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8.November.2007

Space to play

The 150 people who moved into architects Waring and Netts’ new ‘spaceworks’ headquarters on Benton Park Road near Gosforth recently are already feeling the benefit of the new working environment, thanks to lunchtime pilates classes, games and chill zones and even a dedicated space in which to grow vegetables.

The company designed the workspace after directors Andy Roberts and Erland Rendall returned from an inspirational trip to New York to assess how well some of the USA architect designed buildings blur the boundaries between working and living spaces.

Waring and Netts’ director Erland Rendall said: “When we saw the Lincoln Centre in New York, it showed that our ideas for spaceworks were on the right track. Housing the Warner Brothers headquarters alongside the Lincoln Jazz Centre, a retail mall and a five star hotel on one site, we really saw the benefits of blurring the boundaries between working and living spaces.”

Formerly the Sage headquarters and built in the early 1990s, the large open entrance to spaceworks has been transformed into a light-filled atrium which the team can use as a break-out space in which to talk, eat and relax. The atrium also has a games area complete with football and pool tables and there are plans to develop an on-site organic café. The company will eventually grow its own produce, transforming the former outside smoking shelter into a space to grow tomatoes.

Waring and Netts’ managing director Rob Charlton said: “As a company that promotes the value of creativity and right brain thinking, we wanted our own environment to make a tangible statement of what we are about and lead the way in terms of workspace design that encourages healthy living.

“Good design has been proven to reduce absenteeism and staff turnover, encourage communication and a continuous flow of ideas and we applied the same focus to our own design and layout as we do when working on client projects, creating space that integrates learning, caring, working and living zones.

“We wanted spaceworks to be a real home from home and a place where people wanted to spend time and do things outside their normal working activities. Being able to relax, enjoy a short play or join in an art or exercise class in your lunch break promotes a positive work-life balance and matches the company’s thinking differently ethos.

“In a high pressure business such as ours, everyone is constantly giving 100% effort and the new environment will help us attract and retain a talented and creative team and make day to day life more pleasant for every one of us. As we reach the end of our fiftieth year, spaceworks heralds a fresh and exciting era for our team - our new base signifies a whole lot more than just a change of address.”
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21.August.2007

We have moved……………

Waring and Netts is pleased to announce that after months of anticipation and speculation we have finally moved to our new office spaceworks……………….

This is a giant step for the company as we are one big happy family again and our new office has been planned to accommodate our new family members. more…

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24.July.2007

Gateshead Schools PFI

Creative specialist in the built environment Waring and Netts, has worked on design projects for seven PFI schools in Gateshead Tyne and Wear, four of which have reached completion this summer.

Lord Lawson Secondary School is due to complete before September 2007, and Phase Two of Kingsmeadow Secondary and Dunston Hill Primary, which are based on one site, are scheduled for completion before September 2008.

Waring and Netts associate director Emma Tansley has worked as lead architect on all seven schools. She said: “We have extensive experience in the educational sector and embraced the challenge of working with seven schools simultaneously. It is quite unusual to work on such a high number of projects in one area but it is rewarding to be involved in shaping the community in such a valuable way.”

Waring and Netts has been working closely with Gateshead Council and Pinnacle Schools – a consortium comprising Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd and Parsons Brinckerhoff – to design and create high quality, well-equipped learning environments that meet the requirements of the modern day curriculum.

“The designs of the five primary schools are developed around four generic elements consisting of the class bases, community area, hall and learning zones. Each also houses a community studio with high levels of sound absorption so that quieter classes are not disturbed by its acoustically demanding activities.

Maximum use of circulation space has been achieved in the primary schools by incorporating activity ‘streets’ that are directly accessed from the class rooms. They basically consist of an area outside the classroom that doubles up as space for small group activities incorporating seating, storage and study stations.
Emma said: “These activity streets form the heart of each school and allow creative and flexible teaching spaces. By incorporating a clerestory above the activity street in the primary schools, the design maximises the effectiveness of daylight, which is an important contribution to teaching areas.”

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24.May.2007

Building skills in architecture gives student food for thought

An architectural studies student from Newcastle University is to find out the best ways to break into the industry after winning a competition with Waring and Netts’ creative team.

Twenty- year old Anthony Lazarus will spend his lunchtime with Waring and Netts, specialists in all aspects of the built environment, where an associate director will review his portfolio and advise on the do’s and don’ts of applying for a job in the architectural sector.

Anthony was the lucky winner of Waring and Netts’ Applying Skills in Architecture competition held recently at Newcastle University. Students at any stage of their seven-year degree in Architectural Studies were invited to find out more about the varied number of career paths available, for non-graduates as well as those completing a degree.

Anthony said: “It is great to be able to hear from the horse’s mouth how to break into the industry, and all the options we have as architectural students. Seven years is a long time to study and some students do start considering whether they definitely want to be an architect at the end of it. It is good to hear that you can still work in the architectural arena without being restricted solely to becoming an architect.”

Waring and Netts’ associate director Steve Brooks said: “After starting a seven year degree, some people get a couple of years into it and start thinking that being an architect may not be for them after all. What we are trying to say is, don’t give up. Becoming an architect is just one of the roads you can go down”

To illustrate this, Waring and Netts created a quiz sheet with photographs of celebrities ranging from Ronnie Barker to rap star Ice Cube and asked which of them studied Architecture at University – the answer was all of them.

Anthony won the quiz and subsequently the session at Waring and Netts to show his portfolio to Steve Brooks and get some advice on how to make it ‘work ready’.
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