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Odyssey Public Consultation

Forge Design Studio were the Lead Design Consultant at the recent Public Consultation event held on the proposals for the redevelopment of the Odyssey Health Club Site in Stevenage.

The scheme involves the regeneration of part of the previous developed land for residential, new parking and access arrangements and the comprehensive re-development of the Health Club buildings.

Forge Design Studio have been appointed as Lead Design Consultants to develop the design proposals and prepare the forth-coming planning application.

The proposals include 80 new homes, new access and an overall site masterplan. Comments were invited from all attendees prior to the final preparation of the planning application. The event was well attended and received many positive comments.

The event took place on Friday 24th July and was open to members of the public, local residents and club members.

“It Wasn’t All Family Parties and Fish Tacos…”

It has been a busy season for all at Forge Design Studio, with the team having enjoyed a productive Summer (and some well deserved holidays too!).

As many of you are aware, our director Mike was jet-setting to the sunny skies of LA to see son James wed the beautiful Annie in Pasadena. The trip was definitely a family affair, with nearly all the Murray clan (and a few dear friends) making the trans Atlantic trip for the ceremony. But despite what you may think, it wasn’t all cocktail parties family stop-the-bus and overloading on fish tacos! Mike made sure to get some awe-inspiring architecture landmarks in the bag…

The trip truly was once in a lifetime, and almost seemed like one big extended episode of Modern Family. Since the return back to the office, it is safe to say that everyone has come back reinvigorated and ready for another busy year working at Forge Design Studio, and we are all excited by what the next year holds.

Gate Cottage – the roof is on!

Our nearest project to the office – the site can be viewed from the front door! – has recently been made watertight.

The scheme forms a new kitchen extension to the main house creating an enclosed courtyard which captures the morning sun.

The timber roof structure has been completed and the glass has gone in on the expansive rooflights. Our clients, Steven and Amanda Dovey are racing to complete in time for their daughters wedding being held in the garden on the 17th August.

Good luck, Steve!

Cheltenham YMCA

This morning, Forge-DS received the exciting news that planning permission has been granted for our Hester’s Way / Barbridge Road project. This development provides 10 ‘move-on’ units for the Cheltenham YMCA and sits alongside the recent approval for the provision of 21 single-person accommodation units in the re-developed St. Silas Church Centre. Here at Forge-DS, we recognise this is a great opportunity for the team in that it develops our already strong relationship with the Cheltenham YMCA and provides an important step towards the approval of the funding for the project.

The 10 ‘start-up’ units would provide much needed affordable supported accommodation.

Now we look forward to the opportunity of seeing these schemes through to completion.

Visuals for the Hester’s Way/Barbridge Road scheme were completed on Sketch-Up software.

This project would run in concurrence with the development of the St. Silas Church Centre renovations.

This shows the redevelopment of the existing St. Silas Church Centre, a project that would run in concurrence with the Hester’s Way/Barbridge Road project.

Welcome Loretta

Here at Forge-DS we are extremely excited to welcome Loretta Mifsud as the newest member of our team. Loretta joins us from Portsmouth University, where she has just graduated from her BA Hons degree in Architecture.

In terms of professional skills, Loretta has an eye for innovative design with a strong social conscience and will bring a fresh injection of creativity to the studio. Outside office hours, she has told us that she lives on facebook… so we’ve figured that leaves her little time for anything else!

Loretta is joining us as a full-time employee, and now it’s our job to show her how exciting, riveting and challenging the architectural world can be!

And We’re In!

Having undertaken the refurbishment work on The Forge last year, and having now carried out the necessary interior fit-out, the office move was completed last month.

The new space has provided the team with the necessities that the growing demands of the business require: kitting everyone out on a practical level, the new studio comes complete with a bathroom, brand new i-Macs and an en-suite kitchen – so no one has to walk more than 10 steps for their teas and coffees!

Most importantly, we believe that the move also presents Forge-DS with the opportunity for expansion and development, as the move from the dramatically smaller office to the grand studio marks the start of a new phase for the company. So, as we near our two-year anniversary, there is no doubt exciting times lie ahead for the Forge-DS team!

It seems even the chickens can’t resist our swanky new studio…

If you are interested in working with our team, feel free to make an enquiry by emailing us at info@forge-ds.co.uk

And you can also keep up to date on our most recent projects and developments by going onto the Forge Design Studio website, or by keeping up to date with this; our newly established blog!

The stunning wooden exterior of our new offices is completely complementary of the New Forests glorious surroundings

The vast space we have in the studio along with the stunning natural light we receive makes for a quintessential office.

The light and airy space we have in the studio makes a great natural, open working environment