Orangepith's Blog

Shoreham Street, Sheffield

orangepith — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:48:50 +0000

Posting a recent photo of the almost complete Shoreham Street project in Sheffield. The brief was to turn the old brick warehouse into a restaurant space with offices above…..There is about to be a launch event – watch this space!

Liverpool: Old and New

orangepith — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 09:26:49 +0000

Between Christmas and New Year we stayed in the Wirral and did a fantastic walk through Liverpool City centre. The regeneration has been very successful, especially when I think back to the city I knew in the 1970′s….the main thrust has been to connect the river with the city – Liverpool One, the Albert Dock and the Marina all being good examples. The new Liverpool Museum is certainly not the Fourth Grace, and from certain angles seems to work. Inside is another story I am afraid – the specification was more ‘motorway service station’ than gallery, and already looking tawdry. We finished up at the Catholic Cathedral – a vast homage to late Modernism by Gibberd. The quality of light inside is remarkable and very poetic. The walk back to the river was through China Town and a series of derelict warehouses – a reminder that the process of decay and renewal is never ending.

We have moved! Our new office…

orangepith — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:35:30 +0000

It’s been a very busy few months as we have packed up and left Old Street and moved into the crazy busy fashionable Shoreditch…we bought an empty shell space in a new building and have fitted it out in true PO style. Although it is our office/studio it also feels more like a club space – with our specially designed carpet, dangling lights, rustic kitchen and smoked larch timber wall. The tiled walls and work bench add an edgy boho ambience complete with metal cage for the photocopier. Do drop by if you are in the area…

Great House in Walberswick

orangepith — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 16:20:02 +0000

Last week spent a fun morning with the new office camera and my old tripod taking pictures of a really complicated project we have just completed in Walberswick, Suffolk. The house was nearly 5o0 years old and needed a lot of TLC. The new extension is for the kitchen and has a games room above. The rest of the house was stripped back and re-built by Websters Contractors…

Interior view of new extension

Raoul’s open in Hammersmith

orangepith — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 14:33:37 +0000

A few weeks ago we went down to Raoul’s in Hammersmith to had dinner with the lovely Michael and Geraldine Leventis to celebrate our fifth successful collaboration. The food is fantastic and the design isn’t bad either. The great thing about it is that it feels like a true neighbourhood restaurant – not too posh but with genuine character and warmth. Having just come back from New York where you are spoiled by good food, I would recommend a visit. Round the corner from Westfield but feels like a million miles.

March 2011

orangepith — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 15:16:14 +0000

Just been given a hard time by my old mate/boss Richard for not filling in the BLOG…so here goes. Last week we got a Civic Trust award for our Cemetery Road building which is great. Our third building for Cristian in Sheffield is well underway – see pic – and will be completed later this year. Meanwhile looks like we might be moving – have put in an offer on a space round the corner for a 999 year lease. Project Orange are thinking long term. Till next time…

Singapore + Stirling

orangepith — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 14:01:57 +0000

Back from a very stimulating trip to Singapore with RIBA to visit the Architecture Department of NUS. Never been there before and was struck by the lush green setting for so many High Rise blocks. The university campus in set on a hill so has great views across the island. On my last day I had a few hours to wander and came back to walk about Pinnacle – a new 50 storey social housing block with linked bridges. Designed by ARC Studio Architecture + Urbanism it presents a fashionable set of facades, and is well connected at the base. However it remains rather self conscious rising, as it does, on the edge of China Town – where I was taken to a very cool cafe by Kerry Hill – called 8. There are only ever 8 things on the menu. Flew back to go straight into the Stirling Prize dinner – there was only one thing on the menu here – including a rather trite history of C20th architecture from Tom. Still Zaha won with her bespoke take on Rome and it looks well. Next stop – Beirut….

Venice Biennale 2010

orangepith — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 16:03:08 +0000

Back from the Venice People-Meet-Architecture Biennale already (it’s Saturday)…and an overdose of archi-culture (and parties). I suppose the truest reflection of the theme was that the place was mobbed with people (geographically a disproportionate number from Old Street/London). However the Arsenale was a series of installations – enjoyable and evocative but peripheral (apart from Studio Mumbai). This year there were few CGI’s and a more models (Japan as micro-cute as ever) – but even these seemed to miss the point. Where are the people? The Brit-Pav was elegant, understated and underwhelming. Pulling Ruskin into C21st is a clever move – but it is more about the idea than the experience. To be fair there is a lot of emphasis on collaboration and future-events on site – but that doesn’t make up for the real question – what about now, where do we go from here? With so many pressing global issues it seems that everyone (France especially) are tactically refusing to posit a position for fear they will be proved wrong. Most ‘architecture’ is crap, that is the elephant in the room. Cites are full of them and people live in them. Venice itself is a doomed gilded cage, as are these exhibitions in the gardens. An architecture of obfuscation, a glorious and fabulous moment in time, to be looked back upon as another chance to change the future that was missed.

LFA – June 2010

orangepith — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:40:44 +0000

Well the sun is out and once again it is the London Festival of Architecture. So many things to do! We went on Friday to the opening of the exhibition put on by Peter Murray of 50 years of design in London – and were really pleased to have 2 of our projects included. Meanwhile we are preparing for our Open Studio Event on Thursday 1st July (from 4.00) where we will be launching PO Box – our collection of essays by the office. It has taken a year to get this project going but it is looking good and being printed as I write. If that is not enough on Saturday 3rd July Ruth, our associate, is organizing a PO Walk around London – past a few of our projects and ending up at PO HQ. Do all come along!

Wins/Talk/Chelsea

orangepith — Thu, 27 May 2010 09:42:24 +0000

Yesterday spent an interesting afternoon at the Clerkenwell Design Festival – debating “Thinking Design’ with Kevin McCloud and Ben Marshall. On Tuesday we were at Chelsea Flower show – for the first time. Fantastic. We also heard last week that Whitecross Street won an RIBA medal for Whitecross Street, while I was in Newcastle presenting the awards at the Assembly Rooms…meanwhile we are excited at the near completion of our 15sqm sample room at the Hoxton Hotel.