Client:  private

Location:  Bethnal Green Road, London E1

Budget:  undisclosed

Status:  Completed 2015

The client requested from the studio to convert this Grade 2 listed building to 9 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms with a floor of communal space. The ground floor to be converted to commercial space to link with the strip of shops of Bethnal Green Road.
 

The building has suffered a number of fires and leaks was found in disrepair and dilapidation prior to works commencement.
A procedure of delicate redesign has gone through to retain as much as possible of the original buildings fabric.

The client called for a dynamic layout design whereby the top floors were to be converted to residential flats and the ground and basement to accommodate the diverse commercial activities.

The rear of the first floor benefits now from a brand new rooftop terrace over the rear extension. 

The client has recently arranged for a celebration at the newly finished house. 

Footage and drone shots curtesy of http://sohus.co.uk/

THE MEMORIAL

With its symbolic silhouette reminiscent of the Star of David, and the multitude of blades splitting the air to reveal the facets of the most sinister period of human history, the Memorial becomes a landmark on the skyline of the Boardwalk and leaves a deep imprint in the visitor’s consciousness. 

THE HOLOCAUST FACETS

The Holocaust of the Jews was the darkest systematic genocide in the history of humanity. Propaganda, segregation, violence, deportation to the camps, and the ‘Final Solution’ were the facets constituting the extermination of 6 million Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe.

Design partner: Architect Krassimir Krastev from Node Habitat

THE VISITOR EXPERIENCE

The Atlantic City Boardwalk Holocaust Memorial is an ensemble of three colonnades of Blades. The visitor is filtered through the first colonnade of screening Blades to enter five thematic spaces enclosed between the six Blades of the Holocaust. Each facet of the Holocaust is revealed by a distinctive pattern cut in the adjacent surfaces and a ‘memory container’ - an exhibit of symbolic objects, representing memory of lost human lives and accomplishments. The last step allows the visitor to enter into a secluded gathering and contemplation space at the rear of the memorial. From there one can see and absorb the eminent lessons of the Holocaust.

The Sunshine of Hope School lies in one of Mian Yang’s hidden natural gems - a healing landscape to be experienced and enriched, characterised by a re-emerging community in a post-quake era.

Design stages

The proposal envisages a network of internal spaces and transitional exteriors tracing their journey through the school. The fragmented form is inhabited by an intricate web of courtyards and niches generating connections and separations between the public and private sectors; accessible through knitted pathways acting as breezeways for the summer months. The semi-public spaces where pupils gather, learn, play and interact provide the opportunity for social and formal exchanges to occur.

Daylight is a driving force in the school. The passing of the day is mapped as the sunlight gently perambulates/ promenades its way from room to room around the building. Direct sunlight is a temporary visitor in the courtyards, making these into temporary pools of light and spaces of cool shadow.

The building is forged from intimate spaces, formal spaces, larger communal spaces and intermediate transitory ones creating a malleable social and educational substance designed to accommodate various daily activities. The generous panoramic views over the rolling landscape are offered throughout the outer skin of the building. The top level is where they become the most affecting, in conjunction to the vivacious roof landscape responding to its surroundings.

The building is forged from intimate spaces, formal spaces, larger communal spaces and intermediate transitory ones creating a malleable social and educational substance designed to accommodate various daily activities. The generous panoramic views over the rolling landscape are offered throughout the outer skin of the building. The top level is where they become the most affecting, in conjunction to the vivacious roof landscape responding to its surroundings.

Between 1998-99 Kathy worked for Haim Dotan (http://www.haimdotan.com) on the college in Beer Sheva.

The current urban situation lacks unifying concept which connects the urban context in 2004 was inadequate to the local climatic and regional conditions. The poluuting oil industry was to be removed to an alternative site external to Havana. Attractive places for office, retail and tourism to integrate to bring the pulse back to the city downtown. Improving the infrastructure and the public transport is a parallel target. Wind turbines to be incorporated on the bays north and topographically higher side.

The master plan offered four alternative residential areas as a solution to the densely populated old city. Green lungs will be added in the form of parks and gardens and green paths all around the bay.

The proposed master plan promotes the existing resources and the sustainable development.

Studio Basheva has been tasked to co-ordinate the vision of 2030 of the Sofia Art District. The work is in close collaboration with the grass-root art organisation Doma Foundation. The proposal will include the vision, the urban interventions and set out a planning proposal for the future development of the site. 

In 2010 Kathy Basheva participated in a team of consultants to deliver an urban strategy for the regeneration of the area between London Bridge and Tower Bridge. 

The Brief Team London Bridge gave was:

Facilitating, directing, and encouraging pedestrian movement flow north-south to break the current perceived barrier created by the railway and its viaducts.

Enhancing and promoting the character of the area and its important sites.

Improving the walking/cycling experience in the area with connections, linkages through existing open/green spaces and retail/entertainment opportunity areas.

Promoting an attractive, convenient, lively and friendly environment for the people living and working in the area, enabling Southwark and London to grow and prosper. 

The project identified existingelements of the city (squares, gardens, roads and pavements) and proposed two loops with different links. The project creates an external urban track, which provides connections between the green public spaces and an internal track creating north-south links improving the public realm, the pedestrian and cycle circulation. the project will create a real need for crossing the archways to go to a nice living piece of London, made for both local residents, tourists, visitors.

The Urban Track envisaged restricting Tooley Street to public transport only, enlarging the sidewalks. Tooley Street is envisaged as a High-street retail model following Oxford Street with pedestrians been attracted alongside Tooley Street towards Tower Bridge.

The team of consultants went through an extensive consultation period with more than 30 representatives of over 400 stakeholders groups, including: local housing associations, developers, local trades and manufacturers, schools, artists, and cultural institutions. The design decisions were fe allowing for a loop feedback to be integrated. 

The Urban Track identifies the potential for business opportunities on the south side of the archways including the archways, thus attracting bespoke independent retail to follow the model of Bermondsey Street and Camden Market area where the arches has been the dominating identifiable retail unit.

The inner path would deal with the arches and create links for north-south connections underneath the railways. It is not only gate but a pleasant journey through them heading towards a different place - Bermondsey Street, Bermondsey Square, the parks of this area, shops and markets. Due to the dominating presence and scale of the archways, the Design Path will concentrate on making them walkable and safe environment for both local residents and attract white collar workers southwards to the independent shops along Bermondsey Street.

The Design Path envisages in the short term cleaning, lighting, applying art, using green walls. It would include work on the pavement, the circulation (slowing car, making it more pedestrian and cycle friendly), adding a system of lighting, pavement and other features that would help the legibility to attract more clients and increase the footfall.

Creating an interesting place all around and inside the arches would make people crossing, but this should be teamed with the culture path, the events strategy, the art installations spread on the area, interesting local retail and workshops.

The Urban Track identified a chain of existing public green spaces. The Green Path links the public realm using a visual links, this works on the connections rather than adding work on single objects.

Adding elements to create links not only as a map but to allow for a bigger footfall and visual language to stimulate the link and use of public realm. The visual links use canvases and art features, creating gates to indicate the access. The physical connection improves shifting entrances, open gates into fences or eliminating them, working on the pavement.

The area of London Bridge possesses an extremely interesting character historically - a huge condensation along the Riverside of both entertainment and functions which were less welcome in the inner city i.e. the London Clink, the Dungeon, the Operating Theatre. The Design Path identifies the flair and the uniqueness the area offers. 

The strategy identified three core elements:

The team identified a network of neglected parks, local gardens and pocket locations for public green spaces called Lungs.

Public features and urban street furniture was identified in the spirit of the london red to allow for visual Link to attract the pedestrian to explore beyond the corner. 

All tunnels were proposed to undergo a facelift introducing Lights and lighting installations to allow for secure passageway of the pedestrians and create the link between the North and the South of the arches. 

The bench has been design by WMBstudio following the strategy. 

Haifa University is built on the projection of the mount. The project proposed a design solution of the urban situation of the formal entrance of the university allowing for a separate buildings for performance art and visual arts faculty. The building provided spaces for interaction of small learning groups, workshops, meeting places.