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NAZRIN SHAH BUILDING – STEELWORK

JULY 2015

Nazrin Shah Building – Steelwork

Just over two years since our first tentative steps towards imagining what sort of space a new auditorium for Worcester College might possibly be like, we find ourselves enclosed within a spidery sketch, looking up to the trees through a skeletal enclosure of steel. We watched in excitement as our drawings were scribed across the site, first in neon spray paint and little red sticks, later excavated into deep ravines. We pick our way across the lines that had become so familiar on paper and are now concrete obstacles in a muddy field. The reality of this transition only became real as we stood looking across at the steel columns in this picture. They map out the positions of the stone fins that radiate around the curved facade of the new auditorium, with the sloping beams above us silhouetted against the bright July sky marking the future locations of the sculpted folds to the soffit.

AUCKLAND CASTLE PLANNING APPROVAL

MARCH 2015

Auckland Castle Planning Approval

We have received planning approval and Listed Building Consent for the restoration and extension to Auckland Castle in Co. Durham. The project involves repairs and alterations to the existing listed buildings, a new museum extension and a visitor reception building facing the town square. Given the high sensitivity of this unique site, the planning process took almost one year, involving a very constructive dialogue with English Heritage and Durham County Council. The designs had overwhelming support from local people.