Harrison Stringfellow

Absolutely delighted to have been invited by @hsapics to take part in the upcoming discussions and events programme for Repairing the Street: Value, Care and the Politics of Housing at the The Building Centre this May. Without These Walls will be screened as part of the programme, a film made with Janet Brandon / Trickfilm exploring the lasting impact of housing clearance and demolition on communities in the north of England. Film music and sound: Gary O’Donnell More info via the links in bio. #WithoutTheseWalls #HousingJustice #SocialHousing #DocumentaryFilm

JOIN US 22ND MAY @ THE BUILDING CENTRE, LONDON. The ‘Small Scale, Big Ideas’ exhibition remains open at @thebuildingcentre until the end of May, featuring our proposal for The Liverpool School of Building 🔨 As part of the accompanying talks and events programme, HSA will host a screening of ‘Without These Walls’ on 22nd May by artists @jayne_lawless and Janet Brandon (Trickfilm).Through animation, poetry, found sound and demolition site footage, the film introduces the story of what happened to a street where homes were condemned to be cleared by Pathfinder, a governmental ‘Housing Market Renewal Initiative.’ The film highlights the impact this had on many communities in the cities of the north of England, demolishing perfectly decent homes that people could still be living in today. The talk will cover a brief history of this controversial initiative, highlighting case studies in the city which have demonstrated different models for development, before detailing HSA’s ‘Liverpool School of Building’ proposition for how care, community and a low carbon approach combining modern methods of construction with traditional skill development can offer an alternative sustainable outcome.

We had a great time visiting the @hpa_riba_architects team in Lancaster yesterday, returning the heritage-sustainability skills swap that we started last year (with visits to our hemp-clad Sudley Changing Rooms and award-winning refurbishment at The Flint) taking in the sights including: - a visit to @omiarchitects recently completed extension to the Grade II Moorlands Church - a run through of the work that HPA’s sister company @woohooltd deliver (for the data geeks amongst us 🤓) - an extraordinary visit to the Grade I listed Lancaster Castle to see the works currently underway with HPA in the ‘witches tower’ which gave us a great appreciation for the process of working with historic buildings and how powerful intangible histories are. We can’t wait to come back once it’s open and see these stories told - finished with a well deserved tea and cake break and walking tour of HPA’s town centre projects the Lancaster Grand Theatre and collection of beautiful timber shopfronts. We’re continuing the theme tomorrow with Su and Jessie looking forward to getting involved hosting a talk and workshop at @the_florrie as part of @heritage_network_uk ’s ‘Then, Now, Next: Community Heritage in Liverpool and the North West’ networking day - hope to see you there! Meanwhile Sarah will be at @themsarch for the Peer Testing Workshop for the RIBA Research Fund project ‘Designing with the Intangible’ #heritage #sustainability #architecture

The ‘Small Scale, Big Ideas’ exhibition is now open until 29th May at @thebuildingcentre in London! Bringing together 13 practices that treat domestic projects as sites for experimentation, the exhibition explores how architects and engineers are reimagining the home as a laboratory for social, material, and environmental change. At a time when construction drives nearly 40% of global emissions, these projects ask urgent questions - and offer hopeful answers - about how we build, live, and shape a more responsible future. Over the past month, our team has had the opportunity to revisit our original competition entry for The Liverpool School of Building, through the lense of both community and process. The Liverpool School of Building started in 2023 as the winning response to a Liverpool City Region competition addressing vacant terraced housing. We proposed a combination of craft, care, and technology to restore a row of Victorian houses into modern homes. Since then, we have developed community skills in low-carbon building, alongside feminist research interests in social narratives to inform construction and planning. This has led to industry awards and projects such as @growing_sudley and @thebrontecentre . Working alongside structural engineers Elliott Bond and specialist manufacturer @hooseltd , we have begun to propose a viable, sustainable solution to many of the empty terraced streets in the North of England. Our exhibition pieces include display panels of our proposal and a 1:50 concept model of the terraces made from clay and timber by in-house ceramicist and architect Bonnie (@mud_and_maker ). Zooming in, we are also displaying a large-scale model in collaboration with HOOSE, which explains the construction detail we are developing using natural, breathable materials such as @sisalwool . Throughout the month, there will be a series of lunchtime talks delivered at The Building Centre’s @ubuild ampitheatre, with HSA presenting in collaboration with @jayne_lawless and Janet Brandon (TrickFilm) on 22nd May 1pm. Book your spot here: /whats_on/events/repairing-the-street-value-care-and-the-politics-of-housing 🏠

Last month, the longlist for the RIBAJ MacEwen Award was announced, including our work on The Changing Rooms. The Changing Rooms was the result of a 12-year collaboration between HSA and Growing Sudley CIC. Together, the project has helped bring new life to the garden within the former estate of a Victorian shipping merchant, now a public park. Most recently, this has seen the transformation of a disused changing rooms building into a low-carbon hub for holistic therapies, wellbeing and community activity. Congratulations to the other practices recognised, and thank you to the clients, collaborators and communities who make this work possible ⭐️ @ribajournal @growing_sudley @heritagefunduk @lukehayesphotography @thechangingrooms_gs

We’re delighted to share that Harrison Stringfellow Architects won two awards at Building Design’s Architect of the Year Awards 2025 last month, alongside some other brilliant practices! A big surprise and testament to the dedication of our committed team, collaborators, and clients. We were awarded: 'Refurbishment & Reinvention Architect of the Year' 🏆 Projects included: • The Changing Rooms community retrofit for Growing Sudley • A converted public toilet turned coffee kiosk at Royal Albert Dock for National Museums Liverpool • A former taxi garage expertly executed into Utility's new showrooms and offices at The Flint “Harrison Stringfellow’s portfolio proves small-scale architecture can be transformative… people-focused interventions can rival the impact of major developments.” - The Judges We also picked up Social Value Architect of the Year 🏆 – an award we last won in 2021. We’re honoured to be recognised again for work rooted in re-use, sustainability, and community-led design. “Their empowering, educational approach creates lasting impact, proving that small-scale, people-centred design can drive meaningful regeneration…” - The Judges Thank you to @_bdonline_ for the awards and congratulations to all winners and finalists alike! 🤩 #architecture #socialvalue #reuse #communitydesign #retrofitting #architectsoftheyear #AYA2025 #inclusivedesign #womeninarchitecture

We’re collecting again this year for @shoeboxfulloflove 🤍 All donated boxes/gifts will be distributed to vulnerable people in Merseyside across all age ranges. For a list of recommended donations check the @shoeboxfulloflove social media pages or feel free to come into our office for a leaflet ! 🎁 We’re accepting drop offs until December 2nd, Monday - Friday from 8:30am - 5:30pm 🎁 Special shoutout to the 2nd Allerton Beaver Scouts who kindly gifted us lots of goodies for this years collection 🌟 and as always, thank you to our local community who continue to support the cause each year!

University of Sheffield 30yr reunion - will be trying for the whole year soon! Anyone spot their contribution to that amazing PBJ model? @wgp_architects @mdk_architects_ltd

Some behind-the-scenes moments with the talented design studio team @mitreandmondays , who are collaborating with Liverpool architects @hsapics on the exciting transformation of our smallest “micro” museum, the Hartley Hut. 🔜 Opening to the public very soon, the historic Hartley Hut will share the fascinating stories of the dock workers who once used it as a shelter while maintaining the dock gates. #WaterfrontTransformationProject

Exploring place through materiality 🐚 For a low-energy coastal home in Fahan, Donegal, we are exploring circular economy principles and looking at the surrounding landscape, including the beach just below the site, for inspiration. The shells we picked up became the starting point for a rich, textured material palette of proposed robust materials. Working with @localworkstudio and a local oyster farm, we developed a distinctive ‘shellcrete’ - a lime-based render and aggregate made using waste oyster shells from a local farm. The shells are used as aggregate, different sizes and colours have been trialled for feature window cills and landscaping to create texture and visual interest. We also experimented with lime mortar samples using the local waste oyster shells as aggregate. The renders were ‘harled’ (thrown to the wall) to create a rough texture to increase the surface area and the chance of releasing trapped water vapour in the building. This was a hands-on exploration of circular design, low-carbon materials, and how to tell the story of a place through architecture. 1. Shellcrete samples 2. Oyster Shell lime mortar samples 3. Working Material palette 3. Elevation iteration 4. Local beach as material inspiration #circulardesign #lowcarbon #materialexperiments #oystershells #sustainable

Recent designs for a large family home in Donegal involved us testing the views and orientation with the client on-site. Nestled into a coastal site and using the existing sloping topography to minimise cut and fill, this intergenerational family home has been designed to be low-energy, low-impact, and deeply rooted in its context.🌿 Designed to Passive House principles, the layout steps down with the land, opening up to sweeping southern views across Lough Swilly and the hills beyond. 🌊 Design decisions have been shaped by the context, from orienting the house to maximise solar gain and framing the view, to using natural materials that sit in the landscape. We have led the project through to RIBA Stage 4, coordinating the team and guiding the client through key sustainable decisions. A fabric-first approach enables the home to operate fossil-fuel-free and using a prefabricated timber frame, reducing the time on site battling with Donegal's weather 🌧️. Find out more information on our website #sustainablearchitecture #passivhaus #donegal #irishhome #timberframe

Starting on site this summer, the Grade II listed Hartley Hut is getting a new lease of life as a micro-museum telling the story of Liverpool’s dock workers. Built in 1844 to designs by Dock Engineer Jesse Hartley, the octagonal hut was one of three designed to shelter those operating the lock gates. The hut is built in a ‘Cyclopean’ design with irregular-shaped stones fitted closely together, which Hartley took inspiration from the ancient Greek stonework technique. Following a series of open days and engagement sessions, we’ve been working with @liverpoolmuseums to sensitively restore the hut as part of their wider Waterfront Transformation Project. We were first appointed by NML to explore turning the hut into a café kiosk, but our early studies showed it would be too invasive for the listed structure. Instead, we helped rethink the brief and we found a new home for the café hatch in an unused corner of the neighbouring Pilotage Building- which is now open and serving ice cream! Inside the Hartley Hut, a new exhibition installation will share real stories from Liverpool’s dock gatemen, immersing visitors in the history and daily realities of life on the docks. You’ll be able to step inside, look out across the River Mersey, and imagine how different the view might have been almost 200 years ago. We can’t wait to see it come to life in the next few months! You can see more about the Hartley Hut project on our feed ⚓️ #HartleyHut #WaterfrontTransformation #LiverpoolDocks #DockersStories #ListedBuildingRestoration #MicroMuseum #PublicHistory #HeritageDesign #NML #HSAprojects #ConservationArchitecture #PlaceStories #WorkingWaterfront #jessehartley