Monday, January 10, 2005

Millennium Square Regeneration

Next step in £5bn Greenwich Peninsula regeneration announced as plans for London's newest public square are approved. 'Millennium Square' designed by Barr Gazetas, will act as the gateway to the Dome and as the focal point to the surrounding regeneration. Greenwich Council approved detailed plans, submitted by Meridian Delta Ltd, Anschutz Entertainment Group Europe and English Partnerships, on 25th November 2004. The designs for Millennium Square incorporate a sweeping canopy linking North Greenwich station to the Dome entrance, a permanent performance stage, substantial tree planting and water features. A 56m tall 'mast' will be a permanent art installation and provide a strong visual reference from all parts of the peninsula.

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Barr Gazetas Runner up in international architectural competition

Barr Gazetas have been named as the runners-up in a major international architectural competition run by the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) on behalf of the East of England Development Agency (EEDA). The competition, which had to be entered anonymously, was to design an ‘Innovation Centre’ in the city of Peterborough. It attracted a total of 56 submissions, including entries from Argentina, Dubai, the USA and Europe. Barr Gazetas were shortlisted to the final six and then created the runner-up scheme in response to a brief ‘to take a visionary approach to sustainability and the use of innovative technologies’. The Barr Gazetas scheme took the form of white-rendered wings with a glass and timber central interchange and ‘sky hub’ with a 30m wind turbine at its centre. The scheme featured completely integrated sustainable technologies and was bound by the central tenets of multi-usage, flexibility and low maintenance.

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Bar Gazetas Wins "Streets of Colour Award"

Barr Gazetas have been named as winners of the ‘Streets of Colour’ Awards - a national ideas competition run by Keim Mineral Paints to celebrate the company’s 125th anniversary, together with media partner The Architects' Journal. Barr Gazetas chose the neglected central London thoroughfare Adam and Eve Court as the location for their proposed scheme, which enlivens a forgotten, graffiti-covered alleyway running between Eastcastle Street and Oxford Street. The scheme – following a colour spectrum of cool blues from office-dominated Eastcastle Street (where Barr Gazetas’ own offices are) through to the hot reds that denote the frenetic activity of Oxford Street – was selected as the winning project by a panel including architects Will Alsop and Cezary Bednarski, Helen Hughes from English Heritage, Paul Finch from the Architect’s Journal and Gareth Davies of Keim Mineral Paints. The judges commented that this scheme won because they were ‘particularly impressed by the dynamic use of colour in an urban context.’

Working with Clegg Gifford

Barr Gazetas have completed a crisp and modern new-build office block in the heart of Romford (in the south-east of England) for insurance company Clegg Gifford. The new 10,000 sq ft 5-storey scheme is designed to provide maximum contrast to its monotonous 1980s and 90s red-brick neighbours in Romford's Eastern Road. The steel-frame building has blockwork cavity construction and is rendered white. A curved-edge tower structure projects to the left and slightly in front of the next door building, giving users a clear view down the road to the local train station, with further views from an inset balcony area on the top floor. To the rear, a glass tower houses a spiral stair with open treads, giving the rear elevation a strong identity.

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Barr Gazetas and CB Richard Ellis

Barr Gazetas have completed work on the new headquarters of recently-merged CB Richard Ellis – the world’s leading property services firm - in London’s Wimpole Street. Barr Gazetas, appointed to the project after a three-way creative pitch against major UK and US architectural practices, were responsible for the design of the front-of-house public areas of the scheme, including a double-height reception area, where a dynamic four-section staircase links the ground floor to a floating lily pad meeting area, a further mezzanine meeting area and a first floor social space, comprising meeting and conferencing areas as well as a daytime café and night-time bar.


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