Village Approval

Watson Batty Architects achieved a unanimous seal of approval at the recent Heavy Woollen District Planning Committee meeting for their development at Beech Farm, Farnley Tyas.  Set within the heart of an old ‘estate-owned’ village, the design offers the opportunity to develop a very high quality residential scheme.

The historic urban grain of Farnley Tyas has dictated the form of Beech Farm development, incorporating the local vernacular through looking at existing ratios of buildings to open space, relationships between buildings, roads and view corridors within the village.

The site has been subdivided into smaller ‘paddocks’ of development creating architectural individuality based around a common theme. The Paddock forms recognise the historic plot shape, size, architectural styles and dynamic rhythm and building pattern of the existing village.  

As part of the planning process we prepared a cohesive architectural handbook to provide a subtle palette of materials, details and colours across the development, which was very well received by Kirklees Planning officers and committee.

We are very excited at the prospect of working further with our Client, Radcliffe Developments Farnley Ltd, to deliver this high quality project on site.

Ground Breaking PFI

Having achieved financial close on the Kirklees Excellent Homes for Life PFI in December last year, Watson Batty Architects are delighted to announce that works on site are now well under way.

Phase 1 (which consists of 12no. different sites located across the Kirklees district) is the culmination of over two years work with our clients, Wates Living Space and Regenter, to deliver new affordable homes.  The mix of housing includes one and two bedroom flats along with 35 homes specifically designed to accommodate wheelchair users, all to Lifetime Homes and Code for Sustainable Homes standards. 

The construction will take approximately 30 months and will help deliver the much needed accommodation as part of Kirklees Council’s housing strategy.

Doha, Qatar design takes shape

Watson Batty Architects in conjunction with our partners in Doha, Qatar, have submitted exciting conceptual designs for our respective Client, a leading Real Estate and Development company in Doha, Qatar.

The project comprises of two sites at the new environmental city in Doha. Each site at approximately 2.5 hectares, offers mix use developments including commercial hotels and private residential accommodation with outdoor extreme sports, marina and helicopter pad. The two sites have strategic sea locations in the entertainment sector of the new city.

WBA wear something yellow day

 

Watson Batty staff joined the wear something yellow campaign for the Marie Curie Cancer Care Charity on Friday the 2nd of March 2012. While some were buying and wearing the daffodils, others put on something more noticeable to raise awareness. All proceeds from the day have been donated to the Charity.  

University of Bradford's STEM Project gets Planning Approval

The University of Bradford's innovative STEM Bradford project has successfully gained Planning Approval.

The new Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) building provides an inspirational learning space with high quality laboratory facilities and creating exciting opportunities for local schools and colleges.

  

The laboratory will also act as a training space for school teachers across all age ranges, equipping them with the skills to inspire the next generation of scientists back in their own classrooms.

As Project Architects we have designed and utilised a high thermal perfomance shell and passive heat / cooling techniques. The building is predicted to achieve 'BREEAM Outstanding' and 'Passivhaus' accreditation meeting and surpassing the Universities track record for sustainability on campus with three BREEAM 'Outstanding' buildings.

The project will be on site in May with a projected opening early 2013.