Review of meeting with Walker Simpson Architects and Drivers Jonas LLP

Review of meeting with Luke Petty and Bryn Mainwaring of Walker Simpson Architects (WSA), and Michelle Richardson of Drivers Jonas LLP at the offices of Walker Simpson on Piccadilly, Manchester on 12th November 2008.

About the Interviewees:
Michelle Richardson is a Senior Project Manager for Drivers Jonas and has received details of my interest in discussing the Brownley Green project from Philip Whelan the property manager for The Manchester College (formerly ManCAT and City College Manchester).

Luke Petty and Bryn Mainwaring are both architects who are working on the Brownley Green project for The Manchester College. Petty is a graduate of the Manchester School of Architecture as his work can be found in the MSA Year Book 2007, he is involved with some part-time tutoring. Mainwaring has published the research paper ‘Toosyntax’ with Ben Elliot, it can be found in the Manchester Architecture Papers 2000.

Key meeting notes:
The project is currently submitted for planning approval and Walker Simpson have prepared their Stage D report. I have reviewed the contents of the planning application from Manchester City Council’s planning portal PublicAccess and this provides a significant level of information to start a discussion.

The Willow Park Housing Trust (WPHT), from whom the college lease the existing Brownley Green construction centre, currently owns the site. The college shall be purchasing the whole site and the WPHT will be vacating the site and moving to alternative premises. The neighbouring residential planning applications are understood to be the work of WPHT, but in light of the current financial climate, these projects have been put on hold. The Hollyhedge Road roundabout is due to be transformed into a traffic-signalled crossroads due to the proposed Metrolink and adjacent tram-stop.

The design team are experiencing significant difficulties with sewers that run across the site and the utility firms involved. Petty stated that their design sought to use a ground source heat pump, but were discouraged due to concerns raised in an ecology report stating that it may result in a temperate rise to the watercourse that would have a negative impact on the local ecology. This has had a big impact on their goal to achieve a BREEAM excellent rating, and it is anticipated that it can only be achieved if the client receives a significant grant towards the installation of photovoltaic cells. The efficiency of these would be such that all of the proposed buildings would have to have PV cells on their roofs to generate enough energy to classify the smaller first phase as a BREEAM excellent development. WSA have used north facing saw-tooth roofs for the construction workshops with considerately source timber cladding. They propose using refurbished shipping containers as the storage and WC pods within the portal frame workshops. Petty explained how they have sourced cubicles and furniture made from compressed recycled plastics and wants to leave services exposed to help educate the students.

The local community shall have access to some of the college facilities such as the learning resource centre, radio studio and performance arts spaces. The radio studio shall be used by Manchester based community charity Radio Regen. In addition, there is potential for WPHT to lease rooms for use by the local community to hold residents meetings. Petty stated that a key precedent for the construction visitors’ centre was the Genesis Project at the Somerset College of Arts & Technology. Mainwaring referred to the Learning Skills Council’s (LSC) Colleges for the Future strategy and documentation for further general information.

Petty stated that Walker Simpson had used the Ecotect software to provide analysis of their proposals and inform their design.

Review of meeting with Iain Todd of AFL Architects

Review of meeting with Iain Todd of Atherden Fuller Leng (AFL) Ltd at their offices on Peter Street, Manchester on 20th October 2008

About the Interviewee:
Iain is a former student at the Manchester School of Architecture under the tutorage of Colin Pugh. Iain’s part two studies involved a project on the same Brownley Green site that I have chosen.

He is now an associate for AFL Architects and the following is taken from their website:
Iain studied Architecture at the Manchester School of Architecture gaining a first class degree in Architecture; he was awarded the Bradford Glass Scholarship in 2002, and completed his BArch in 2004. Iain previously worked at AMEC, working on a wide range of projects including: - laboratories, offices, visitor's centres and industrial buildings.
Prior to joining AFL Iain worked at another Manchester practice where he specialised in residential work including the conversion of farm buildings in conservation areas into luxury houses and one off houses for private clients.
Selected project experience: Healthcare. Since joining the practice, Iain has worked on
Salford Royal Hospital - Paediatric Observation and Assessment Unit (£1.5m)
Arrowe Park Hospital - Ward 37 (DME) refurbishment (£1m)
Arrowe Park Hospital - Neonatal Unit (£1m)
Arrowe Park Hospital - Ronald McDonald House, (Relatives accommodation) (£1m)
Arrowe Park Hospital - Endoscopy Unit (£1m)
Chantry Cottage, Cheshire (one-off house) (£1m)
Clatterbridge Hospital - Pharmacy refurbishment (£700k)
Arrowe Park Hospital, PCIS - Server Room Refurbishment (£300k)

Key meeting notes:
Todd recommended that I get in touch with Greg Davies who runs the United Estates of Wythenshawe gymnasium, which is located within an old Methodist chapel. He states that it is funded and run by the local community and is independent from the local council. It is not only a gym, but also a community centre and crèche.

He suggested a visit to St John Fisher & St Thomas More Catholic Primary School to meet the headmaster who has improved the attendance and exam results significantly since his introduction.

Todd advised that I read Herman Hertzberger’s ‘Lessons for Students in Architecture’ that investigates the notion that the architect should not aim to provide the ‘finished product’, and that the end-user should be allowed significant scope to tailor the building to their own design. Similarly, he proposed that I read Stewart Brand’s ‘How Buildings Learn’ to understand further the users’ adjustments to buildings through use.

Todd stated that his project involved the development of housing and community facilities to the south of the site (Woodend Road and Walney Road) that include allotments and a strategy for the refurbishment of the existing 1930s housing stock by the occupiers.



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Lecture Review: The large international practice. What are the advantages of size?

Lecture by Brian Johnson of Aedas at The Manchester School of Architecture on 11th November 2008

Lecture brief:
What are the advantages of being a large multi-national practice? How has this come about? How do you run so large a practice? Has the individual been lost in the organisation? What happened to the “Public Offices” of old? Who does their work now?

About the lecturer: (from the Aedas website)
Brian’s extensive experience and knowledge in educational design earned Aedas the top spot in the Architects Journal ‘Top 10 Firms Specialising in Educational Design’. Brian is currently the Project Director on six City Academies for United Learning Trust, Manchester Schools BSF (17 Schools) and Bassetlaw PFI (8 schools) and he recently completed the Manchester Academy and Canon Sharples CE Primary sustainable school project for the diocese of Liverpool. Brian is a founder member of the British Council for School Environments, a RIBA Professional Practice Examiner and a visiting lecturer to Manchester University on PFI and the globalisation of architectural practices.

Lecture Review:
Johnson graduated in 1979, and joined Holford Associates in Liverpool in 1983. He moved to their Manchester office in 1986, which then merged to form Abbey Holford Rowe in 1999. Further mergers in 2001 with Temple Cox Nicholls and Liang Peddle Thorne saw the formation of Aedas. In 2005, Johnson became Aedas’ research and development director, before moving on to become design director in 2006. He became head of Aedas Manchester in 2007 and has been made Chairman of Aedas Europe this month. Aedas are fourth largest architectural practice in the world, employing over 2,200 staff.

In the 1950s, 70% of architects worked in the public sector, by the 1970s this had dropped to 55% and in the 2000s just 9% of architects worked for governmental departments.
86% of architects are solo practitioners, but architectural firms with only one or two staff make-up just 9% of architectural industry’s fees. Medium sized firms (3-10 employees) earn 25% of the fees, whilst large firms (over 11 employees) earn 66% of the fees.

“[There is] little convergence in the views and experiences expressed by individuals from the construction industry and those from the built environment professions.”

Johnson states that the rise of PFI (private finance initiative), D&B contracts (design and build) and frameworks agreements have led to wholesale changes in the architectural industry. He stipulates that the traditional JCT ’98 contracts are inappropriate for most large projects. 25% of all architectural fees are now earned through D&B contracts and 50% of Aedas’ clients are contractors. PFI, frameworks, partnerships and other collaborative ventures seek to keep contractors and construction professional teams together and due to large-scale nature of projects (e.g. a batch of seventeen schools) exclude small and medium firms. These long-term agreements seek to close the knowledge gap between contractors and the professions.

Aedas’ mergers help the company answer its:
Ambitions: to grow, to fund full-time management, to release architects from non-fee earning duties
Needs: public sector, international, PFI, BSF, staff training, competitiveness, and limit exposure to recession
Desires: to be better, specialism in education and health, invest in research and development.

As Johnson is head of research and development at Aedas, he went on to demonstrate how they seek to improve their designs. Every project is subject to a performance evaluation that is completed by the end user. The data is analysed to identify areas for improvement and those that are successful. Aedas is a key collaborator in RIBA’s CarbonBuzz project that aims to track carbon emissions from recently completed buildings online. Aedas has developed links with the BRE, universities and governmental organisations to encourage the implementation of the latest research. Johnson was keen to state that he sees the sustainability agenda as a field in which architects should lead the construction industry; architects should not leave it to engineers to deal with.

Lecture Review: The Future of the Profession by the President of the RIBA

Lecture Review: The Future of the Profession by the President of the RIBA
Lecture by Sunand Prasad at The Manchester School of Architecture on 7th November 2008

Lecture brief:

The Keynote address, The future of the profession of architecture?” is given this year by Sunand Prasad who is a distinguished architect himself. His buildings will be known to many of you. He is the current President of the RIBA. His views on how the profession will survive in these difficult times are relevant to all of us. He is the guest of honour tonight at the Manchester Society of Architects’ Dinner. We are glad he has found time to be with us. It is a reflection of how important you, the next generation, are to the profession.

About the Lecturer: from Penoyre & Prasad’s website
Sunand is co-founder of the practice [Penoyre & Prasad] and oversees all its designs. He was one of the founding Commissioners of the UK Government’s Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, serving from 1999 to 2006, and is currently President of the RIBA (2007 - 2009). He is RIBA Vice President for Policy and Strategy, and a member of their Council and Board. He played a central part in the development of the Construction Industry Council’s Design Quality Indicators. He has written about architecture and cultural diversity, the value of design, architecture and construction, hospital design, urbanism and domestic architecture of North India, and the work of Le Corbusier. Sunand has taught and lectured in many schools of architecture, acted as external examiner and continues to be occasionally involved in teaching. He lives in London with his family in a house designed and built together with friends.

Lecture Review:
Prasad began by qualifying RIBA’s goals from the initial mission statement in 1834; “an institution for the general advancement of civil architecture and for promoting and facilitating the acquirement of knowledge of the various arts and sciences connected therewith”. Therefore the RIBA was setup for the benefit of architecture, not for architects. “It being an art esteemed and encouraged in all enlightened nations, as tending greatly to promote the domestic convenience of citizens, and the public improvement and embellishment of towns and cities”.
The RIBA was setup at a time when other construction consultants were forming their own institutes (e.g. RICS), but sought to differentiate itself from those by encouraging independent thinking and seeking to create the best conditions for the best architecture to flourish.

Prasad thinks that architectural education needs to provide students with a better understanding of cost parameters. This would raise standards of design as new architects would be better skilled to design within cost parameters, whatever they may be. This would raise the standard of architecture produced as a whole and may improve the standing of architects within the construction industry.

Prasad believes that the issue of sustainability and sustainable development is an area that architects should seek to lead the construction industry. Architects should be skilled in translating the technical and constructional knowledge behind sustainability into a design that the layman can understand and appreciate. He wants architects and other construction professionals to share their knowledge for the benefit of the construction industry. This could be achieved by shared research, reports and experience that are logged to provide a online resource that the professionals can use for project reference.

He is concerned that RIBA is not representative of British architects as not many that hold free student memberships go on to become full paying members. He sees this as an indication that many young architects do not see RIBA membership as providing any benefit. He asks, “What kind of institution would you want to join?” Prasad proposes that the ARB and the RIBA should be one body that represents architecture as the current arrangement is unproductive and not to the benefit of architecture or architects.

Lecture Review: The Medium Sized Practice by Pozzoni LLP

The medium sized practice – Do they want to become any larger?
Lecture by Stuart Grant at The Manchester School of Architecture on 28th October 2008

Lecture brief:
What is a limited liability partnership? Medium sized practices used to be 50 and under. Now they are 100 or so. What has brought about this change? Will it continue? What are the advantages of remaining in one office? Who runs the office and how? Will the office survive as it is if there is a recession?

About the Lecturer:
Pozzoni LLP, Woodville House, 2 Woodville Road, Altrincham, Cheshire WA14 2FH Tel: 0161 928 7848
Web: http://www.pozzoni-group.co.uk/
We are...

• An innovative and forward thinking architectural practice
• Experienced across a wide range of both private and public sector markets
• A team of over 90 and are professional, well qualified and experienced individuals
• 'Quality Assured under BSEN ISO 9001:2000, since July 1996
• IIP recognized by the Training and Enterprise Board as 'Investors in People' since September 1998
• An equal opportunities employer
• A Construction Line Member - registration No 8858
• Proud of our level of repeat business averaging just over 76% year on year
• Committed to Partnering and Framework Agreements
• Working on projects throughout the UK

Lecture powerpoint presentation

Lecture Review:

Grant qualified in 1984 and is now a partner at Pozzoni. Pozzoni are a limited liability partnership, employ 84 staff and are ranked in the Architects’ Journal’s top 100 practices. The RIBA states that a small practice employs up to five persons, a medium sized practice up to 49 persons, and large practice is over fifty persons. Therefore, their introduction as a medium sized practice is a little bit of a misnomer, but is an indication of the state of the architectural industry today. They are the largest independent practice in the Northwest. They are ISO 9001 certified (quality management system), an Investor in People, registered with Construction Line and listed in Building magazines ‘Good Employer Guide’. They pride themselves on their diverse portfolio of work which is mix of public (60%) and private (40%), and new (75%) and refurbishments (25%). Their sectors include retail, offices, industrial, leisure (they are national design leader), hospitality, education, community housing, private housing, care and retirement, and mixed use. Pozzoni LLP were the architects on The Peele care home in Wythenshawe which is adjacent to the site I shall be using for my studio design project.

The recession of 1990 to 1994 was the worst since the Second World War; 31% of practices saw a 10-20% drop in fee levels, 8% of architects were unemployed, average earnings fell by 3% to £23k, sole principal earnings fell by 16%, and 24% of architects were underemployed, but conversely central government architects’ earnings rose by 8%.

Experience has taught Grant that recessions come in 10-15 year cycles and business strategies for surviving the financial slowdown include investing in your systems, having variety and diversity in your portfolio, develop repeat business from clients, have financial contingencies, market yourselves to raise the value of your work, and develop ‘peripheral’ vision.

The current downturn is due to the lack of credit, rather than inflation that has resulted in their being less opportunities for private developers. The client is at greater risk, projects have a longer gestation period, which results in lower fees and more speculative work for architects. The client can take longer to pay.

There are opportunities for architects, if they market themselves strongly and diversify across public and private sectors. Strategies should include following key markets (i.e. building schools for the future and healthcare) and look abroad for work. It is a good time to invest in training and improve office efficiency.

Grant’s personal professional highlights are as follows:

• Wining a commission or award
• Doing a great presentation
• See the building take place
• Seeing happy clients
• Making a profit
• Hiring good people
• Getting good feedback
• Productive meetings
• Seeing the benefit of Revit
• Seeing the practice grow

Whilst his lows are as below:

• Losing a job
• Making a mistake
• Being made redundant
• Seeing architects undervalue themselves
• Unhappy clients
• An employee leaves
• Seeing design and build effect quality
• Not being in control
  

Designing and Managing Projects

Grants states that a business plan with clear aims and objectives is critical to success, architects should have strategies and action plans linked to objectives (SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely). They should request ideas and input from their staff, communicate their plan and share their vision. The company should develop a collective understanding and ownership, and receive feedback on their progress. The company should create a marketing strategy that monitors repeat business, provides client and staff feedback, builds a reputation and analyses different sectors of the market.

Customer care is a major business issue; it is a balancing act of doing the job requirement against the style of delivery. Remember that everyone is a customer. Actively train, educate and develop staff and clients alike. Create collective and individual awareness and improve people skills and communication.

Grant went on to demonstrate strategies for balancing and programming resources, quality management and organisational structure, which were demonstrated using spreadsheets that mapped each member of staff against each project. He stated that the company will shortly be investing in new software to improve their efficiency and ability to predict future resource issues.

Lecture Review: The small, successful practice by Walker Simpson Architects

The Variable Fortunes of Practice / The Small Successful Practice, How Do You Keep It That Way?
Lecture by John Walker at The Manchester School of Architecture on 21st October 2008

Lecture brief:
The variable fortunes of practice. You have never known a recession – yet! How will you exist if the present one occurs? How do you organise the flow of work so as to maintain all the staff and pay your bills on time? What is the ideal size of office?

About the Lecturer:
Walker Simpson Architects, 33 Piccadilly, Manchester M1 1LQ Tel: 0161 2287406
Web: http://www.walkersimpson.com/
Our principle aim is to work with pioneering clients who wish to commission architecture that will inspire people and contribute to a progressive and sustainable future. We listen to our clients' needs and maintain a commitment to thoroughly understand and interpret each project brief. We produce effective and affordable solutions that meet each project's design criteria and bring added value through the flair and imagination of our studio. We are involved in a broad range of work; from sustainable civic buildings that generate their own energy, through to individual projects for private clients. We also act as Client Design Advisor providing critical analysis on more than £1/2 billion of government initiatives such as Building Schools for the Future (BSF). We have experience in the refurbishment and new build of many building types including work with English Heritage and gaining Listed Building Consents. Through our commitment to reducing carbon emissions, we are researching and developing long-term strategies for zero carbon designs, on-site energy generation and positive carbon innovations. This direction has been recognised through a number of regional and national awards for sustainability and design excellence.

Lecture powerpoint presentation

Lecture Review:
The practice was established in 1999 by John Walker and Aidan Simpson. John subsequently bought-out Aidan’s holding to lead the practice.
Architects are, compared to Doctors and Lawyers, are more at risk to the recession. BD magazine states that 1 in 5 architects will fail in this recession.

Post-boom era

• If no-one is lending, then no-one is borrowing
• If no-one is borrowing, then no-one is building
• If no-one is building, then no-one is designing

Two forms of development

• Public sector – funded by taxes
• Private sector – funded by loans and investment

Why this is important

• Without fees, there is no income
• Without income there are no salaries
• Without salaries there are no jobs

Businesses need an unique selling point, Walker Simpson’s USP is

• Sustainable design excellence
• Education (they were in the right sector and the right time)
• Regeneration (local projects, local service)
• Carbon Neutral (visitors centre in the midlands that will open shortly)

WSA’s Business setup:

• Started as two people, now more than twenty
  1x director
  1x practice manager (non-architect, an overhead)
  3x associates (1x technician, 1x sustainability architect, 1x design architect)
• Balance of business, and technical knowledge and expertise
• No debt with a strong cash-flow
• Cash is king, old business maxim that is no more relevant than today
• Importance of team

WSA team structure:

• Single studio
• Single structure
• Fluid teams
• All-round architects
• No contract staff and no divisions
• Everybody aware of everybody’s projects
• Everybody is encourage to help everybody else

WSA project types/roles:

• Regeneration
• Education
• Leisure
• Libraries
• Residential
• Sustainable (applies to all sectors)
• Client design advisor
• Work with CABE on the BSF programme

East Manchester Academy (was going to be the academy of the built environment)

• School, sixth form and public library
• Regeneration of the whole area
• Interviewed the head master and community leaders
• Use of the building by the local community
• Create pride for the users
• The ability to see activities from the pavement
• The whole built environment education onsite, from studio to site
• “creativity being more important than literacy”
• Schools are only used 13% of the hours in a year, by utilising the community facilities they have managed to treble this figure.
• Convinced client that building would be secure by respect, rather by design (i.e. shutters)

Key Issues:

• Range of projects in a range of sectors
• Spread of clients
• Happy team
• Limit debt
• Create great architecture
• Track and understand social, economic and environmental trends

Payments

• Small and regular invoices
• Claim invoices early (test the client)
• Keep an eye on future payments

Questions and Answers:

• Has working with a client design advisor resulted in more work? Yes, there are advantages to being close to clients and funding bodies.
• How does a practice leap from a small residential extensions business to commercial and state schemes? Element of luck, it only takes one project to make that step up. Experience can be bought by hiring new staff with those skills. Consider working as a subsidiary to a large firm to can experience.

Lecture Review: The Solo Practitioner by Richard Drinkwater Architects

How To Start A New Practice / The Solo Practitioner
Lecture by Richard Drinkwater at The Manchester School of Architecture on 14th October 2008

Lecture brief:
Richard will explain just how difficult it is. What is meant by cash flow? Are there compensations to keeping small? Will the difficulties of solo practice put you off? Or have you a better way of surviving?

About the lecturer:
Richard Drinkwater Architects, 57 Hilton Street, Manchester M1 2EJ. Tel: 0161 2369640 Web: http://www.drinkwaterarchitects.com/
Established in 1998, Richard Drinkwater Architects have rapidly gained a reputation for quality architectural work. We apply our enthusiasm for great design to all projects, ensuring a good result even when working to very tight budgets - something we have substantial experience of.
We are proud of our broad portfolio of project types, ranging from private houses to office towers and small conversions to large new build projects. We pride ourselves on taking the client's aspirations and the potential of the site to produce something unique. We have particular experience of working with existing, especially historic, buildings.
We provide full architectural services, personally advising and supporting clients at all stages of the building process.

Lecture powerpoint presentation

Lecture Review:
Richard Drinkwater established his firm (RDA) in 1998 after the demise of 5/5 Partnership which dissolved due to heavy debts. Prior to that he worked BDP and Percy Thomas (now Capita). He studied architecture at Leicester and qualified in 1981.

RDA work mainly on private residential and commercial schemes.

Needs:

• Total conviction
• Plans or vision
• Money
• Client

He wishes he had time to choose his clients more carefully and plan his business strategy and yet be flexible to spot an opportunity.

Motivation:

• Money
• Design
• To be your own boss

Money:

• Make friends with your accountant, bank manager and solicitor
• Plan ahead, chase your fees
• Get as much money upfront as possible
• Clear business plan

Client:

• Most of his business has been by word of mouth, but that results in less choice
• Could be anyone
• Will try to get something for nothing
• Only take a risk when you have weighed up the possible repercussions. - Richard used the example of a scheme where the fees would be delivered upon a successful planning application. However with the current economic climate, the developer stopped the scheme prior to planning submission. He received no fees.
• Make a list of everyone you know and stay in contact with them
• Flexibility of thinking
• Be direct
• His first client was his landlord
• Study other practices
• Keep close to your clients

Contacts:

• Networking is vital
• Talk to fellow consultants
• Talk to other architects

Have thick skin:

• Expect to be sued and prepare for it
• Architects are deemed a soft touch. - Richard used the example of letter received from the lawyer for an adjoining property that was adversely affected by poor building practice on his site claiming damages. The builder had removed a window and lintel without propping causing cracking throughout the neighbouring property. Richard wrote a strongly worded reply stating all the measures he had taken to ensure that the correct building practice was taken and heard no more.

Optimism, patience and staying power

• Richard used the example of a project near Victoria Station that had been going through the planning process and committees for nearly two years, that he thought was doomed to fail, that was passed for development by one vote.

Beware the elephant of surprise

• Richard used the example of the fire that gutted his office, but his office was up and running in two days.

Questions and Answers:

• Fees? - Test your client, ask for money up front.