recorded in 1169 as Saufird in Great Rolls of the Pipe) was little more than a village on the banks of the River Irwell.

The northern and western elements of the site are surrounded by roads, some of them major. The development offers the opportunity to create a genuine place of sanctuary away from the traffic.
The immediate area around Albion Court has little greenery, the site could allow for a brief interlude – for the residents and local wildlife.

Creating a thriving community will be a key aim of the landscape at Salford, offering places for people to meet, exercise, work, eat and relax outside.

The landscape response will be inspired by both the history and pride of this changing area.

POD Architects are delighted to announce Watford Borough Council has awarded planning permission to our innovative family housing site within the Northern Riverwell Masterplan. During these challenging times, the scheme was approved with unanimous support for the very first virtual planning committee by Watford Borough Council with delegated powers. Working with Kier Property Ltd and Watford Borough Council, POD Architects developed the family housing site to deliver a comprehensive scheme, creating a new neighbourhood and catalyst for the regeneration of the Watford Riverwell Northern Masterplan, which POD completed in 2018.

The planning stage concluded and materialised into 192 high quality sustainable family homes at a density of 95 dwellings per hectare with an emphasis on community living formed through large communal gardens and redefined the accepted normalities seen within housing standards. The scope had the added benefit of a large community centre which features spaces for fitness and games and an emphasis throughout the project on affordable housing. The project emphasised Watford’s scenic upbringing and notions of a meeting place through the inclusion of large communal gardens reminiscent of Georgian squares without railings or barriers so children can play securely. The design of which was developed to include meandering pathways through tree-lined meadows, referencing Turner’s historic painting of the River Colne, which lies to the south of the site.

Working closely with stakeholders and establishing a continuous dialogue, POD successfully challenged local design standards whilst promoting high quality design. The design responded to a number of challenging constraints, consisting of tall neighbouring buildings, large topographical differences and major underground services. Along with these constraints, POD pushed to achieve an innovative scheme that acts as a transition point between the existing traditional terraced housing to the north-east and the future high-rise apartments to the south-west. Various homes are arranged either within maisonettes; single or dual aspect terraces; back-to-back homes, or apartments meeting amenity space standards with a combination of private gardens, balcony spaces and roof terraces. All homes have access to high quality traffic-free public gardens acting as a meeting point for this new community to congregate amongst soft landscaping. The development has sought to be a low-trafficked neighbourhood placing the priority on active travel with generous facilities for cycling and walking.

Buildings are formed in high quality brick facades with metal windows and balconies. Brick faced detailing has been central to the architectural theme with the use of two coloured bricks and traditional coursing and detailing. The scheme limits overlooking whilst setting buildings within terraced rows in close proximity, this has been achieved by offsetting habitable rooms and balconies from each other. The scheme is formed to promote community with well- designed public gardens in front of the dwellings. Mature trees have been specified to be incorporated from the outset to support our vision for this scheme to create a high density community led development which will last the test of time.

Pod Architects is committed to research and development and encourage staff to pursue their own topics with a view that it can influence our day-to-day design activities. In this time of climate emergency, the environment is foremost on our agenda and recently Rob has channelled this research into his role as a committee member for “Tidy Up Tottenham”, a community organisation aimed at reducing waste across Haringey and seeking ways to ethically eliminate single-use plastics in the local supply chain. The group regularly collaborates with organisations such as “Clean Up UK” and “Keep Britain Tidy”, as well as a number of local organisations such as “Zero Waste Market Haringey” who promote water refill bottles, and product refills. There are many skills that we possess as architects that can influence our local communities, that feeds back into our day-to-day work and improve our own office environment.

With our success at Inverness we are reminded why good retail design is so important. The demise of High Streets is much reported with the New Statesmen dubbing 2018 the ‘the annus horribilis’ for British brands. POD is mounting the revival, reaching key milestones on projects reinventing existing retail spaces, making them fit for modern retailers, consumer trends & sustainable urban environments. Schemes at Church Walk, Walton-on-Thames, & Littlehampton are currently in planning; to go alongside Inverness. Meanwhile the practice continues to research & develop solutions in Bootle; Grimsby; Maidstone; Peacehaven; Canterbury; Ashford; Cumbernauld; Edinburgh; Kingston Upon Hull; Ilford; Wimbledon & High Wycombe.
The governments Future High Streets Fund acknowledges that the way we’re using towns has changed. Pod are well placed to participate in the debate and help conceive the next iteration. Our schemes always maximise lettable retail space & align with a mix of other uses like leisure & culture. Whilst exploiting bricks & clicks digital trends. This is complemented by active & improved public realm. These big town centre assets create another opportunity – repopulating town centres with affordable dwellings. If we can return the community, we can create vibrant town centres hubs once more.

POD Architects are delighted to announce that ‘Holly Tree Corner’ has been granted Full Planning Consent by Thanet District Council through appeal from the Secretary of State.

Holly Tree Corner is the development of a previously fire damaged public house into a new contextual development consisting of 35 high-quality residential apartments, 3 detached houses and a micro-pub in Margate, Kent, within walking distance to the old town and destination attractions including the new Turner Contemporary Gallery.

POD Architects has proposed a new set of residential spaces with a community facility at the corner of Holly Lane and Northdown Road. The proposal provides quality placemaking on a prominent brownfield urban site creating a modern replacement use for the former fire damaged public house. The material palette has been derived from local context materials using a mixture of red brick creating a contemporary identity whilst providing a suggestion of its bucolic history.

POD plays a critical role in retail growth at South Terminal, Gatwick where completed units are taken by fashionable Grain Store; Wagamama; Jamie Oliver’s Diner; Starbucks & Flying Horse Public House. POD maximised lettable space in tight highly constrained air side areas creating room for big brands & driving retail churn. Our unit for MoneyCorp & Havaianas reflects trends for walk-through retail akin to other recently completed projects. Design interventions reflect strong results at Gatwick with a 7.9% rise in retail income with net retail income per passenger up by 6% to the year ending 31st March 2019 (Moodie Davitt Report, 18th June 2019). The recent Heathrow masterplan announcement, & soon to be published Gatwick masterplan, demonstrates POD are in pole position to offer airport retail design expertise drawing on inspiration at leading hubs like Changi, Incheon and Schipol. POD continue to offer sky high design ideas at leading airport retail zones, adding value, driving growth and maximising space.

POD Architects are delighted to share the new construction images of the Food & Beverage units at the front of Eastgate Shopping Centre.

POD traveled up to Scotland to inspect construction works for their proposal of the shell of four new restaurants on the ground floor in the heart of Inverness. The site visit started with a design team meeting and followed up with a detailed inspection of all works. POD’s attention to detail together with the monitored strategic conversations with the contractors led to a successful assessment. The project is currently moving forward at pace, aiming to create a new active frontage for Falcon Square and contribute to the public realm of the surrounding area.

Following a four­week competition bid, POD have been crowned the winner for the housing site as part of the Watford Riverwell Northern Masterplan for Kier Property and Watford Borough Council.

In 1926 the Olde Charles was built as a mock-tudor Public House. When built, the area was mainly fields with a seaside view. In 2016 the Public House, which had been closed and had suffered a serious fire. Now, POD Architects has proposed a new set of residential spaces with a community facility at the corner of Holly Lane and Northdown Road. The proposal provides quality place making on a prominent brownfield urban site, creating a modern replacement use for the former fire damaged public house.