Journal Posts - Jamie Fobert Architects

Today is the 5th anniversary of the reopening of Kettle’s Yard, after our building project to add new galleries as well as a shop, cafe and education wing.

It has been wonderful during the past 5 years to watch visitors experience the new spaces, and we have been amazed by the depth and variety of exhibitions the Kettle’s Yard curators have brought to the galleries: from Antony Gormley’s tension cables connecting across the spaces, to Ai Wei Wei’s moving installations, and so many others. And it was very special to be invited back by Director Andrew Nairne to work with Jennifer Lee on her installation of pots in 2019.

We are very excited that the National Portrait Gallery has today announced that it will be opening its doors for the first time since 2020 on 22 June 2023.

Visitors to the new NPG this summer will experience a complete redisplay of the Collection, a transformational refurbishment of the building, as well as an enhanced welcome and greater access through the new entrance. There will also be a new Learning Centre for visitors of all ages with studios, breakout spaces, and high-quality practical facilities.

We are leading the design team for this major project in collaboration with Purcell, Max Fordham and Price & Myers, and contractors Gilbert Ash are working hard on site to deliver a beautiful new building and forecourt.

If you would like to be the first to hear about the NPG’s 2023/24 exhibition programme, you can sign up to the Gallery’s enewsletter, here.

Photograph © David Parry

Jamie talks about working with specialist fabricators: creating a raw black steel stair for Pace Gallery with Cake Industries, developing a family of light fixtures with Opus Magnum, and working with teams of stone specialists to build a travertine stair and a new stone floor for the Burlington Arcade.

Read the whole piece in the RIBA Journal, here.

@JamieFobert

For the past few days the JFA team have been exploring Matera, Basilicata, Italy, an ancient city carved out of the tufa (soft limestone) cliffs of a steep ravine. For thousands of years the people of Matera lived in Sassi, cave homes, and worshiped in churches carved into the cliffs. Poverty and disease propelled the Italian government to forcibly drive the people from these homes into a New Town built on the plateau above. In 1964 the abandoned city was used as the setting of Jerusalem in Pier Paolo Pasolini’s ‘The Gospel of St. Matthew’ (6th image). But in the past decades the old city has come back to life, maybe with a few too many hotels and restaurants, but the fabric is extraordinary. A single material city of immense beauty. The churches carved in tufa with fragments of frescos dating back to the 10th century were so moving.
And the laughter of the team at our Xmas dinner and late night Christmas quiz (thanks to @thomas_longley) made it all the more wonderful.

#matera #city #architecture #caves #fresco #stones #italy #magical

We are delighted that Tapio Snellman‘s film of our House in Primrose Hill has been shortlisted for ‘Best Use of Video’ in the Archiboo Awards 2022. The Awards recognise inspirational design and great storytelling in the way architecture is communicated.

Tapio’s film takes us, like invisible guests, on a journey around this contemporary family home. We see that the house presents itself to the city in a very unassuming way. It feels as if nothing has changed since it was first built. But when you walk through the door, you are met with an extraordinary transformation, with a space which seems like it shouldn’t fit inside. In itself a collaboration between architect and filmmaker, the film reveals the complementary, collaborative efforts of architect and client by capturing fine architectural details and half-glimpses of family life.

Five years ago, Tate St Ives reopened after a major transformation by JFA. Writing in the Observer, Rowan Moore described the new 500m2 gallery as “not any old exhibition space but one that contains about as much intelligence, strength of mind and sensitivity as it is possible to put into a single plain rectangle. It is only a room … but what a room”.

Jamie has been in St Ives this weekend to celebrate the building’s 5th birthday, along with Tate Director, Maria Balshaw, and Tate St Ives Director, Anne Barlow.

We have enjoyed seeing over the past five years how the gallery adapts to play host to a wide range of art practice, from the large-scale paintings of Patrick Heron to contemporary sculpture and film. The current installation is Biosfera Peluche / Biosphere Plush, by Ad Minoliti, which fills the space with bold colour and geometry in an amazing transformation of the gallery.

@JamieFobert

It’s been four years since I last walked on the roof terrace of Tate St Ives. We created it as a public space for the town, with places to sit and look out to sea, as well as a more gentle route from town down to the beach.

Here are a few shots:

1) the ceramic clad pavilion reflected the sloping glass of the light chambers.
2) A granite clad light chamber frames a view to the sea.
3) The slight tilt of the hand glazed shiplap tiles reflects the colours of the changing sky.
4) Here the complex layering of colours is seen, even a purple hue emerged in the centre.
5) The granite chapels of St Ives cemetery seen beyond the final light chamber of the landscape.
6) People from the town using the route down to the beach.

#tate #tatestives #landscape #granite #form #local

Skilled stone contractors Tudor Stonework have shared a little film that tells the story of how JFA’s designs were executed to create a new floor for the Burlington Arcade.

Completed in 2015, almost 200 years after the arcade was originally built, the geometry, tonal variation and craftsmanship of the floor respond sympathetically to the existing Regency architecture.

Tudor Stonework’s craftsmanship was superb.

Developed through close collaboration between JFA, structural engineers Price & Myers and specialist fabricators Cake Industries, the sculptural steel staircase we designed for Pace Gallery has been awarded a ‘Merit’ in the Structural Steel Design Awards 2022.

Judges said: “The gallery’s feature staircase connects the basement and entry level, blending seamlessly into and contributing to the gallery spaces. The attention to detail in both design and manufacture have resulted in an exemplary and beautiful structure which embraces the steel manufacturing process from rolling mill to final welding.”

Next week, Thursday 29th September from 6.30pm to 9pm, Jamie will join Hawkins Brown for a talk titled ‘Adapting Reusing’, at the Jarvis Hall, RIBA.

Jamie will be discussing the Adapting Reusing approach used by the project team for the National Portrait Gallery, together with contractors Gilbert Ash.

The evening will be hosted by past president of the RIBA, Alan Jones.

RSVP: abby@jagocommunications.com

We are currently looking to recruit a Part 2 architectural assistant with outstanding image-making skills to join our London studio to work on a range of cultural, residential, and retail projects.

We are keen to meet candidates with:

an intuitive understanding of 3D space
a keen interest in materiality
self-motivation, enthusiasm, and an ability to work well as part of a team
high proficiency working in Rhino and 3D rendering software (V-Ray or similar)
excellent CAD skills, which ideally will include knowledge of MicroStation

Please apply by Monday 26 September 2022 by emailing recruitment@jamiefobertarchitects.com with:

a cover letter introducing yourself, outlining your motivation, and highlighting relevant experience
a CV, detailing your education, work experience and software skills
a concise illustrated portfolio

This has been our second year participating in the pioneering Accelerate programme, established by Open City. By providing education and mentoring opportunities to 16-18-year-olds, Accelerate seeks to increase diversity in the built environment professions.

Thomas and Emily were our mentors this year. They led two Accelerate students in a design project based on Arnold Circus, including Collaborative Drawing, Casting and Modelmaking.

Each year, the Accelerate programme finishes with a public exhibition showcasing students’ work. At the exhibition, we were delighted to meet with one of our previous students who has gone on to study at UCL and is now working as a teaching assistant for the Accelerate program.

Accelerate is currently accepting student applications for its 2022/23 programme. Apply here.

@JamieFobert

“Nubia Way – A Story of Black-led Self Building”
has just been released on YouTube.

It is a short film that tells the story of a group of individuals who built their own homes in a back lot in Lewisham, south London, surrounded by an often hostile housing estate. Many of the original house builders still live on the street and the combination of original film footage and recent interviews is insightful and beautiful. Their pride in their work – “it was hard, but never harsh”, makes this film a powerful piece of architectural history.

Watch it – it is so good!
A gentle yet powerful reminder of how our current house building is failing.

Congratulations to @roznaii for her role in making this happen. Very happy to have been able to support the making of this film in a small way.