News

AA Dip14 Greyfield Trip to Berlin 2024 Thank you to the anarchically inventive and generous BARarchitekten for their time today hosting us at their studio and discussing projects.

Two of our @new____works co-founders Tom Lewith and Doug Hodgson are both speaking at the RIBA Guerrilla Tactics conference tomorrow about the importance we see in specialism, collaboration and wellbeing. These are the founding principles of New-works and we believe they can help us address several crises affecting small and medium sized practices including financial viability, mental health, the advent of AI, long hours and low pay. Tom and Doug’s talks will look to discuss how we as a profession can tackle these challenges. #riba #architecture #architects

Many thanks to ArchiTech Network for inviting New-works co-founder Tom Lewith to speak at their most recent Pecha Kucha in the Pub, and Facit Technologies for hosting. The Pecha Kucha format is 20 slides, 20 seconds per slide which keeps things to the point. Great to hear fascinating presentations from Adam Dainow, Russ Edwards, Russell Curtis, Bruce Bell, Oliver Thomas, Xavier Smales, Ceri Edmunds and Cesar Fragachan Pinzani. Follow ArchiTech Network and for updates on the next one. And thanks to Adam Dainow for the photo of Tom.

World Mental Health Day is celebrated every year on 10th October. This year’s theme set by the World Federation of Mental Health is workplace mental health. The theme highlights the importance of addressing mental health and wellbeing in the workplace, for the benefit of people, organisations, and communities. New-works believes in a new way of working for Architects, that prioritises mental health and wellbeing. We see a quiet mental health crisis in the profession and feel passionately that practice culture needs to change. At New-works our studio follows a daily rhythm that fosters creativity and wellbeing. The morning is for deep creative work, away from emails, phone and other modern day distractions. The afternoon is for collaboration, emails and correspondence. The working day is 10am - 5pm, with the an hour at the start and end of the day for personal wellbeing: walks, meditation, exercise, exploring interests, visiting galleries and other sources of inspiration. This new way of working allows us to focus on our specialism in the morning and then collaborate in the afternoon, protecting our mental health and building our professional and personal wellbeing within the practice. Our hope is that a more balanced daily life for architects will encourage a more inclusive, diverse and representative profession that in turn provides better architecture for communities. #WMHD24 #WorldMentalHealthDay #sustainability #wellbeing #architecture

We are working with Lewes Football Club, Lewes Football Foundation and the neighbouring Priory School to design low cost, demountable and sustainable changing, storage, gathering and community space for the grass and 3G pitches. @new___works are providing pro-bono design services alongside @elliottwood_partnership for this exciting community funded scheme, to also be a community build. The proposals will allow for significantly improved access and use of the pitches for the school and community teams, and shelter for the nearby Forest School. #sustainability #wellbeing #architecture #football #lewes #communityfunded #communitybuild

We are excited to be part of the inaugural Regenerative Architecture Index, launched by @architectsdeclare_uk and @arch_today The index was formed to recognise the scale of the ambition needed to address the deep systemic challenges we face to change the accepted norms of what #architecture could be. IMAGE: Drying in the Sussex sunshine today, cork panels hand coated with a regenerative sealant, for an exciting prototype self-build @new___works project built of fully regenerative materials. Congratulations to everyone who has contributed to delivering the first ever Regenerative Architecture Index: AEW Architects, Allford Hall Monaghan Morris Architype, Archmongers, Assemble, AW W, BDP, Bond Bryan Architects, Buckley Gray Yeoman, Cairn, CAO, Coffey Architects, Collective Architecture, Collective Works, dRMM, ECD Architects, Elliott Wood, Exploration Architecture, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, Gale & Snowden Architects, Grain Architecture, Hawkins\Brown, Haworth Tompkins, HLM Architects, Hopkins Architects, Howells, Human Nature, JTP, Knox Bhavan Architects, LOKI, Map Architecture, Marks Barfield Architects MATT+FIONA, Max Fordham, MICA, Mike Tuck Studio, Miltiadou Cook Mitzman Architects Morrow and Lorraine, Nested Living, New-works, Optimised Environments (OPEN) Orms, PAD studio, Pamphilon Architects, Perkins&Will, PLP Architecture, Project Orange, PRP, Purcell, RDA Architects, Richard Weston Studio, Ritchie Studio, Rock Townsend Architects Sheppard Robson, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Stanton Williams, Studio 8FOLD, Studio Bark, Studio Knight Stokoe, Studio Multi, Tate+Co, Tonic Architecture, Tonkin Liu, tp bennett, Useful Simple Trust, We Made That, White Arkitekter, Worldchanging Institute. #regenerativearchitectureindex #rai #architecturetoday #ukarchitectsdeclare #regenerativefuture #regenerativedesign

In the first of two episodes, follow the link below to listen to one of our Founding Directors Doug Hodgson in conversation with Jon Clayton @mrjonclayton on his podcast, The Architecture Business Club. Jon and Doug discuss the critical balance between mental health and work within architectural practice, and how at New-works we are redefining workplace wellbeing to form a more sustainable new way of working. https://architecturebusinessclub.com/listen/ Topics covered in this first of two episodes: - Mental health and wellbeing in architecture - The impact of architectural education on wellbeing - Specialisation and collaboration for a better practice #architecturebusinessclub #architecture #MentalHealth #WorkplaceWellbeing #sustainability #ArchitectLife #ArchitectureBusiness #WellbeingAtWork #DesignCommunity #ArchitectsJournal #WorkLifeBalance #ArchitecturePodcast #Entrepreneurship #ProfessionalDevelopment #ArchitectureDesign #SustainableArchitecture #BuildingBetter #PodcastLife #PodcastEpisode #MentalHealthMatters #InclusiveWorkplace #UrbanDesign #DesignThinking #HealthyWorkspace

RIBA London ‘Practice of the Month’ Sustainability: Reuse, Retrofit & Regenerative materials Current case studies in progress at New-works: 1 - London Nautical School - Sustainable Schools & Community Uses: To retain and Retrofit existing buildings on site, and extend southern block with MMC timber frame to provide dual use by the school and local community throughout the day. 2 - The Phoenix - Human Nature - Mass Timber Frame & Regenerative materials: Working collaboratively with sustainable development specialists @humannatureplaces on their flagship development, The Phoenix, which will deliver a net regenerative and exponentially sustainable neighbourhood of 685 new homes in Lewes, Sussex. Assessing the 7 categories of MMC, a customised methodology was chosen to facilitate the project ambitions. We are excited to be continuing on the project as one of 12 different architects now working on the scheme. A mass timber and hempcrete build, powered by a 100% renewable energy grid, ‘Raw & Craft’ principles, community focused, walkable neighbourhood which will re-connect Lewes to the river and provides community spaces throughout. 3- Low Line - BLUE Bermondsey - Workspace & Community space: This Retrofit project brings redundant railway arches back into use to the benefit of the surrounding communities and small businesses, while also celebrating the powerful sense of ‘remaining space’ under the Victorian viaducts. Our approach is inexpensive, demountable and transferable, cost-efficient and recyclable. The design is intentionally ‘low-tech’ to allow for community buildout elsewhere in London and beyond. New-works will be undertaking this 3rd site with @bluebermondsey as a self-build over the summer of 2024, to be our new studio and spaces for other local enterprises and start ups otherwise priced out of nearby commercial lets. This week New-works have made a series of posts illustrating how our new way of working brings multiple benefits for clients, collaborators and our studio. Tuesday: Specialism Wednesday: Collaboration Thursday: Wellbeing Friday: Sustainability @ribalondon #sustainability #practiceofthemonth #architecture

RIBA London ‘Practice of the Month’ Wellbeing: A New Way of Working We see a quiet mental health crisis in our profession that is in part fuelled by an expectation (partly self-imposed) that architects should provide a full range of architectural services and fill any generally unspecified roles on all projects. We believe that is compounded by marginal fees, which lead to a reliance on un-paid overtime across the profession in all sizes of practice. We feel passionately that this culture needs to change. At New-works our studio follows a daily rhythm that fosters creativity and wellbeing. The morning is for deep creative work, away from emails, phone and other modern day distractions. The afternoon is for collaboration, emails and correspondence. The working day is 10am - 5pm, with the an hour at the start and end of the day for personal wellbeing: walks, meditation, exercise, exploring interests, visiting galleries and other sources of inspiration. As TDO we delivered a great number of projects over 14 years, and set ourselves high standards. Through providing all-services architecture we became aware that the realities of the two distinct phases of a project - ideas and delivery - required two distinct personalities, which don't always coexist to the same extent in individual architects, or indeed comfortably for anyone when required to respond to polar different aspects of ones self on the same day, week or years that a whole project can take. Our new way of working allows us to focus on our specialism in the morning and collaborate in the afternoon, protecting our mental health and building our professional and personal wellbeing within the studio for a more balanced daily life which we hope will encourage more people from more diverse parts of the community to join and stay within the profession. As RIBA London ‘Practice of the Month’, New-works are making a series of posts on how our new way of working brings multiple benefits for clients, collaborators and our studio. Tuesday: Specialism Wednesday: Collaboration Thursday: Wellbeing Friday: Sustainability @ribalondon #sustainability #wellbeing #architecture #practiceofthemonth

RIBA London ‘Practice of the Month’ Collaboration: Our industry is populated with talented architects whose strengths are in different works stages. Ideas focused people move into ‘design’ practices where their ideas solve the riddles and unlock a project’s potential. Technical minds gravitate towards delivery to solve the challenges of bringing a project into the real world. At New-works we are ideas focused, but still fascinated by how building are assembled, recognising that only through collaboration with specialist delivery practices we can achieve the most sustainable architecture, both for our buildings and our practice. Our experience of working with delivery practice Veretec across a series of projects was illuminating. On our Great Suffolk Yard project, Veretec undertook a full detail design audit of the 48 facade sections following a late change requiring a fully non-combustable facade only weeks before the final Contract Set issue. Veretec’s input provided assurance that the change to non-combustable facades had been fully achieved and also reassurance all external facades had been fully designed prior to undertaking Construction. We believe the breadth of knowledge now required of our profession following the BSA necessitates embracing specialism and collaboration. Delivery architects should be in the foreground of the profession and involved in the concept phase to input on optimising the design, and concept architects should remain involved throughout delivery at their clients’ sides as concept guardians. We believe this approach will lead to better quality control, more choice and better value for clients, more sustainable models of practice, more appropriately skilled teams, more sustainable buildings and improved wellbeing in the profession. This week New-works are making a series of posts illustrating how our new way of working brings multiple benefits for clients, collaborators and our studio. Tuesday: Specialism Wednesday: Collaboration Thursday: Wellbeing Friday: Sustainability @ribalondon #ukarchitecture #architectureuk #architectureplatform #sustainability #archinstagram #youngarchitects #practiceofthemonth

RIBA London ‘Practice of the Month’ Specialism: FAB house is a modular MMC house type we designed with @mrgeorgeclarke for @weareurbansplash. Working with the factory based specialist design team from the outset, the design process allowed for the opportunity for us all to learn from and respond to each designers specialist knowledge. The factory based designers set out the parameters with respect to material precision and efficient manufacture on a factory line, which also needed to take account of for transportation from factory to site. We found that our design proposals evolved to respond at each stage to the factories Timber Framed Modular requirements and they to our insights and ideas as designers with a new perspective on their systems and approach. It was process-led and collaborative - from concept, through detail design, in manufacture, to assembly on site. This opened our eyes to the benefit of deep collaboration with MMC factory based designers, and particularly to how a team of individual specialists designing together enhance the overall design. We are delighted that @ribalondon have named New-works as ‘Practice of the Month’, highlighting our practice for offering a new way of working rooted in greater specialism, collaboration, and wellbeing. This week New-works are making a series of posts illustrating how our new way of working brings multiple benefits for clients, collaborators and our studio. Tuesday: Specialism Wednesday: Collaboration Thursday: Wellbeing Friday: Sustainability @ribalondon @smithsdock #ukarchitecture #architectureuk #architectureplatform #sustainability #archinstagram #youngarchitects #practiceofthemonth #mmc #modularhome #factorybuilt #homes

RIBA London ‘Practice of the Month’ We are delighted that @ribalondon have named New-works as ‘Practice of the Month’, highlighting our practice for offering a new way of working rooted in greater specialism, collaboration, and wellbeing. This week New-works will be making a series of posts illustrating how our new way of working brings multiple benefits for and clients, collaborators and our studio. Tuesday: Specialism Wednesday: Collaboration Thursday: Wellbeing Friday: Sustainability @ribalondon #ukarchitecture #architectureuk #architectureplatform #sustainability #archinstagram #youngarchitects #practiceofthemonth

London Open House Festival 2024 Programme Preview Party at @greatsuffolkyard Thank you to everyone involved in helping make the launch party such an enjoyable, interesting and inclusive #openhouse24 event. This year Open City are focusing on Community and Inclusion as the two pillars of this festival, which were the determining factors in choosing Great Suffolk Yard for the event. To help make the event inclusive and engaging for everyone, a sign interpreter was alongside each speaker to assist accessibility for all, and to further this goal, each speaker also provided a brief personal description of themselves. New-works Founding Director, Doug Hodgson, hosted the event within the yard and reception areas, also giving the welcome speech on behalf of our client and building owners @tailored_living_solutions . He spoke about the site history informing our design process, and concluded with a quote written by architecture and design critic, @_ellie_duffy for @architectsjournal Building Study in the annual Retro-fit First Edition: “The emotional heritage of buildings and places is hard to pin down. But by adding to, rather than erasing the built legibility of a place, Great Suffolk Yard celebrates identity and shores up shared histories in an inner-city neighbourhood now and into the future.” Other speeches discussing and previewing themes of community and inclusion were given by Celia Mead (Open House Festival Director), Hafsa Adan (Open House Festival Curator), and the inspiring founders of @spaceblack__ Rayan Elnayal and Heba Tabidi, who this year are contributing Festival Guest Curators. Photography by Henri T, @henritartist Event for Open City, @opencity_uk Festival Guest Curators, @spaceblack__ Building, @greatsuffolkyard #openhouse24 #london #retrofirst #retrofit #architecture #architect #architecturelovers #wellbeing #brickwork #sustainability

Listen to one of our Founding Directors Tom Lewith in conversation with Jon Clayton @mrjonclayton on his podcast, The Architecture Business Club. They discuss how the industry can change to meet today’s challenges through specialising and collaborating: a key principle behind the founding of New-works. https://architecturebusinessclub.com/podcast/navigating-change-in-architecture-with-tom-lewith-039/ #architecturebusinessclub

Works completed today on site today at Low Line Redcross Way (by our Founding Directors Doug and Tom), to fit additional waterproofing to the arch following a change to the water path within the viaduct, possibly caused by track cleaning combining with new water routes formed by vegetation roots. #retrofit #architect #architecture #architecturelovers #london #craftsmanship #brick #mmc #lowline

POLLING STATION LOW LINE: REDCROSS WAY ARCH 23: MULTI-FUNCTION COMMUNITY SPACE

RETROFIT 24: Commercial, Cultural & Civic Buildings Retrofit Meets: ESG Seminar Wed 10 Jul 2024, 6-7.30pm We are excited that one of our Founding Directors, Doug Hodgson, will be joining the panel and presenting two of our recently completed projects with group discussion following the panel presentations. This seminar is part of the RETROFIT 24 series of seminars at the Building Centre next week. Tickets available from the Building Centre website @thebuildingcentre

Congratulations to Olly Hartley and Sam Young on completing their Part II, and to all the LSA graduates on the impressive 2024 end of year show. Throughout the past two years we have been so impressed with your focused and inspiring work, both with us in the studio and your studies. We are excited to see your continued research and work in architecture.

Earlier in June we had our first of two summer GCSE work experience placements at New-works. Rodrigo joined us to gain insight into the profession and was keen to learn about the importance of regenerative materials and opportunities for using them. His section drawing through our Coombe Street project roof shows a real attention to the material qualities of the roof build up, which incorporates cork, sheeps wool and recycled cellulose.

June is Pride Month. At New-works we are proud to have more than half our team identify as from the LGTBQ+ community. We believe that being able to be open and true to your unique self in the workplace is fundamental to well-being. We are individuals with shared values, working collectively to create buildings and environments that celebrate and enhance the lives of people living, working and enjoying the spaces we design. New-works is actively engaged and collaborating to bring about greater emphasis on progression, inclusion and equality in the Construction industry, and we see that the LGBTQ+ community can be a powerful voice at the forefront of the conversation helping to drive that change. #pride #prideuk #pridemonth #pridelondon #architect #architecture #london