Journal Posts - Jamie Fobert Architects

We are very excited to be supporting this year’s Accelerate programme, a design education and mentoring scheme developed by Open City in partnership with The Bartlett, which aims at widening diversity in the architecture industry.

We will be providing two mentors for sixth form school students from underrepresented backgrounds taking part in the programme. We hope that we might encourage and help these students prepare to study architecture at university.

To learn more about Open City’s Accelerate programme click here.

The Modern House has commissioned a lovely new set of photographs of Kander House, which is currently up for sale. See the listing and images here.

Kander House, a Victorian townhouse situated in London’s Primrose Hill is structured around a distinctive concrete figure, a compelling object in its own right, which also acts as structural support for the building. The garden was embraced as integral to the design of the main living space. It has made a wonderful family home for our clients for the past 15 years.

The house was awarded the 2007 RIBA London Award and shortlisted for both the Manser Medal and the Stephen Lawrence Prize. To learn more about the project click here.

Jamie contributes to Pamela Buxton’s article on how the Covid-19 pandemic has influenced and may affect museums and galleries, as they begin to open their doors once more to visitors. Topics from safety to funding and sustainability are discussed, along with some possible changes we can expect to see put in place moving forward.

Jamie comments that “The one positive thing that might happen is that when they [galleries and museums] do come back, people will appreciate the experience they offer all the more.”

Read the full article in The RIBA Journal.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been spending time creating observational studies in pencil and watercolour. They are reflections on the nature of the light as it alters through the day on the tiled facade of our building at Tate St Ives. The tiles were hand-glazed in multiple layers of green and blue onto pale yellow ceramic. Tilted gently upward they capture the light and shifting sky of St Ives. In series – Dusk – Midday – Dawn. These studies are, as has been noted, very much influenced by the work of the great Agnes Martin, who is without a doubt one of my favourite artists. But for me they remain architectural drawings, grounded in the language of the measured drawing and material representation. @tate @tatestives #tatestives #watercolour #elevations #cornwall #ceramics #glaze #architecture #architecturedrawings #measureddrawing #ephemeral #shifting

We are very happy to have been appointed to the new Southwark Council architectural services framework; from a ‘fiercely competitive’ shortlist, we have been selected for ‘Education, social care and community projects’ over £10m.

The framework, administered by LHC, is open to any contracting authority in London. It intends to be an antidote to typical local authority frameworks, opening up public sector opportunities to ‘the best architectural practices able to deliver innovative construction services’. Certainly, the line-up of designers appointed is very impressive. We are proud to be among them and excited for the future opportunities offered.

Read more in the Architects’ Journal.

Jamie recalls fond memories of visiting Louis Kahn’s Salk Institute in San Diego for the first time, when discussing buildings that we will look forward to seeing again after the coronavirus pandemic.

‘With its extraordinary setting and views, as well as its immense physical form, is the most powerful reminder of the importance of the direct encounter’.

Read Amanda Baillieu’s full article on Dezeen here.

Following on from my last post I thought I would share the material explorations we did in the studio for the ceramic cladding for the Dublin house. The first three shots are of a study where 16 pieces were hand cut in foam at 1:1 but with a reduced height. These allowed us to study the effect of various stacking formations. The last three photos are of a 1:1 study we made in the studio in clay. The form was made by dragging a cut timber plate across the surface of the wet clay, simulating the extrusion process. Next to it, in the last shot, is the first prototype in a pale ceramic, that @ceramicacumella produced from our design. #architecture #ceramic #ceramicstudy #clay #experimentation #contemporaryarchitecture #dublin #house

We are very excited to be tasked with bringing a new Maggie’s Centre to Coventry, serving Warwickshire and the West Midlands.

Warm and welcoming and full of light and open space, Maggie’s Centres are designed by leading architects to be uplifting places for people with cancer and their families and friends. Professional staff at each centre offer free practical, emotional and social support.

Fundraising is currently underway to deliver the new centre at University Hospital Coventry. The project was launched publicly at Coventry Cathedral on 23 January.

What a difficult task I was set yesterday! Nine young people, all under 19, spoke for 10 minutes each about a work of art they admire. Nine amazing, passionate and powerful talks, and I was asked to adjudicate, deciding who would go forward to the London finals. The whole uk wide event is called ARTiculation, and it is an inspired initiative; giving young people a platform to hone there skills in public speaking and the confidence to put their own ideas forward with clarity and passion. What an amazing thing to see. But horrible to chose two to go forward when, honestly, they were all amazing. Thank you to the team of ARTiculation for making this great event happen all across the UK. #articulationprise #articulation #art #arthistory #publicspeaking #v&a https://www.articulation.org.uk/. @articulationprize