University Reception Building Gets A Fresh Look

The £1.2m internal refurbishment of the Holgate Building for York St John University has now received planning permission for the external elements of the design. The project aims to deliver a ‘one stop shop’ for the provision of highly visible, flexible, accessible and exceptional learner support services for the students in the heart of the University.

The new facilities will provide an increased access to flexible areas for group work and social learning. Improvements to the support services will enhance the student experience even further. Other facilities include Student Advice team reception, offices, interview and meeting rooms, IT, media and group learning facilities, promotion and exhibition facilities and the University reception.

Work is anticipated to start in April 2013 with a completion date of September 2013.

New Morrisons Store Open at Blyth

Watson Batty Architect have successfully delivered a new 60,000 sq. ft. gross Morrisons store in the heart of Blyth Town centre. The Blyth store is one of the first in the North East to be designed around Morrisons ‘Store of the Future’ concept and aims to deliver an innovative fresh food offer which is not available elsewhere while still maintaining great value. The store includes new misting technology which is used to optimise the freshness of the food on offer in the ‘fresh market’ which will stock everything from carrots to tinkerbell peppers and yellow courgettes. The store also includes a continental style deli counter, 140 cuts of meat in the butchery and an unrivalled selection of more than 80 cheeses from the UK and around the world. At the bakery there will be up to 48 varieties of bread baked fresh from scratch throughout the day by Morrisons bakers.

McLaren Construction are now proceeding with the final phase of the project, demolishing the existing Morrisons store forming the remaining car park. Due for completion in summer 2013.  

Successful 1st PassivHaus air tightness test at the STEM Building

GB Building Solutions are currently under way with STEM Bradford at The University of Bradford which commenced in September.

The project is progressing quickly onsite leading to the buildings first of three air tests. To meet the PassivHaus requirements the building must not leak more air than 0.6 times the house volume per hour (n₅₀ ≤ 0.6 / hour) at 50 Pa (N/m²). Onsite testing showed that the building exceeded the requirements and takes the project a step closer to full accreditation.

The demanding project is on track to deliver the University of Bradford’s first BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ and PassivHaus accredited educational building in early April.

Planning submitted for the Calverley Building Refurbishment at Leeds Metropolitan University

In mid-December Watson Batty submitted a planning application to refurbish the Calverley Building at the Leeds Metropolitan University city centre campus. The project is split into 3 phases with a total estimated value of £8 - 12 million. Phase 1 involves the provision of new toilet accommodation within the building and the creation of hub rooms and service risers within the adjacent Portland building. 

Phase 2, for which the planning application has been submitted, involves the repair and cleaning of the concrete structural frame, replacement of all windows from levels 02 to 10 and the rendering of the lower part of the building referred to as the ‘Plinth’. 

Phase 3 of the proposals will include a phased internal refurbishment of the building. We hope to be out to tender early February with initial works commencing in June this year.

First Project Completed at Leeds Metropolitan University

As part of our on-going work at Leeds Met University we have completed an interior project at the first floor of the Universities City Campus library. The project involved rationalising three floors of reprographics space into one in order to provide additional individual and group study spaces. New fixed and ‘quick visit’ IT space has been provided with a varied selection of furniture to give students greater choice. An interior design scheme with new lighting has also made the space more welcoming and functional.

WBA Double Award Nomination

Watson Batty Architects have had not 1 but 2 recently completed projects nominated for the York Design Awards – ‘Peoples Award’ hosted by the York Press. WBA’s work at Our Lady’s RC Primary School and the refurbishment of the Fountains Learning Centre have been well received and we are delighted that the success of the projects has been recognised through the nominations.

To register your vote and support please click the link below:

YORK DESIGN AWARDS - ‘PEOPLE’S AWARD’

Watson Batty Client Evening

Watson Batty would like to say a big thank you to all that attended our annual client evening which took place on Thursday the 29th of November in our Leeds office. The evening was well attended and a great success.

We would like to say a special thank you to Philips Lighting who did a fantastic job at lighting the exterior of the Watson Batty Office on the night. Watson Batty have been working closely with Philips Lighting over last few months designing the external feature lighting at the (recent planning approved) University of Huddersfield Student Learning and Leisure Centre. For more details on the products and features provided by Philips see www.philips.com

Curtain Goes Up On John Leggott College Performing Arts Building

The new Performing Arts Building for John Leggott College opened it's doors to welcome students this Autumn. The state of the art facility provides a range of dedicated teaching, learning and performance spaces, including specialist acoustic practice and technology spaces. Watson Batty Architects were appointed by the contractor to complete the design and support the project through to completion. We are delighted to be involved in this high profile project for the College.