Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Design Review Panel Meeting

Interesting RB Windsor and Maidenhead design review panel presentation yesterday at the town hall to review Maidenhead Waterways scheme and proposed residential and retail developments in the town centre. Seemed like the scale of the building proposed were over the top and the public realm needed to be given better emphasis. Also saw a totally inappropriate art deco building design presented by a duo who reminded us of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy sympathetic to that era.

Vauxhall The Missing link RIBA Competiton

Taking a special interest in the results of this Competition. Watch this space.

Building Design Christmas Party

Trip up to London yesterday to attend the Building Design Tweet up Christmas party at Feilden Clegg architects office off Tottenham Court Road. Took the opportunity to visit the fantastic Trafalgar Square with the Christmas tree from Norway and fountains lit up with colourful LED lighting. Also enjoyed choir singing Christmas hits under the tree for a deaf children's charity. Enjoy images below. BD party was great fun and made many new friends and contacts there. My friend and associate Adrian won a fabulous book on the creation of Queen Elizabeth park by the Olympic stadium.

 

Birch Green Staines-Upon-Thames, Enhamcements nearly Complete

We have been working on a masterplan for the improvement of Birch Green for nearly three years. Birch Green is an important green space and common land in the centre of Staines and we are aiming to integrate it successfully within the urban fabric of the town. Folowing a public consutlation last year we managed a contract to implement enhancements within a first phase funded by planning gain funding. The first phase is now nearing completion as the images below indicate.

 

Finchampstead Allotments Opening Ceremony

Today, 13th October, the opening ceremony took place of the new Finchampstead Allotments off Longwater Road, Finchampstead, Berkshire, England watched by a crowd of around 60 people. There was a competition for the best scarecrow which was won by a robot scarecrow. Goodger Design Associates designed the new allotments site and project managed the work to its successful completion. See images below of the opening event.

 

Visit of Landscape Students From Finland

We were delighted to host a visit by two Finnish landscape students Niina Christensen and Erja Mikkonen to our office and to make a site visit to view the Finchampstead new allotments site on 10th September. We were joined by the clerk of Finchampstead Parish Council, Kate Dagnall, our marketing manager, Karen Goodger and our friend and associate, Adrian Draffin for a working lunch at the delightful Greyhound Inn near the allotments site.

 

Finchampstead New Allotments Site Now Open

We have been working very hard most of the year designing and project managing the creation of a new 2 hectare allotments site for local residents in the Finchampstead/Eversley area for and on behalf of Finchampostead Parish Council. Nearly 60 new plots have been created served by graveled access roads and four water points. Several old and unsafe Poplar trees needed to be felled for public safety and to increare the amount of natural sunlight to the allotment plots. A new bridge constructed with railway sleepers was constrcuted to unite the north and south parts of the site. Some images are shown below. The plots are protected with rabbit and deer deterrent fences.

There will be a grand offical opening on 13th October 2012 after which we will publish further details.