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Feeling Proud

1.30pm round 3b

Mike completed the MacMillan Cancer Support 72 hole golf challenge on Thursday 23^rd at Broadstone Golf Club. It was a double whammy as Barry Mutter, one of the other pros in the shop, had completed the task with a variety of partners on Monday 20^th. All together we have raised more than £1000 for a great charity, with contributions still being added!

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Mike teamed up with son Chris and the Club Captain Mark Dowland for the whole day, with Chris Roberts joining us for the final 36 holes. A great experience with fantastic support from everyone at the club. The weather held (just about!) and the golf was consistent in its inconsistency!!

Plans are already been hatched for next year’s occasion with lots of ideas for a multi-course event.

Please feel free to give what you can, click here to donate to our JustGiving page

Longest-Day-Golf-Challenge

Cheltenham YMCA

Cheltenham Civic Awards

Mike and Nick have been rewarded for all their hard work carried out on the Cheltenham YMCA project on Vittoria Walk by the award of a citation from the Cheltenham Civic Society.

The project was nominated by the Contractors, Speller Metcalfe supported by Forge Design Studio and received an award in the category of New Build Projects. The awards were recently presented at a ceremony held at Cheltenham Town Hall on Wednesday 20^th April.

Work was completed by Terence O’Rourke and is acknowledged accordingly.

BIM Training @ The Forge!

Forge Design Studio welcomed Jonathan Reeves into the office for two days of 3D Modelling/BIM training. Utilising our Vectorworks 2016 CAD package we fully explored the capabilities and potential of the system. The training is the first step towards our BIM Level 2 accreditation which we are currently undertaking.

Great progress was made and the opportunity to step outside of the day-to-day project work was welcomed by all.

We look forward to making full use of all the 3D modelling capabilities and, in particular, explored and verified the inter-relationship between our software and other industry standard systems.

* nb Jonathan is the author of Innovative Vectorworks BIM, a recent publication which showcases many examples of BIM collaboration.

MacMillan Trust Golf Challenge

Mike is joining his son Chris and two other team mates on June 20^th to take part in the 72 hole challenge. 4 rounds of golf to be played in a single day is going to be a major challenge and will involve a 4.30am start!

Broadstone Golf Club is the venue of choice and its all for a worthy cause. Please feel free to give what you can, click here to donate to our JustGiving page

Summer Garden Party

Forge DS Garden Party Invite

In keeping with our tradition we are looking forward to our Summer Garden Party being held on …. A great opportunity to say thank you for all the support to our clients, friends and associates.

Being held on the eve of Euro 2016 it will also be a chance to relax and enjoy the surroundings before getting caught up in the excitement of more football! As the representative of the only home nation not to qualify, Mike has decided to ignore all talk of the tournament.

Our quarterly events are becoming well-established and glad to say that the invitation list is growing – rsvp early to avoid disappointment!

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As you can see we are getting plenty of practice in at lunchtime taste testing sessions – it’s a tough life in the sunshine!

Redevelopment of Odyssey Health Club

Following lengthy negotiation with the Local Authority the application for the redevelopment of the Odyssey Health Club site has been resubmitted to the Planning Department. The overall design has retained its original quality whilst reducing the impact on the green belt through adjustments to the scale and massing of the proposals as well as the extent of the land take.

The apartments have been relocated to relate more closely to the existing Health Club buildings and a greater mix of units, including one and a half storey bungalows have been introduced in key locations.

The application is for 70 units together with the re-organisation of all the parking and approaches to the Health Club. The statutory consultation period is underway with a decision expected in Summer 2016.

Portslade Regeneration

The practice is currently finalising the planning application for a comprehensive masterplan for the whole site including new build residential, conversion of the existing buildings and a community arts café/studio complex.

Details proposals have been developed which relate well to the surroundings within the context of the Conservation Area. Discussions have taken place with a number of existing Art Groups in Brighton to explore the nature of the spaces being created within the existing workshop building. Start-up artisan businesses will be encouraged.

Working closely with the Local Authority, public consultation has taken place and was very well attended. We look forward to making the final submission and the project moving forward to create a new chapter in the life of the Old Brewery.

Latest Edition To The Forge Team!

We’d like to welcome Dexter, Dexy for short to our expanding team! Dexy specialises in looking handsome 24/7, snoozing and will do anything for a treat and a belly rub! In his spare time Dexy enjoys chewing wires and jumping up on sofas!

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Dexy loves siting in the sun and finding cosy spots in the office, and it didn’t take him long to discover the heater was nice and toasty! Contrary to health and safety guidelines! He is growing up fast and has already outgrown his heater and still insists on sleeping in his baby bed which is far too small for him now!

Friday @ The Forge

It seems like barely any time has gone by since we set up the Practice and started work at The Forge.

Since then, Forge Design Studio has seen the completion of a number of successful projects, as well as our monumental move of premises to a custom built office – 20 paces to the north of our original space!

To celebrate our first two years we held a lunchtime gathering in the studio a couple of weeks ago. The lunch was a fantastic way of celebrating with those who have helped us get to where we are now.

Thanks to those who attended – we can safely say we’re looking forward with anticipation to what the future will bring to Forge Design Studio.

With real prospects of work from Auckland to Cambridge, who knows where we’ll be in another two years!

Portslade Brewery Site – Regeneration

Work has commenced on the plans for the regeneration of the Former Portslade Brewery site near Brighton.

The site is very complex with a significant change in level, challenging boundary conditions and a large and complicated set of existing buildings dating back to the early 1800’s. The buildings have gone through numerous iterations of use from the original brewery to the most recent light industrial production facility.

Following extensive negotiations our client has purchased the site and has appointed FDS to undertake the redevelopment – this will involve a mix of new build and converted residential, shared studio workspace and commercial space.

The scheme will involve extensive work to the existing building complex alongside new build residential proposals, which will have to be skillfully knitted into the existing townscape.