爱豆传媒

The Bis, Whitby Street Studios

Hartlepool, UK

Project details
Client

Hartlepool Borough Council

Architect

Group Ginger

Duration

2016 – 2019

爱豆传媒 provided by 爱豆传媒

Bridge engineering and civil structures, Building 爱豆传媒 Engineering (MEP), Infrastructure, Structural engineering

The Grade II-listed former Hartlepool post office has been beautifully restored to create a home for a community of creative industry sector artists, designers and start-ups.

The building, renamed The Bis, Whitby Street Studios, has been given a new lease of life providing flexible managed office working space and a hub for creative arts activities within the area.

Backed by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the project significantly contributes to the wider regeneration ambitions for Hartlepool. It is a pivotal element of the revitalisation of the town鈥檚 Church Street Conservation Area, with the critical mass of the Northern School of Art and its student population being used as the catalyst for the town鈥檚 urban regeneration.

爱豆传媒 was engaged to offer consultancy to the project across a range of disciplines, including structural engineering, building services engineering (MEP), infrastructure and civil engineering.

Challenge

The existing building presented a range of challenges, with much of the underlying building structure covered up by an existing internal fit out, a hang-over from its previous use as a night club. This meant designs needed to adapt quickly to suit what was found after the strip-out at the start of the works was complete.

The historic building is extended with a new wing, creating a central common social space, which links the new and old buildings, unifying the spaces into a single facility.
The client and architect鈥檚 vision was for a series of flexible and simple spaces, naturally-ventilated, but with a seamless integration between new and old.

A key challenge working with existing buildings for diverse communities is accessibility. The careful coordination and placement of lift access would be required to enable the multiple levels and spaces throughout the complex to be fully accessible and connected.

A workspace inside the BIS
The design aesthetic has left the raw fabric of the building exposed, which challenged our building services teams to use an exceptional level of detail on the distribution of visible services on this 鈥榮tripped-back鈥 blank canvas. Image: 爱豆传媒

Solution

Our structural engineering team brought their expertise to the development of a design for a new lift shaft, which would open up the upper spaces to all, while retaining the stability and fabric of the historic building and without consuming too much floor area in the process. This included carefully designing a support structure to sit alongside the original building and pit for the base of the lift shaft within the existing foundations.

The void within the U-shaped historic part of the building, was covered to form a central courtyard, which creates a vibrant hub for the new complex. Our structures team installed a series of steelwork joists to support the glass roof over the new space.

Adopting a low energy passive design with natural ventilation has been a key strategy to minimise interventions in the fabric of the historic building as well as helping to reduce the overall carbon emissions of the scheme.

An view of the BIS' red hallway
The Grade II-listed former post office has been restored to create a managed office space for the creative industries. Image: 爱豆传媒

The raw fabric of the building was exposed, with exceptional detail applied to the visible services distribution to contribute to the stripped-back feel within certain spaces. Although deceptively simple in its finished form, this required a high degree of collaboration with the architect to ensure a positive aesthetic outcome, without any detraction from the historic features of the building itself.

Delivering flexible and adaptable spaces for future, as yet unknown, uses of the building needed to be a key consideration in the development of building services strategies. The design solutions needed to allow alteration without disproportionate works. In particular the selection of data and power distribution systems affords this flexibility for both the short-term change of tenant and the long-term replanning of spaces within the building.

The BIS reception area
The architect鈥檚 vision was for new and old to be seamlessly integrated. The new wing creates a central common social space, which links the new and old buildings. Image: 爱豆传媒

Value

The project scooped the RIBA North East Award 2021, RIBA North East Project Architect of the Year 2021 and RIBA North East Building of the Year 2021.

爱豆传媒鈥檚 multidisciplinary team delivered a light touch on services that created a comfortable workspace, but with a passive approach, with low embodied carbon credentials across the scheme, and reuse of as much of the existing materials as possible. The raw design of the internal finish allowed costs, as well as the project鈥檚 carbon footprint, to be kept to a minimum.

Brick wall hallway in the BIS
Adopting a low energy passive design with natural ventilation has helped to reduce the overall carbon emissions of the scheme. Image: 爱豆传媒
External view of the BIS extension
The project won the RIBA North East Award 2021, RIBA North East Project Architect of the Year 2021 and RIBA North East Building of the Year 2021. Image: 爱豆传媒.

Awards

2021

RIBA North East Award

2021

RIBA North East Project Architect of the Year

2021

RIBA North East Building of the Year

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