Alan Baxter

Our heritage team helped secure planning approval for ‘origo’ - a temporary installation sited in the Barbican Sculpture Court which is now open to the public. origo, meaning ‘origin’ in Latin, is designed by Colobian artist Delcy Morelos and marks the return of artwork to the Sculpture Court for the first time in 10 years. It is comprised of a large hollow elliptical ring, approximately 24 by 18 metres in footprint and 3.85 metres high, made from soil, water-resistant clay, spices and plant matter. Working in consultation with the @barbicancentre and @the_planninglab , we assessed the heritage impact of the installation, identifying that it would cause no harm to the Barbican’s listed fabric. We also argued that that the installation aligned strongly with the original purpose of the Sculpture Court as a place for contemporary art and public engagement and that it would make a positive contribution to the Barbican’s cultural life. This commission is Morelos’ most ambitious outdoor work to date and her first major presentation in the UK.

A huge congratulations to our engineers Daniel Blower and Matthew Waks on completing the @LondonMarathon , in 3h36m and 4h18m, respectively - what an incredible achievement! Their training has benefitted from our weekly run club, which is open to everyone, whatever their pace or experience. We have found it a great way to boost fitness, clear our heads, and swap notes on training! -- @takingthedaniel @matthew.waks #LondonMarathon

One of our heritage consultants, Boryana Ivanova, recently attended the Society of Architectural Historian’s 79th Annual International Conference in Mexico City to present her master’s research on war-damaged churches and the creation of memorial gardens in the City of London. Boryana explained: “Discussing this work with a global cohort of scholars was incredibly productive, offering new insights that will directly inform my future projects. Crucially, the location allowed me to widen the scope of architectural examples I engage with, looking well beyond the usual UK and European contexts. Exploring Mexico City’s unique urban fabric was also a highlight that added significant depth to my perspective on heritage and preservation, with a particular focus on its outstanding twentieth-century buildings.” The full title of Boryana’s paper is Making of Memorial Gardens in the City of London, undertaken at the University of Cambridge. -- @B0ry_ @sah1365 @cambridgeuniversity #SAH2026

Last week some of our heritage team visited the Kent town of Rochester for a study day. The town’s historic character is centred on its historic High Street, Cathedral and Castle. The High Street in particular retains a strong sense of place, with a rich mix of historic buildings that give the town a distinctive identity, and perhaps one of the best-preserved high streets in the country. Rochester Cathedral provided a quieter counterpoint, reflecting the town’s long ecclesiastical history, while the Castle remains a major visual landmark and a reminder of Rochester’s strategic importance on the Medway. The visit also highlighted some of the challenges facing heritage-led regeneration. Historic high streets depend on active uses, footfall and investment, but can be vulnerable to vacant units, traffic pressures, changing retail habits and the costs of maintaining older buildings. Rochester is a very good example of how heritage can support local identity and visitor appeal, but also how conservation must be matched with sustainable economic uses if town centres are to remain resilient. -- @jfwillans @carlosfinlay @joepundek

On behalf of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust @imperialnhs we have provided conservation advice for The Fleming Centre at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, which will provide a new, dedicated centre to focus on tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which is one of the greatest global public health threats. Granted planning approval this week, the project will adapt and reuse Paddington’s historic canal-side industrial warehouses, known as The Bays. These former industrial warehouses, dating back to around 1850, were originally used for transport and distribution before being incorporated into the hospital in 1983. Designed by @Stanton_Williams , the design prioritises sustainability, proposing features such as renewable energy systems, including a water-source heat pump and photovoltaic panels, alongside biodiverse landscaping and a low-carbon structure. The new building will occupy a waterfront site overlooking the Regent’s Canal and will be the first new building to open at St Mary’s as part of ongoing plans for the site’s wider redevelopment under the government’s New Hospital Programme. The Centre is part of the wider Fleming Initiative, established jointly by Imperial College Healthcare and Imperial College London to find solutions to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) at a global scale. The Centre is intended to be integrated into a full redevelopment of St Mary’s Hospital which is included in the Government’s New Hospital Programme and for which we are providing ongoing conservation advice. The Fleming Centre is due to open on the 100-year anniversary of Sir Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin at St Mary’s, in 2028. -- @fleminginitiative @carlosfinlay @jfwillans

Last month some of our team attended ‘Late: Art at the Abbey’, held at @westminsterabbeylondon This was a thoughtful and well-curated evening that brought together art and history in a remarkable, atmospheric setting. The event offered us the chance to experience the Abbey in a different way, using creative activity and interpretation to encourage closer engagement with the building, its stories and its collections. Carlos Finlay, Senior Heritage Consultant: “There was a strong sense of curiosity throughout the evening as we were granted free rein of the Abbey, exploring its historic spaces and reflecting on the building’s architectural details through pencil and paper. The event made the Abbey experience feel both intimate and accessible, showing how art can be a medium for observing and understanding historic places.” -- @carlosfinlay

Work is progressing at Brown Hart Gardens in Mayfair, where we are providing engineering advice for a long-planned transformation of a public rooftop garden above the Grade II listed Duke Street Electricity Substation. Working in collaboration with @studio_ageli ; @nigel.dunnett ; and @thelandscapeagency , the project involves refurbishing an existing café pavilion and introducing a new landscape scheme. Our work has focused on the extension of the existing garden pavilion, retaining much of the existing steel frame and extending it to achieve an organic form with new curved roofing, cladding and glazing. The steel structural frame for this is now in place, beginning to reveal the new profile of the pavilion. Our input also involved a detailed appraisal of the existing steel-framed structure of the 1904 substation roof deck, working with the landscape architects to advise on the new curved planting arrangements. -- Images courtesy of Studio Ageli @tim_ashworth11 @ta.desiign

Last week our Urbanism group was out and about on a study trip in East London, where they were able to look at some of the recent developments and major regeneration schemes that have taken place. Whilst as a practice we design and work on these types of schemes ourselves, it’s always useful to see what’s been delivered elsewhere. Some of the sites and developments included Chobham Manor in Stratford, Hackney Wick/Fish Island, Canning Town, Trinity Buoy Wharf & Good Luck Hope, the Royal Docks, and the Design District in North Greenwich. It was an all-day affair, with around 20,000 steps each, including a well needed lunch! Their conclusion? There is a huge amount happening in this part of London, delivering residential and mixed-use schemes at various scales, but also managing to tie into the area’s rich heritage in different ways. Moreover, the Royal Docks is one of our own projects, with our movement team having worked on the Public Realm Framework (shortlisted for an NLA Award), as well as the recently completed improvements to North Woolwich Road. So, a great chance to see it in the flesh.

We recently provided conservation advice to an unusual project to restore the fragile listed remains of a timber-framed, medieval hall house in Harrow-on-the-Hill, presently on the Heritage at Risk Register. Working with a team of specialists, the project will reimagine the building as a workshop space for artists, with a new-build annex providing accommodation. The project has now been granted planning and Listed Building Consent by Harrow Council. Architects: Hayatsu Architects @takeshi_hayatsu Timber specialist: McCurdy & Co @mccurdyandco Planning: The Planning Lab

Farmstead Road is a back-garden infill project that makes use of a 0.29ha rear garden site within Lewisham’s historic Bellingham Estate, delivering 24 new Passivhaus-standard affordable homes. Working with @Met_Work for resident-led @phoenixtogether Community Housing, the scheme supports affordable housing targets set out by London Borough of Lewisham and the Mayor of London and was designed to Passivhaus Low Energy Building Standard, reducing residents’ energy bills. The scheme, which replaced a two-storey terrace, comprises 18 two and three-bedroom homes available at London Affordable Rent and six two and three-bedroom shared ownership homes. We advised on the scheme as part of a design-and-build contract and took the project up to the appointment and engagement of the Contractor. -- Photos by @fh_otography

We have reached a key milestone in the redevelopment of Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, as a planning application is submitted for the transformative refurbishment of this historic sporting and community facility. This once-in-a-generation redevelopment will include a refurbishment of the 50m swimming and diving pools’ structure and improvements to the indoor facilities, external pitches and athletics stadium. We’re working as structural and civil engineers on the transformation of this Grade II* listed building, alongside @morgansindallconstruction ; @FaulknerBrowns ; @woo_architects ; and @maxfordhamllp . -- @bettercrystalpalacensc @turkington_martin @tibbalds @pillarvisuals

This week the @uni_roehampton ’s Dorothy Buchanan Building opened as a new home for Sustainable Engineering and Technology within the University’s School of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment (CEBE). Working with @fcbstudios , we provided engineering advice for this new centre, which will provide industry-leading facilities for students and supports the UK’s strategic journey to achieve net-zero by 2050. Targeting BREEAM Excellent, the project combined fabric upgrades, with existing materials reused where possible, reducing embodied carbon. Building systems were designed to accommodate future low-carbon technologies and evolving environmental standards, serving as an exemplar case study for students. We worked to keep structural interventions to a minimum and targeted structural alterations to accommodate the routing of new services. A key aspect of this was to carefully thread a new lift shaft into the building, which was done in a way which retains the existing floor slabs. The completed building features flexible learning spaces, collaborative studios, and state-of-the-art labs that simulate real-world engineering environments. Dorothy Buchanan was the first woman elected to membership of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1927. The building was opened by her granddaughters, with Sister Dr Bernadette Porter RSCJ offering a blessing on the new building (which was once a French Catholic Convent).