BDR - Research at SSoA - School of Architecture

Collaborative construction workshop at All Saints School
Community engagement event at Mount Pleasant Park
Design training course on behalf of the Glass-House, Newcastle
Treetop walkway design for Ecclesall Woodland Innovation Centre
Strategy diagram for the development of the university campus
Connected practice diagram
Sustainable infrastructures diagram

Bureau - Design + Research (BDR)

bureau – design + research [bdr] is a research-based consultancy unit. We see architectural research and consultancy being integral to creating inclusive architectural processes that engage people in the creation of a more innovative and sustainable built environment. Our reputation lies in three main strands of research consultancy: learning environments, community-led regeneration and sustainable futures. We advocate the importance and value of architectural design, aiming to establish cross-sector and interdisciplinary knowledge exchange, empower communities, individuals and organisations to help shape their surroundings and build new civic institutions. We aim to engender a wider contextual understanding of architecture and have developed building processes that encourage a reciprocal approach in the way we operate and change the culture of the built environment.

Current and Recent Projects from 2008	Research Projects: The BDR undertakes both industry commissioned and academically funded research, knowledge transfer and consultancy funded projects on the built environment. We seek to conduct research that provides an evidence base for sustainable architectural processes and products. Since our founding in 2002 we have completed over 40 commissioned projects. We have been recipients of a number of knowledge transfer awards from the university and see this at the core of our relationships with clients, the community and the city. We also work with our colleagues in the school of Architecture, the University and the Estates departments with commissioned design consultancy. Research Projects: Pakhtoon Schools Project The project aims to establish a network of people and organisations to collaboratively design a sustainable prototype school for the Pakhtoon regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. 2010 to date. (£6,000) Healthy Design, Creative Safety A research project looking at innovative ways of teaching Health and Safety in undergraduate architecture courses. January 2010-August 2011. (RIBA and HSE award £10,000) Imagine: Inspirational School Design An open access web resource of exemplary international school projects. Imagine contains over 200 case studies of learning environments, providing themed analysis that is aimed at a wide range of people including designers, educators and students. Commissioned by Balfour Beatty and Partnerships for Schools. 2009-2010. (£40,000) uCampus - Interactive Visualisation Model Environment This ambitious project set out to create a web accessible 3D computer visualisation of the University of Sheffield Campus. The visualisation can be used in many ways as a tool for: navigation & way-finding, premises management, design and development, teaching and learning. (JISC funded, with Chengzhi Peng.) 2008-2010 City Lab: A feasibility study for the Jessops Edwardian building We pioneered a new type of Institution for the University with exhibition, knowledge exchange and hospitality, prioritising a closer relationship with the city. 2008 Woodworks: The potential of Locally-sourced Sustainable Timber A conference and subsequent research report exploring the potential for creative use of locally sourced timber in architectural projects. The research addressed issues such as availability and awareness of locally- sourced timber as well as highlighted good practice examples around the world. Commissioned by Sheffield City Council, 2008. (£7,500) Consultancy Projects: Arts Tower Furniture Strategy We have been responsible for the design and commissioning of furniture for the Architecture and Landscape departments. 2010-2011 What Does a Contemporary Faith School Look Like? Report commissioned by a multi-national construction company to investigate how faith schools are expressed architecturally and the impact of this design. 2010 (£6,500) Building Schools for the Future Stakeholder Engagement A series of workshops commissioned by Sheffield City Council and construction partners to actively engage teachers in the design of new schools in the city. 2010 (approx. £1,500) Buildings by Design and Spaces by Design Community Training Courses Ongoing partnership with The Glass-House Architecture Charity in developing and delivering design training and support for community groups, so that they can engage in their own architectural projects in their neighbourhoods. 2006 ongoing (approx. £9,000 per annum) 116 High Street Boston Community Engagement Strategy Creative engagement strategy to involve the local community in the restoration and regeneration of a famous local building into a community hub facility. Commissioned by Heritage Lincolnshire. 2010 (£1,250) Ecclesall Woodland Innovation Centre: Masterplan and Outline Design Proposals A long term masterplan vision to develop a Centre for Woodland Innovation in the historic Ecclesall Woods. The plan included a variety of timber structures that could be gradually built over the next 20 years, pioneering the use of locally-sourced timber and acting as a showcase for timber in all its various guises. The centre was also designed as a gateway to the woodland as well as sustainable workshops for local timber enterprises. Commissioned by South Yorkshire Forest and Sheffield City Council. 2007-2008. (£32,000) Current PhD Thesis Projects: Community-led Design PhD Studentship. AHRC Connected Communities Programme. 2011-2014. Supervisor Prue Chiles, 2nd Supervisor Leo Care. PhD developed in collaboration with The GlassHouse.
Key Outcomes	Publications: School Building: Key Issues for Contemporary School Design - forthcoming book, published by Birkhauser, winter 2011/2012 Chiles,P and Holder, A. What If – technology blended with people and place? in Growing by Degrees - Universities in the future of Urban Development RIBA publications 2009 Re-designing Leaning, innovation, imagination and participation in Barnsley‘s Building Schools for the Future. BDR publications 2007 Design training and handbook publications for community groups engaged in the regeneration of their neighbourhood places and spaces [in partnership with and published by The GlassHouse] Web: Imagineschooldesign.org – open access web resource containing over 200 worldwide examples of exemplary school design. An internationally known and used resource Built and design work: Mission Addition – a Creative Partnerships funded collaborative design and construction of an outdoor classroom based on mathematical principals, with staff and Maths GCSE students from All Saints School, Mansfield. 2008- Masterplan proposal for a Woodland Innovation Centre at Ecclesall Woods, Sheffield. Won in competition, funded by Sheffield City Council. 2007-2008
Activities and Events	Research by Design Symposium, April 2011 Buildings by Design Newcastle, February 2011 Pakhtoon Schools Symposium, October 2010 Building Schools for the Future, Stakeholder engagement events, Sheffield 2010 Woodworks Conference, September 2008
Group Members	Academic Staff: Leo Care Prue Chiles Howard Evans Research Associates: Anna Holder Research and design collaborators: Alan MacDonald 2011- Jonathan Millard 2011- Vera Cave - New AHRC funded collaborative PhD studentship Oct 2011 - Visiting researcher Alessandro Rigalon (Bologna) 2010-11 Other academic staff from Architecture and other departments, PhD students and MArch students are involved on a project by project basis