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Design Consultation

New House Planning

Let us guide you.

Regardless of project size, the processes involved for a successful outcome remain broadly the same. Social, physical, mandatory and budgetary aspects all need to be addressed and acted upon in order to reach the objective.

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The reality today is we face shrinking budgets, increasing amounts of bureaucracy and lengthy stakeholder consultation. Some projects never get going, and others take years to kick-off; a few are last-minute dashes.

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We understand the issues you face and can help you right from the start. By getting in touch early on in the process, will enable you to make better-informed decisions and take the appropriate action to progress your project, maximising the use of available funds and ensuring that sustainable product and architectural design are at the heart of the project.

Design Consultation Projects

Cripps Court Cycle Hub Design for Queens' College

The College has asked H-B Designs to design a turnkey solution for a new high-capacity covered cycle parking hub located in the existing long narrow rectangular space between the North elevation of the Cripps Court building and the only remaining section of the Fellows’ Garden wall. The site's physical constraints, adjacent wood, river, North Wall of the former Fellow's Garden and Cripps Court Building, envelop the specific location for the new cycle hub and determined the Design Influences.

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The Project Brief

  • Improved cycle and user security and access arrangements

  • Provide quality, high capacity secure and covered cycle parking within a realistic budget, installed during the Summer of 2022.

  • The aesthetic from the overlooking Cripps Court building windows varies at each floor level so the proposal has to take into account that the lower the roof pitch, the more flat and solid the roof will look from higher up the building.

  • Avoidance of the Fellow's Wall foundations. To avoid issues with planning permission and listed building consent, H-B Designs will
    preserve The Fellow's Wall at the existing 3.147m height and make no additional openings through the wall into The Grove.

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We considered many structure roof angles, aspects and shapes that we then rejected due to the effect on cost due to the management of leaf drop and rainwater, foundation impact, walkway sizes and cycle parking volumes. The concept proposed structures that offered:

  • Adaptable support column configuration

  • Scope to add texture and colour

  • Elevated and unoppressive space beneath the canopy

  • Basic construction methodology

  • Material resource availability

  • Construction cost control

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The project phase concluded with a report providing a concise package of information illustrating: the analysis of existing conditions, the planning and design process used, the evaluation of options and finally the recommended concept design.

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We created a trial cycle parking area for staff to provide feedback and encourage stakeholder collaboration.

The college is now in the fundraising phase, with a provisional cost, timeline and scope to work with when they are ready to proceed.

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Design Consultation Staff Cycle Hub for The AA

  • Project title: Staff Cycle Hub

  • Client: The AA

  • Completion date: 2018

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Project summary

The design brief was to create a new cycle hub that aesthetically matched to corporate brand identity and included secure cycle parking for 30 bikes with e-bike charging points. The purpose was to convert workplace commuters from car to bicycle for well being and health benefit. Funding for the new build was to come from freeing up leased land for staff car parking.

We presented three proposals from a starting point of a stand-alone 30 bike hub, a larger insulated and heated cycle room for 40 bikes that scaled up to a higher capacity providing 100 bikes parked with showers and changing block.

  • Project title: Forest Green Rovers

  • Client: Ecotricity

  • Completion date: 2016

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Project summary

We felt that our sustainable credentials and our knowledge of stadia development placed us optimally for entering the competition Ecotricity launched in April 2016.

The design competition was for the new Forest Green Rovers (FGR) stadium which forms the centrepiece of its proposed Eco Park development near Stroud, Gloucestershire. ‘The winning stadium is to be an exceptional iconic building, bold and innovative, designed to the highest architectural and sustainability standards.’ The challenge was to design a state-of-the-art stadium for a sensitive rural location, one which is an exemplar sustainable development, addressing both technical and local constraints and opportunities. Emanating the vision of Ecotricity, within our design proposal there is as much green technology utilised as possible, taking full advantage of the aspect to harness the sun for power whilst providing a level of wind and shade protection for spectators and staff. Our stadia was designed for phased build enabling the infrastructure to grow with the club’s successes and future-proofing it for further expansion. The larger stand would be built first and incorporate all the necessary facilities for match day and beyond. The roof of the smaller stand to be included in phase one to enclose the ground for easier management. Seats and extra spectator facilities could then follow in phase two. This phased build provides shelter and a windbreak for those inside the ground and would also help complete the acoustic break for the surrounding properties and allow the entire scheme to sit quietly in the landscape.

Eco Park – Forest Green Rovers (FGR) Stadium Design Competition

  • Project title: Greenwich Pennisula D&F

  • Client: Knight Dragon & Kettle Architecture

  • Completion date: 2014

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Project summary

The client wished to convert a brownfield site into a golf driving range complex of 2556m2. We were engaged to proceed with design feasibility for the two-tier driving range element of the project, providing 60 driving positions. The materials palette was pre-selected, and therefore limited and the design was restricted by very specific site conditions.

Two Tier Golf Driving Range Structure Design Consultation
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