Stanton Williams

Season's Greetings from Stanton Williams We would like to take this opportunity to wish our friends, colleagues and collaborators a wonderful festive season and a very happy new year. Pictured below is the fully restored and upgraded roof of the General Market, part of our project to transform two wonderful buildings within the historic Smithfield Market into the new London Museum. Once open, the London Museum will be a welcoming space where people of all ages and backgrounds can come together to learn about and celebrate their shared London history. Image: Harshal Gulabchandre

We are proud that #RhodesHouse #Oxford has received this recognition, with huge thanks and congratulations to the entire team including the Rhodes Trust, Beard, Webb Yates Engineers, Skelly & Couch and Bradley-Hole Schoenaich Landscape.

We had the pleasure of hosting one of Narrative Practice's sessions at our studio earlier this month. Members of our practice enjoyed offering 1-1 support to young creative professionals from underrepresented backgrounds who wanted to discuss their research, design project, CV or portfolio. Here is some feedback from our very engaged cohort of participants: "I had a great conversation with Barbara Clark and Ali Abbas, they gave me good advice on my CV and generally on applying for jobs and navigating the architecture field here in London. They also boosted my confidence when they looked at my portfolio, which I really appreciated as I was feeling a bit hopeless in my job search." "It was my first time at Narrative Practice and I had such a brilliant time meeting people and also being at my dream firm, Stanton Williams, was amazing :)!" Huge thanks to Narrative Practice, we look forward to hosting another event soon!

At the heart of #RhodesHouse lies the Rotunda, a domed architectural gem with a rich history. As part of the recent restoration project, this space was reimagined to align with Sir Herbert Baker's original vision with the addition of a sculptural staircase that serves to unite the past with the present.   📜 The Rotunda was added to the building design plans in 1925, inspired by a Greek Tholos temple and intended as a memorial to a Trustee. Later transformed into the main entrance to Rhodes House, the circular form became a commemorative space for fallen Scholars on both sides during WW I & II. The addition of the stone staircase realises Herbert Baker’s ambition for the Rotunda to be ‘the centre of beauty and interest in the building’, a place that ‘would arrest the attention of all who entered there’. In a letter from our archives dated 1925, he referred to ‘an ambitious idea for sculpture’ within the Rotunda.   🌀 Tom Fotheringham from Stanton Williams remarks that the helical staircase slows 'the pace at which they (visitors) engage with this space'. He explains that the eye is 'guided around the curved perimeter of the staircase', with one's gaze directed to the vault with commemorative inscriptions, and the Matapos Stone from the original rotunda floor retained at the bottom. The post-tensioned design ensures 'the lower Rotunda is left open and free of columns', allowing light through the perforated balustrade adorned with hexagonal patterns.   🛠️ Crafted using Gascoigne Blue & Moleanos limestone from Portugal courtesy LSI Stone and brought to life by Stanton Williams in collaboration with Webb Yates Engineers, Szerelmey and Beard, the new staircase thus enhances the historic architecture in which it sits, bringing into focus the 'magic influence' ascribed by Baker to this domed space.   Swipe to the end to see a photograph of the original rotunda! ➡️ Image credits for cross-section diagram: Stanton Williams

Insights from the 'Carbon Counts' NLA Webinar The recording of the "Carbon Counts" Webinar is now live! This NLA event, which took place on Tuesday 26th November, delved into critical aspects of building design and performance in light of the recently introduced UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard, to which Stanton Williams contributed as part of the Science & Tech working group. Until now, the built environment has grappled with a patchwork of methodologies leading to inconsistent definitions of net zero carbon. The new Standard aims to bring much-needed clarity and consistency to carbon assessment in the UK. Key speakers included: - Ashley Bateson from Hoare Lea, who presented the Standard's framework; - Michela Ravaglia, Partner at Wates Group, who shared insights into their construction, supply chain, and waste management measures; and - Our Associate Director Eleni Makri, who leads our sustainability strategy and sits on the NLA Net Zero Panel. Eleni highlighted our practice's approach to sustainability, explained why many of our projects have adopted a bespoke sustainability strategy, drawing from different existing frameworks and industry best practice to help us push the boundaries of sustainable design. She brought the example of our recently completed Transformation of Rhodes House, in Oxford, which involved the refurbishment and extension of the existing listed building and the adaptive reuse of some of its basement spaces, Eleni discussed our carbon assessment and benchmarking methods for a project which, due to its complexity, didn't fit within the tight parameters of existing standards. The key takeaway from the 'Carbon Counts' webinar is the need for a more integrated approach from the outset. This requires collaboration between stakeholders, planning authorities, manufacturers, developers, designers, and contractors to: - Identify sustainability opportunities early - Set clear carbon reduction targets - Drive innovation in sustainable design By working together, we can transform the built environment and make meaningful progress towards our net zero carbon goals. https://lnkd.in/d2fjHT7D #Sustainability #NetZero #Architecture #ClimateAction #BuiltEnvironment

Proud to have recently completed this project for the The Mercers' Company.

IFG Awards2024 We are very proud to have been shortlisted in two categories at the 2024 Inspire Future Generations Awards, organised by TET (ThorntonEducationTrust): the Youth Long-Term Programme category and the Best of Built Environment Practice category. In 2020, our practice has committed to investing in and significantly improving youth outreach initiatives as a result of the architectural industry's reckoning with the lack of diversity in its workforce. As part of this, we run a Future Architects programme in partnership with City & Islington College and participate in Open City Education's Accelerate and Young City Makers programmes. Our approach focuses on demystifying the built environment, empowering students and amplifying their voices. The winners of the Inspire Future Generations Awards will be announced on Monday 13 January 2025. 

We are delighted to announce that Rhodes House has won the Interiors category at the 2024 Natural Stone awards from the Stone Federation Great Britain. Congratulations to the client, the Rhodes Trust, and all the team especially Webb Yates Engineers and Szerelmey.

RIBA Presidents Medals Huge congratulations to Victor Williams Salmeron, Part 1 architectural assistant at Stanton Williams, who has just been awarded the RIBA Bronze Medal for his project 'Forget Me Not'. The RIBA President’s Medals are a celebration of the world’s best students of architecture. 'Forget Me Not' challenges the often sterile and unwelcoming typology of care buildings. Built on the remains of a former Victorian chapel, the project draws on the vernacular housing tradition of the almshouse to create a symbiotic place of community and individuality, caring for those whose care is only implicitly spoken of. Personality defines the space. We see the corridor, the canteens, the ward, the hospital room: familiar spaces reinterpreted with new poetry to inhabit them.

Do not miss the chance to see our Royal Opera Gingerbread House up close at this year's Gingerbread City exhibition - the annual fundraising show organised by the Museum of Architecture.   In response to this year’s theme of ‘Recycled City’, our model presents a whimsical reinterpretation of the Royal Ballet and Opera House's Paul Paul Hamlyn Hall, which we renovated in 2018.    The foundations of the sugary model have been laid using candy canes for structural 'columns'. The glazed facade is reimagined with sugar slices held together by thick, shiny glaze, while liquorice ribbons weave through as decorative yet functional beams. A mosaic of chocolate buttons adorns the floors, recalling the intricate details of the Royal Opera House's interiors.   The Gingerbread City is on display at The Gaumont on King’s Road until 29th December. Entry costs £13 – you can book tickets here: https://lnkd.in/eedmHB4Q The Gingerbread City, The Gaumont, Chelsea, 196-222 King’s Rd, London SW3 5XP