News

Christmas Party - Wreath Making Workshop

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Just before we all broke up for the Christmas holidays we had a party at our new studio. Part of the reason we are so excited at the new studio space is that it provides us with room to be a little more hands-on and practical - for example we now have a dedicated area to make models, a great surface for printing inks on and even room to set up the drawing board!

MWA Wreath
MWA Wreath
MWA Wreath

We thought that a good way to celebrate Christmas in the new studio and provide a first opportunity for ‘making’ would be to have a practical Christmas party. So we invited the wonderful artist and florist Grace A Williams to our studio to run a wreath making workshop. Her work is closely tied into the crafts, practices and industries traditionally thought of as being in the female arena and floristry has been a part of some of her pieces in the past, for more information on her work please visit:

https://www.grace-a-williams.com

New Covent Garden
New Cover Garden
Borough Market

The day started early at the New Covent Garden flower markets in Battersea to buy the raw materials - a bustling working market full of boisterous characters and good cheer. Then onto Borough markets to pick up the other raw material required for a Christmas party - food and booze - before heading back to our studio for the workshop.

Whilst we were all novices and starting from scratch was a lot harder than it first appeared, over the course of a few hours we had a great laugh and produced some very fine looking wreathes to adorn our front doors and tables over the holidays. A few pictures can be found here:

Grace A Williams leading MWA Wreath Making
MWA Christmas Wreath Party
MWA Barry and his wreath

Studio 'Shop Window'

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MW Architects - Christmas Shop Window

One of the things we are most excited about at the new studio is our ‘shop windows’. It has made a big difference to the atmosphere within the practice to see the world go by during the day and we really want to start a rolling series of window displays to give something back to the street scene in our new home.

With Christmas being the first major occasion since moving in it was decided the first scene for the window display should be a festive feature.

MW Architects - Business Cards

Earlier in the year we had a rebranding exercise that resulted in our fabulous new website and some rather funky business cards that are inspired by origami techniques. Unfortunately since moving our surplus business cards became defunct due to the change of address but Clare had the idea to use them to create a series of mobiles within the window. One window features falling snow and business card stars whilst the other window has a minimal business card Christmas tree.

We think the results are very cool and a really good re-use of our old business cards that would otherwise have been thrown away. It has been particularly enjoyable to see passers-by come and press their noses right against the glass to take a closer look which hopefully is a good sign for future window displays; Watch this Space!

Clare making a business card Christmas Tree
Christmas Front Door - MW Architects
Christmas Shop Window - MW Architects
Christmas Shop Window - MW Architects
MW Architects - The Visit of Secret Santa

We have moved - first pin up in new studio!

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First Pin-Ups in new studio

We have made the move from our old offices in London Bridge to our own studio in Brockley. We are very excited to be in our new space and look forward to exploring the potential opportunities being here may provide. We’ve already had a few pin ups around the meeting table - here is Luke presenting a little taste of some of the work his students have been doing at Birmingham School of Architecture to the rest of the team.

MW Architects wins Ultimate Luxury Bathroom Design of the Year 2018!

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Recently our Luxury Master Suite (see: https://www.mwarchitects.co.uk/blog/2018/7/9/master-suite) won the Ultimate Luxury Bathroom Design of the Year category at the Designer Kitchen & Bathroom Awards 2018. 

We were delighted that the judges recognised the careful process of keeping the spatial design fairly simple to allow the natural quality of the materials and the skilful craft of their assembly to be the main event. 

Here is what the judges had to say about the design:

 

The Luxury Bathroom category is always a great pleasure for the judges because for the designers it’s a test - having a huge budget doesn’t necessarily mean great design. What we saw this year is what I would describe as restraint. It is hard if you have a huge budget to exercise restraint…the projects we enjoyed and got through the shortlist were the ones where the money had been spent on the materials and then the materials were left to speak for themselves. 

The winner of the Luxury Bathroom category actually stood out to us as being a superb use and control of light and space and materials. The materials were so beautifully selected and so fabulously executed that they also enhance the use of the space, they create an ambience in the space that is warm but I would say it is contemporary. So the bathroom really is exuberant, and it is luxurious.

 

New Studio Space taking shape

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There are exciting times ahead for MW Architects as we are about to move into a new studio space in South East London. We are currently hard at work fitting out the new studio to provide it with desk spaces, a meeting area, a kitchen and a model making workshop. We are super excited about the move and the impact working in the new space will have on the way we operate. Watch this space for news on our new studio which will be unveiled in the next few weeks. 

Luxury Master Suite

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This project in NW3 was a brand new home for a previous client.  Having inherited a planning permission for the site from the previous owners, external works were limited to the approved envelope and style but the inside provided a canvas for the clients to display their personalities all the way through the home.

With a generous 750 SQM floor plan, spaces were able to be given more area than in other smaller homes.  This led to grand connected spaces at all levels.

On the first floor, the Master Suite is the epitome of private luxury with a 90 sqm bedroom, bathroom and dressing area across the entire south facing rear of the property behind a large double door from the main hallway.

With a central Juliette balcony the bed sits against a bespoke back-lit bedhead wall with inbuilt side tables and reading lamps and lights floating above.  This opens up onto a large dressing area with a set of corner cupboards and a central dressing unit.

Walking around to the bathroom there is a suggestion of what is to come as large slabs of contrasting marble ‘peek out’ into the passageway.  The design here is based on a series of slabs rising from floor to ceiling in contrasting and inverted marbles to create distinct spaces for the functions of the room as well as to define ‘his and her’ spaces. 

As you enter the bathroom you are greeted with Panda White book-matched marble slab denoting ‘her’ dressing area with a sink unit on the reverse.  Facing onto this is ‘his’ sink area on a Black Moon book-matched marble slab.  Behind this slab is a 2.5m walk through shower and separate ‘his and hers’ toilets behind the final partition.

The marbles were carefully selected to be as close to a perfect invert of each other as possible, with the monochrome adding to the impressive contrast.

The floor-to-ceiling slab partitions are set to be perpendicular to the rear wall and window allowing light to flow into the entire bathroom space.  The striking pebble free-standing bath floats harmoniously in front of one of the windows.  The effect is a dramatic yet very functional bathroom space.

Materiality was of high importance throughout with the suite flooring in timber parquet throughout allowing a real sense of continuing space -  the only break in this is for the walk through shower slab.  White plastered walls are used in all spaces to allow the materials to be visually prominent.  A dark grey stained oak is used on the bedroom furniture with the bedhead being a painted softwood and a bespoke construction built in situ. 

Acle Bridge Visitor Centre Competition - Norfolk Broads

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We recently entered into a competition to design the new visitor's centre at Acle Bridge, in the Norfolk Broads. We were given the task of designing a canal side visitor centre that provided cafe space, facilities for mooring boats, an education space and an exhibition area in order to educate visitors about the history of the Norfolk Broads and the importance of water. The building was also to be designed in order to take advantage of the surrounding landscape, the largest protected wet land in the UK. 

We approached this project, designing what we hoped had the ability to be a landmark building for the Norfolk Broads Authority. Being in such a significant part of the country we took inspiration from one of the greatest pieces of architecture found in the Norfolk Broads, the wherry boat. We wanted to capture the wind filled sails that can be seen cutting through the reeds of the Norfolk broads in a solidified structure but in an abstracted manner. Due to the organic shapes created by the sails we thought it would be counter productive to begin with computer modelling. Instead, we started our

investigation using craft rock to create organic 'sail like' shapes. We were then able to establish numerous roofing schemes that we could use in the design of our building.

The result, we believe, is one that answers the brief while delivering a unique piece of architecture and in some way a part of the Norfolk Broads, in building form. We have proposed a collection of 'sail like' swooping curved roofing planes which create a dramatic and spacious interior. Large expanses of glass frame the outstanding surrounds while also flooding the building with natural light, while making the building more sustainable as a result of large solar gains. The concave roof planes also serve as grey water collectors allowing the building to be serviced by the water it collects. The roofing system itself is a unique system that we invented and pioneered in conjunction with structure mode (read our blog about that here). A cnc cut, LVL structural timber, self reciprocating, double curved timber roof with a stressed skin

How we developed an innovative roof construction method!

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In 2014 we were given the exciting opportunity to design a replacement for a dilapidated, unused and unloved glass conservatory in East London. In this we saw the opportunity to experiment and develop an innovative timber roofing system. The result, a self reciprocating, double curved timber roof with a stressed skin. A unique roof was created unlike any in the surrounding area, floating above a beautiful space which is flooded with natural daylight everyday no matter the time of year. 

STEP 1 - 3D Modelling

After we had the idea for our new roofing system, we modelled it completely down to every nut and bolt on BIM. This allowed us to collaborate with structural engineers to ensure the rigidity of our proposed design. From our BIM model we were then able to extract each timber beam's outline for our test model. 

STEP 2 - Laser Cut Model

As our excitement increased about our idea becoming a reality we decided that we wanted to build a little version to keep in our office for ourselves. We produced a scaled laser cut model of the roofing structure - which not only looked cool but helped settle our nerves about it fitting together. Effectively we had designed a timber jigsaw on a building scale. 

"How we developed an innovative roof construction method" - Independent Place - MW Architects
"How we developed an innovative roof construction method" - Independent Place - MW Architects
"How we developed an innovative roof construction method" - Independent Place - MW Architects

STEP 3 - CNC Cutting

Physical model complete, it was now time for the real thing! After final structural checks, we exported our template for the timber beams and sent it over to Finland. We had decided that the best construction material would be Kerto-Q Structural LVL (Laminated Veneer Lumber) from Metsa Wood in Finland. The reason we decided on this was due to its exceptional structural performance. This super strength comes from its cross lamination, with each layer going in a different direction, meaning that when cut into curved beams the structural strength is in no way comprised. The below image shows how each sheet of LVL was cut using a CNC machine forming our individual pieces, with millimetre accuracy.  

It was then a waiting game for our timber to arrive in London! 

STEP 4 - Timber Arrives!

After a quick few weeks the wait was over and our oversized jigsaw pieces were in London! We began the trouble free, seamless operation of slotting ever piece together forming our double curved timber latice that served as the roofs 'structural bones'. Each element was bolted together, spreading the load across the entire roof, then down to the foundations through the steel support columns. Of course we had to go to site in order to see this process happen, we couldn't miss it! 

STEP 5 - Completion 

After the roof structure was assembled it was then lifted into to place, floating on thin steel columns and then made water tight with slithers of glass between the roof and the minimal side walls. The result, an innovative roof curving up graciously towards the sky. Not only an architectural showpiece in East London but also an engineering triumph. We were thrilled with our design but not as excited as the clients were to gain an extra room in their house. They were able to enjoy their garden all year round and fall back in love with their home. While great on the inside the unique extension also looks fantastic for passers by, especially once the sun has set and the building glows from within. 

"How we developed an innovative roof construction method" - Independent Place - MW Architects