Future Homes Part L Consultation
13 December 2019
Building Regulations Part L is probably the single most important UK regulation affecting the energy consumption of buildings. The Government intends to update it in 2020 and has set out a comprehensive consultation paper outlining several ways they may implement changes. Given the urgency of tackling climate change through reduced CO2 emissions, the update of Part L in 2020 is timely, albeit currently only applying to domestic buildings under the ‘L1a’ document. Unfortunately, there is widespread concern in the industry that the intended changes may have little to no effect on b...
2,000 New Passivhaus Student Residences
11 December 2019
QODA are delighted to be part of the design team, alongside Stride Treglown Architects, leading the sustainability design for the new 2,000 student residences at the University of the West of England. We plan to incorporate Passivhaus as a key stepping stone to meet the 2030 zero carbon target. The Passivhaus Standard is increasingly popular in the UK and globally. It is particularly popular when a client wants a defined level of energy performance from their building, and no ‘performance gap’ (when a building uses more energy than intended) and as a bonus, the client gets b...
Passivhaus is Coming
31 October 2019
On Tuesday our Associate Chris Swinburn who is a certified Passivhaus consultant attended the UK Passivhaus Conference 2019. The annual conference, this year held in Manchester, was put on by the Passivhaus Trust and hosted a wide range of speakers with significant experience of delivering Passivhaus buildings; from single house dwellings to skyscrapers. His key takeaways from the event were: - The UK government has committed to net zero carbon by 2050, but many in the construction industry are proposing this needs to happen by 2030 - There is increasin...
University of Southampton – In Our Element
4 October 2019
QODA were appointed to complete the extensive re-purposing works with BPA Architects and Kendal Kingscott at Building 29, University of Southampton. The building, which houses chemistry undergraduates and researchers, is part of the Highfield Campus, built in the 1960s and designed by Sir Basil Spence. The building demonstrates Spence’s signature ‘brutalist’ style of Architecture, consisting of concrete and glass wrapped in mosaic. Spence’s portfolio at the time also consisted of the New Zealand Parliament Buildings in Wellington, nicknamed "The Beehive", Edinburgh Univers...
Georgian Society Architectural Award Winners
3 October 2019
QODA are delighted to have been a part of two of the winning entries for this year’s Georgian Society Architectural Awards. Chettle House is the winner of the Restoration of a Georgian Country House category 2019. Working with Adam Architecture, the house was returned to its original state, after it had been split into apartments following the second world war. The Painted Hall, at Greenwich Old Royal Naval College, is the winner of the Restoration of a Public Building category 2019. The challenging restoration included environmental controls after surveys, analysis, and test...
Congratulations Oliver!
1 October 2019
Six years ago Oliver Fuller joined QODA as a passionate Sustainability expert in the Oxfordshire office. His career has flourished and in April he moved to Bristol, leading the development of our new office in the South West. Oli is building strong links with new and existing clients in the region, built on his commitment to low energy buildings and great customer service. He is also developing a strong team in the new office working closely with Simon Dove, our lighting specialist. We are therefore delighted to recognise this performance and announce his promotion to Associate...
RIBA London Regional Award Winner
11 June 2019
Another QODA project has been recognised in the RIBA London Regional Awards: The Ned Hotel. QODA worked closely with EPR Architects and Ardmore Group who successfully delivered the project on behalf of Soho House. The Grade 1-listed, 11-storey building was the former Midland bank in the City of London designed in 1924 by British architect Edwin "Ned" Lutyens. In April 2017, it opened its doors as a lavish hotel, club, and dining venue. In its new incarnation, The Ned contains 9 restaurants, 252 bedrooms, a social and fitness club incorporating a rooftop pool, gym, spa, and late...
Award Winning Conservation Project of the Year
17 May 2019
QODA were honoured to be part of the team that has recently brought The Painted Hall back to life. The project was awarded with the Restoration or Conservation Project of the Year, 2019, by Museums & Heritage Awards. The Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, is one of the most spectacular and important baroque interiors in Europe. Its ceiling and wall decorations were conceived and executed by the British artist Sir James Thornhill between 1707 and 1726. Research undertaken in the development phase of the project demonstrated that the paintings were deteri...
RICS Midlands Award
14 May 2019
QODA are thrilled to have been a part of the team who worked on Hartlebury Castle, Bishop's House and Workshop Cafe; winner of the Tourism & Leisure RICS Midlands Award 2019 and shortlisted for the Building Conservation award.
QODA Opens new Office in Bristol
3 April 2019
We are delighted to announce the opening of our new office in the South West. The office is based in Clifton, Bristol, just off the top of Park Street and will enable QODA to continue our work in the region, with our dedicated support. Matt Tyrrell, founding Director of QODA, commented “Bristol and the South West are a great hub of activity for the design and construction industry. At QODA we are excited to be a part of the evolving and growing landscape that encompasses design consultancies. By opening our fourth office in the UK we are thrilled to be continuing our growing rel...
Kimber Wing Opening at New College, Oxford
7 March 2019
QODA were pleased to be invited to the opening of the new Kimber Wing at New College, Oxford which took place this week. The Wing was opened by The Chancellor of the University, The Lord Patten of Barns. QODA Consulting along with New College and Austin Newport Group has completed the major refurbishment and extension of its premises in Longwall Street. These comprise a series of Grade II listed houses and the Morris Garages - the historic site where William Morris pioneered the manufacture of his motor cars. The Morris building had been converted to student accommodation some dec...
Bishops Cleeve Medical Centre Opening
11 February 2019
Director of the Birmingham office Mark Reeves, and Mechanical Engineer Greg Reeves, attended the opening of the new Cleveland Medical Centre located in Bishops Cleeve. QODA were thanked by the practice partner Diane Mason for our involvement and assistance in the project and as we work closely with the whole team throughout the design and build process, we are glad to have received this recognition from her. Furthermore, it was a pleasure to attend the opening event to see the project come to completion. Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire, Mr Edward Gillespie OBE, opened the Centr...