Projects

This project represented a major investment in competitive swimming in Scotland. The Olympic-standard centre features two halls housing the 50m ten-lane training pool and 25m pool, which has a full range of diving facilities (making it one of just ten centres in the UK to provide this).

The pools are separated by accommodation and changing rooms, allowing them to be used for different activities simultaneously, including school swimming lessons, fitness classes and training sessions.

The precise geometry and black zinc used for the pool hall stands in sharp juxtaposition to the taller, aluminium-clad diving hall.

We collaborated with an international team of production engineers to design a facility to house the manufacturing and assembly process for the wings of the Airbus A380—the world’s largest passenger aircraft.

Manufacturing such a large and sophisticated wing required a vast amount of space: the building has a volume of 2.3 million cubic metres and a floor area equivalent to ten football pitches. We worked with Airbus to ensure the space provided a world-class workplace for leading aerospace designers, manufacturers and engineers, with plenty of natural lighting, ventilation and external views.

This project merged two existing schools to create a 1650-place academy in Greater Manchester. This was part of a strategy to create healthy, successful and sustainable communities.

The layout features five ‘home bases’—one for each year group, to foster a sense of belonging and progression among students. Each base has its own pastoral and learning areas, centred around a double-height open learning space. They are connected by an ‘internal street’, which opens to shared social and dining spaces. The academy’s sport specialism is celebrated through the creation of a specialised hub, with a range of indoor and outdoor facilities.

After many failed attempts at regenerating this contaminated industrial site, FaulknerBrowns won the opportunity to design the commercial heart of Bristol Harbourside.

The masterplan features three buildings with retail and restaurant space at the ground level, creating an engaging and active streetscape. The buildings’ upper levels have varying uses: 70 social housing units, a 180-room hotel and a large leisure space. 

The main challenge was integrating diverse uses above ground while maximising the retail frontage. Our approach animated these challenging typologies, providing a vibrant new hub on this waterfront site.

FaulknerBrowns’ aim for Carre de Soie was to revitalise this former industrial district into a vibrant retail and leisure destination. The 240-hectare site features a new horse-racing grandstand, pony club, skate park, restaurants, cinema and boutiques. The fact that every rental unit was let prior to completion speaks to the success of the development.

A flowing, steel lattice-work canopy connects the units and covers the main ‘avenue’, providing a modern, distinctive identity. The design prioritises sustainability and green spaces, and is pedestrian-friendly, making it a model for contemporary urban regeneration in France.

As part of a redesign, FaulknerBrowns sought to transform this 1200-place secondary school into an inspiring and safe place for modern learning.

We carefully designed the site to preserve and protect four existing oak trees of ecological significance. In collaboration with a landscape architect, we introduced a ‘Forest School’—an enriching outdoor learning space that particularly benefits students with additional needs.

To further celebrate natural elements, we used extensive glazing to maximise natural light, creating a bright and inviting space that is conducive to learning.

Chill Factorᵉ is the UK’s largest real snow facility, and the fourth FaulknerBrowns has built in the UK. The centre is divided into two: the snow zone and the surrounding alpine-themed leisure district, which hosts bars, restaurants, retail outlets and an indoor climbing wall.

The soft Alpine street meanders through the building, punctuated by climbing walls, bridges, rocky fins and authentic shop fronts, creating a warm welcoming journey into this resort. The snow zone, with views of its slopes maintained from the street, features three pistes to accommodate varying ages, abilities and activities, with the longest run measuring 180 metres.

The redesign of Cockburn School aimed to transform the disparate buildings constructed over 40 years into a new, unified centre for learning, efficiently organised by department. We sought to revive the school in a way that would inspire pride. We constructed a more inviting entrance and transformed the existing courtyard into a space for dining, socialising and performing.

One of the main challenges was completing the necessary work with minimal disruption to the school. We achieved this with a phased approach and detailed timetabling that ensured a safe and functional school at all times. The success of this approach was illustrated by the fact attendance actually increased during the construction period, and continued to rise after completion, partly due to the revitalised learning spaces.

FaulknerBrowns’ design for Coventry University’s Yorkshire campus is guided by the high-quality and low-cost career-focused model of higher education. The campus aims to address the employment and skills needs of the area.

The three-storey building consists of an atrium spine which provides access to informal learning spaces, where students can study and collaborate in a less structured environment, as well as traditional classrooms.

The building’s exterior reflects the university’s corporate identity. This includes the colour of the cladding materials (render and rainscreen panels) in shades of grey, contrasting with yellow and the large CU Scarborough logos, as well as signage to the entrance and gable elevations.

Daventry UTC was one of the first technical colleges in the country, providing vocational education with an emphasis on sustainable technologies.

The three-storey learning block integrated practical and theory-based learning spaces, which overlooked a triple-height workshop running the full scale of the block, allowing room for large-scale projects. These were housed beneath a striking, industrial sawtooth roof. The design negotiated a significant slope and clusters of mature trees, which were retained and protected during construction.

The building created a distinctive identity for the UTC and was a prominent part of the town’s wider regeneration plans.

Continuing FaulknerBrowns’ work with Durham University, we completed a remodel of their primary sports facility. This involved the refurbishment of existing facilities as well as an expansion, which included the addition of an indoor cricket hall, a 12-court multi-use sports hall, a martial arts studio and fitness suite, as well as sports science, recovery and support facilities.

The site is near a conservation area and has views of the Durham Castle and Cathedral UNESCO World Heritage Site. The design sensitively minimises the overall height of the development by adopting efficient forms and structures.

This project saw the regeneration of Durham City’s former ice rink site into an office space for National Savings & Investments, and new headquarters for HM Passport Office. The mixed-use masterplan also provides homes for 1200 of the agency’s staff and a new, attractive, riverside environment in place of a formerly derelict site.

The building combines modern architecture with a respect for the historic context. We ensured harmony with the surrounding cityscape, particularly the nearby UNESCO world heritage-listed cathedral and castle. The brickwork matches the local vernacular, and the zinc coated aluminium used on the roofscape and oriels weathers and darkens to blend with the surrounding slate and lead roofs. A clean, open-plan workplace with extensive glazing provides unparalleled views of the Durham skyline.

Underpinning the project is a focus on efficiency and simplicity. FaulknerBrowns helped to achieve this by pushing the agenda beyond the site boundary and building an alliance with adjacent stakeholders. By building these relations, we agreed to source 90% of the buildings’ annual electrical energy from the city centre hydro-turbine.

This Pathway Centre offers courses for international students hoping to study at Newcastle University. FaulknerBrowns’ design for the building included a teaching facility that supports the delivery of a wide range of academic programmes, with flexible-layout classrooms, comfortable communal spaces for students to relax and socialise, and 537 bedrooms.

The rooms feature a mix of self-contained studios for more independent living, twin rooms with kitchenettes, and open clusters of six to eight rooms around shared living spaces. This mix allows INTO’s diverse student body to choose a living environment to suit them.

The new build and retrofitted historic buildings that form the Pathway Centre adopt a variety of architectural treatments to respond to a diverse urban context. Scale, fenestration and materials have been carefully considered to create active street frontages whilst supporting residents’ privacy, creating new landmarks whilst adopting a respectful relationship to the development’s neighbours.

Janet Nash House is the European IT headquarters for global electrical business City Electrical Factors (CEF). The office is split into a north and south wing, each designed to uniquely support and stimulate the teams that use them. A 52 metre-long, glazed, airy atrium connects the wings and acts as a hub for interaction and innovation. The copper structures and porcelain panelling used throughout were chosen to represent a component of CEF’s core product—the electrical cable.

Employee well-being was centred in this project: we incorporated a fully equipped gym, healthy on-site café, outdoor terraces and cycle to work facilities.

InfoLab21 is a research centre for Computing and Communications systems at Lancaster University. The main aim of the centre is to encourage technology transfer from the university’s research to the local and regional industry.

The building’s green cladding with copper accents, glass facades and bold, angular form create a distinctive visual identity. The roof terrace and the centre’s focus on sustainability connect it to the surrounding environment. Internally, the research wing is configured in an innovative layout that brings together academic teams in shared 'club' spaces with transparent offices.

Against fierce competition, the building was awarded ‘Best Corporate Workplace’ at the prestigious British Council for Offices Awards, making it the first university building to receive the honour.

This sports centre was developed as part of a strategy to improve the lifestyle offerings for staff and students at Lancaster University, as well as the local community. The centre provides both fitness and competition-standard facilities, including an eight-lane swimming pool, climbing wall, four sports halls and comprehensive fitness suite.

The large glass facades provide abundant natural light and promote the quality of the facilities inside. The centre was designed around sustainable goals, utilising green solutions like natural ventilation and a CHP plant that efficiently generates electricity and heat from the same source.

On opening, around 13,000 people a week used the centre, with 50% coming from the local community—far exceeding anticipated numbers.

Latymer Upper School is an independent school in West London known for excelling in sports. Following a competitive interview process, FaulknerBrowns won the commission to design a redevelopment of their existing sports facilities, which were no longer fit for purpose.

The centre includes a 25m six-lane swimming pool, a four-court sports hall and a gym. The site is on a conservation area by the River Thames, and is surrounded by sensitive residential streets, meaning it required careful negotiation, particularly regarding neighbours’ ‘right to light’. In response to the constrained site, we chose to stack the multi-purpose halls above the swimming pool to maximise space. We also orientated the building towards the busy A4, creating a high-profile design which particularly at night, advertises the school’s presence.

Commissioned to host the 2002 Commonwealth Games, the Manchester Aquatics Centre houses two 50m pools, a diving pool, a leisure water area with flumes, children’s play area and a health suite.

Both 50m pools have moveable floors to cater to a variety of users. The training pool is located on the basement level of the building, optimising space on this compact site.

Visually, the centre is striking and modern. The curved roof gives the building an iconic profile that is distinct in the city’s architectural landscape. Inside, the rippling, wavy form of the ceiling imitates the motion of water, connecting the design to the building’s purpose.

We have been helping Market Halls, a UK start-up, to redefine the British concept of food halls. We carefully configured each space to celebrate independent vendors while creating a communal environment to share stories and enjoy high-quality and eclectic dishes. Each hall is authentic to its location, revitalising neglected spaces of architectural significance in London.

Designed in the 1880s, the ornate entrance hall of the Grade II-listed Underground station in Fulham Broadway had been vacant for six years before being sympathetically restored to create a vibrant and sustainable culinary destination.

We have been helping Market Halls, a UK start-up, to redefine the British concept of food halls. We carefully configured each of the spaces to celebrate independent vendors while creating a communal environment to share stories and enjoy high-quality and eclectic dishes. Each hall is authentic to its location, revitalising neglected spaces of architectural significance.

We regenerated a former department store to create Market Hall West End. Upon opening, it was the largest food market in the UK: the three-storey space can host up to 900 visitors. The top-floor has a retractable roof, meaning it can be converted into a rooftop bar in summer. Dedicated event spaces can be used to host video podcasts, interviews, and cooking demonstrations.

The Pan American Games are the world’s third-largest international multi-sport games. Given FaulknerBrowns’ experience designing world-class sporting venues, we were commissioned to create a velodrome for the 2015 games held in Toronto.

The Mattamy National Cycling Centre is the only velodrome in Canada certified to host international cycling competitions. Housing a 250-metre timber track and expandable 1500-seat spectator area, the centre is the official training facility for the Canadian cycling team.

The building’s form is centred around the geometry of the track and seating bowl—expressed as a simple drum with glazing providing views out to Niagara Escarpment. This simple, strong and dynamic form has become a distinct landmark, recognised as the home of Canadian cycling.

Part of Bangor University, this is the first dedicated science park in Wales. This landmark facility focuses on the low-carbon energy, ICT and environmental sectors, providing co-working spaces, offices, laboratories and workshops for new and established businesses.

FaulknerBrowns designed the building to foster community and encourage knowledge sharing. We created a vibrant central hub to act as a flexible work area, event venue and meeting point, linking the surrounding tenancy spaces that line the perimeter. Large, glazed panels provide natural light and views to Snowdonia and the surrounding countryside. The external structure features sharp angles and clean lines, with a white ribbon lining the exterior, giving the building a bold and futuristic look.

In March 2011, Monument Mall was a failing retail destination. Despite its location in the heart of Newcastle, it suffered from declining footfall and poorly configured retail units.

Property developers Hammerson invited us to apply our expertise in retail placemaking to transform Monument Mall into a prime retail destination that would attract aspirational brands. To do this, we reconfigured the internal layout, replacing some of the walkways with shops and restaurants with street entrances. This made them more accessible and gave the building a more active street presence, shifting away from the traditional enclosed mall layout towards an urban, high street feel.

This cultural venue hosts exhibitions, glass-making demonstrations and family crafts. Following its acquisition by the University of Sunderland, we were commissioned to breathe new life into the destination. 

Working with the university and Arts Council, we centred the design process around visitor experience, aiming to provide a reinvigorated cultural destination. We created an easily navigable landscape of galleries, interactive lecture facilities and creative teaching studios. The improved, intuitive layout has allowed for a variety of arts and cultural programmes and has increased visitor numbers.

Newcastle University’s Medical Sciences Centre provides a sustainable environment for two leading medical research teams: The Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology (CBCB) and The Institute of Health and Society (IHS).

The building houses high-specification microbiological laboratories for CBCB, arranged with an innovative configuration of write-up areas housed in cascading terraces. These are linked by the primary circulation stair, which provides connections to the laboratories at each level, integrating the centre’s 100 researchers. In contrast, we created flexible and efficient office space for the dynamic IHS teams to undertake a range of health-related research projects.

A central forum connects the research groups and wider medical school, providing a reception area, café and seminar facilities.

Newcastle University’s listed Union Society building is both a significant landmark and the social focus of the campus. FaulknerBrowns’ refurbishment sought to introduce an additional dimension to the building by integrating informal learning spaces, ensuring it remains a vibrant student destination throughout the day.

A combination of internal reconfiguration and the construction of a new entrance and circulation areas supports the union’s objectives of participation, representation and experience. It increases the presence and accessibility of the union’s student advice, advocacy and volunteering support activities, and provides opportunities for new commercial activities that will support campus life.

The Nieuw Vennep Sport Centrum in the Netherlands is one of Europe’s most dynamic sports facilities. It houses a 25-metre pool, 20-metre training pool and children’s fun pools, as well as outdoor kids’ pools and a 25-metre pool based on a traditional lido. Visitors can also enjoy the sports hall, fitness suite, sauna and steam rooms, and dance studios.

We maximised flexibility by implementing drop-down acoustic screens to divide the hall, movable pool floors to maximise swim-training potential and screens to divide the dance studios. We also incorporated solar panels and heat recovery systems, in line with the Dutch commitment to environmental responsibility.

FaulknerBrowns won an international competition to design a flexible community pool in the Netherlands. Our aim for Nijmegen was to create a beautiful and sustainable swimming facility that would blend into the tranquil, green surroundings and evoke the sensation of swimming in the woods.

We used carefully selected materials and techniques to meet sustainability goals and ensure energy efficiency. The polished stainless-steel cladding reflects surrounding greenery and provides insulation. Both water and heat are recovered and reused inside, partly for underfloor heating, which—along with the wood-panelled ceilings—provides a cosy and inviting atmosphere.

Based in the city centre, Nottingham Ice Centre contains two Olympic-sized rinks and hosts community sessions, speed skating, figure skating and ice hockey training.

FaulknerBrowns’ design prioritised flexibility and efficiency. The 7,500-person seating area surrounding the main rink can quickly be converted to hold a capacity of 10,000 for concerts. The corridor between the two rinks features cafés, offices and sports science facilities, maximising management flexibility and support for both rinks.

The quality of the venue led it to become the UK’s first centre of excellence in ice sports and the primary training facility for the Great Britain Short Track Speed Skating squad.

Number One Riverside is a multi-use office building overlooking the River Roch. It houses civic and third-party offices, the central library and the council customer service centre. The modern building was a catalyst for regeneration in the area, uniting previously disparate workspaces.

As well as being operationally efficient, FaulknerBrowns designed the building to be highly energy efficient; featuring solar panels, a biomass boiler, and a green roof that harvests rainwater and provides insulation.

Our design solution embodies the concept of an office as a versatile living space: the floorplan is divided into a variety of zones that are tuned to specific work processes, but still promotes knowledge sharing through the interconnected, weaving floorplates.

FaulknerBrowns' redevelopment of Pudsey Grangefield School sought to provide a transformational learning environment. We reimagined the conventional classroom into spaces allocated to open, group, and show-and-tell learning, promoting both personal and project-based learning. Academic achievement significantly improved following the redevelopment, demonstrating the success of this approach.

The L-shaped building divides the school into two blocks containing community and learning facilities, creating easily separated community resources after school hours. The blocks are connected by two internal streets for social dining and open learning during the school day.

We responded to the challenging site—located on a significant gradient and bisected by two public rights of way—by carefully designing the facilities so that each of the school’s three storeys has ‘ground-level’ access to the landscape.

The centre’s location in Belfast’s Botanic Gardens—easily accessible from most student accommodation—makes it an attractive and calming space to exercise. 

FaulknerBrowns chose a circular form for the building, in contrast to the box-like appearance of the previous sports centre. Although smaller in mass and scale, this design gives it a strong presence. The building centres around a two-floor climbing wall, which is visible to all visitors.

The centre also features a café overlooking the park and the river, and is a major asset to the sporting and social life of south Belfast.

The innovation forum aims to support the inception and early growth of new businesses, and provide a community hub that promotes engagement with science and industry.

The building contains flexible working units of varying sizes to provide companies with space to grow and develop, as well as a reception area, conference facilities, laboratories and workshops to support a wide spectrum of business.

A large, central café acts as a meeting hub for resident businesses, promoting knowledge sharing and collaboration. We carefully designed the building form and selected materials to create a robust and sustainable facility that plays an important role in the continued development of the region.

Scarborough UTC provides high-quality academic and technical facilities specialising in engineering, manufacturing and technology. The college is part of the social and economic regeneration of Scarborough, providing education, skills and career opportunities.

FaulknerBrowns had a tight timeline for this project: we successfully completed design within six weeks, with just 18 months from briefing to occupation. We achieved this by developing a fixed building envelope that reflected the context of the site, allowing us to achieve planning consent while we continued to develop the interior.

The three-storey building consists of a learning block with formal and informal learning spaces arranged around an atrium. This connects to a double-height engineering workshop that has a glazed ‘shop front’ by the main entrance, celebrating UTC’s specialism.

This project was particularly interesting because it posed the challenge of creating a community facility in the commercial environment of Westfield shopping centre.

As with all FaulknerBrowns’ library projects, we sought to reimagine the traditional library typology and cater to a diverse set of users. In addition to quiet study areas, we designed warm and welcoming spaces for social interaction, modern IT facilities, meeting and exhibition spaces, and a dedicated children's activity area.

Visually, the building has a curved glass facade, maximising natural light and creating an inviting environment to passers-by. The success of this project was demonstrated by the 50% increase in books borrowed in the six months after opening, alongside a 300% increase in new members.

FaulknerBrowns was chosen to design the redevelopment of St. John’s pool building. We created a two-storey extension that accommodates a 25-metre swimming pool, gym and multi-purpose space. The building wraps around two sides of the existing sports hall, giving the appearance of a completely refreshed facility and allowing for further expansion in future phases.

We implemented a dual-pitch roof form, minimising the height so as not to impose on the main sports hall or neighbouring properties. The double-pitch design is replicated inside the pool hall with a steel frame and glass panels, creating continuity of aesthetic.

Rooflights above the pool allow natural light in and reduce the need for artificial lighting. Natural tones and materials are used throughout, namely light timber and large glazed panelling, which create soft and airy activity spaces.

The University of Surrey Sports Park is one of the largest higher education sports centres in the UK. The extensive mix of facilities includes a 50-metre pool, 12-court sports hall, indoor and outdoor tennis courts, rugby, football and hockey pitches, and two multi-use games areas. The centre also includes a café, restaurant, bars and conference rooms, making it a truly multi-purpose venue.

The facility was designed to international standards, supporting high-performance athletes, but also providing a warm and welcoming space for all users. The prominent use of light timber and the fluid roof form help to soften the building’s scale and ground it in its natural surroundings.

The park was used as a training venue for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games—a testament to the quality of its facilities and design.

Teesside’s Student Life building acts as a central home for the university’s range of support services and provides spaces for a variety of learning styles.

Despite a relatively simple exterior, the interior was carefully developed to integrate support services with learning facilities and was arranged to balance openness with confidentiality. Generally, social and collaborative spaces—such as the ‘Creator Lab’, ‘Digital Futures’ centre and café—are found on the ground floor, with quieter, individual learning spaces placed higher up for privacy.

The building had a notable social impact, particularly in supporting the retention and success of students with complex learning needs and was recognised with an RICS Social Impact Award in 2020.

The Core was the first phase of the ambitious Science Central development in Newcastle. The brief was to deliver a landmark building to support start-up and university spin-out businesses. In response, we designed a concrete frame on a six-metre grid, providing flexibility for companies to expand without relocating. To support collaboration, the ground floor is designed as a flexible public event space for exhibitions, presentations, networking and meetings.

One of the most striking features of the building is the seven-storey, 27-metre-high living wall—one of the tallest in the country. The installation features more than 35,000 plants, attracting and supporting local wildlife and biodiversity.

This five-storey student accommodation building has over 200 rooms, split between studio apartments and en-suites. The ground-floor provides space for study and social interaction, and connects to a central courtyard that is overlooked by the kitchens. The bedrooms are placed around the perimeter of the building to benefit from views, natural light and ventilation.

We employed off-site construction to maximise site development potential and efficiency—the time between construction starting and occupation was just 12 months. The bright aluminium cladding gives a distinctive identity, which is continued internally.

The Wave is a high-octane leisure destination in Coventry city centre. The park includes six flume rides, a wave pool, lazy river, toddlers’ splash area and 25-metre pool.

The exhilarating leisure experience is contained within a 50-metre diameter drum, with the upper portions wrapped in a metal-clad skin. The main pool sits 11 metres above street level, with a glass opening in the cladding offering views out over the city.

The centre’s dry facilities include a fitness suite, squash courts and spa. The spa has a separate access point away from the high-traffic main entrance, allowing it to be operated independently. It features its own reception and changing facilities, three dry treatment rooms, a sauna, steam room, aromatherapy room and plunge pool.

The Acer Nethercott Sports Centre is set in the grounds of the Iffley Road running track—known as the home of Roger Bannister’s sub-four-minute mile. The centre’s most distinctive feature is its LED-lit glass ‘smart’ floor—the first of its kind in the UK. The lights beneath the surface can be operated via touch screen to form court lines for 84 different sports, including badminton, basketball, handball and volleyball, widening the variety of sports students can try. This innovative solution was developed over five years in collaboration with the university. The building embraces low and zero-carbon technologies, including the heat recovery system that capitalises on unused heat from the neighbouring pool.

CitySpace has become the heart of the University of Sunderland’s city campus, creating a centre point for non-academic campus life. Designed to serve students, staff and the wider community, the building is uniquely equipped to facilitate a mix of sports, socials and events.

A multi-level hub provides space for dining and socialising, and can support small-scale performances. A climbing wall connects to a six-court sports hall with bleacher seating that can support larger events. On the upper level, a 70-station fitness area overlooks the central campus square.

The main events space on the ground floor, known as ‘City Studio’, has a fully glazed frontage, making it highly visible from the main circulation route through the campus. It is well used by student and community groups, providing a blank canvas for larger cultural and social events such as exhibitions, performances, seminars and yoga. A clever system of movable panels hung from ceiling tracks allows an almost limitless range of configurations.

Visually, FaulknerBrowns sought to make the centre a landmark student facility. This was achieved by using a distinctive façade of pre-cast concrete panels with inset coloured glazing. This bold façade is multi-functional, creating architectural impact, providing visibility of the activities within, and helping to shade interior spaces from south-facing sun.

FaulknerBrowns were invited to work with the London Borough of Hillingdon to revitalise Uxbridge Lido—which had fallen into disrepair—into a comprehensive sports and leisure complex. Our three main goals for the project were a full and meticulous restoration of the outdoor pool; to design indoor facilities that would support elite training as well as the health of the local community; and to refurbish and preserve the site’s Grade II-listed, art-deco style grandstand and cascades.

To achieve this, we designed a 50-metre eight-lane pool, leisure pool, sports hall with four badminton courts, gym with sauna and steam rooms, fitness class studio, crèche and café. New outdoor facilities include a 400-metre eight-lane athletics track, rugby and football pitches, and a changing pavilion. We also restored the ‘moderne’-style, star-shaped lido back to its former glory.

This project involved a £120-million regeneration of residential, office and commercial spaces on Wakefield’s historic waterfront. FaulknerBrowns were chosen to lead this high-value redevelopment after two previous proposals failed. Our plan was differentiated by our strategy to deliver five independent, mixed-use zones—each of which was self-supporting in terms of access, infrastructure, parking and pedestrian connectivity.

The residential component comprises 400 apartments in a mixture of historic industrial structures and new build, with commercial units on the ground floors animating the interconnected courtyards.

The masterplan was sensitive to the history and natural surroundings of the site. We collaborated with conservation architects and David Chipperfield, whose Hepworth Gallery sits on the northern edge of the masterplan. The prominent apartment balconies are constructed from ‘flitched’ timber and steel in reference to the canal-side infrastructure.

Walthamstow Library was a deteriorating Grade II-listed building with declining visitor numbers. FaulknerBrowns were selected to carry out a full refurbishment and extension to modernise it and attract a more diverse audience.

To ensure the new library met the needs of all local demographics, we carried out a thorough public consultation process to help refine our approach for the scheme. Our design solution provided a stimulating and innovative facility.

We replaced the existing 1980s entrance with a striking, glazed lobby with decorative terracotta tiles that blend historic materials with contemporary design. We also created a dedicated children’s library extension and undertook substantial renovation of the remainder of the building, including accessibility improvements. The modernisation of the facility led to book loans increasing by 350%.

This project aimed to consolidate Wolsingham School on a single site. The client originally intended to refurbish and extend the 1960s buildings of its northern site and sell the southern site for housing. However, after a detailed feasibility study, FaulknerBrowns reversed this, instead extending and refurbishing the original Edwardian school building—a significant local landmark—on the southern site and generating a much higher capital receipt from housing on the northern site.

The three-storey extension uses the stone walls of the existing courtyard to frame a dramatic new dining, social and informal learning space. The former school hall was converted into a library, with further informal learning spaces created at each end of the extension.

The exterior walls of the extension have an irregular pattern of vertical elements, creating a lively and modern rhythm while respecting the materials, proportions and history of this 400-year-old school.

Xscape Braehead followed the success of FaulknerBrowns’ previous Xscape projects in Milton Keynes and Castleford. The project provided the first indoor real snow slope in Scotland.

Similar to the other branches, we sought to integrate a variety of commercial and leisure elements alongside the snow slope to increase revenue opportunities and cater to different age groups and interests. The venue features a multiplex cinema, ten-pin bowling alley, indoor golf, restaurants, bars, nightclubs and shops. More ambitious leisure elements including rock and ice climbing walls, an assault course, a giant 3G swing, a skydiving wind tunnel, a trampoline park and a laser tag centre.

The building is characterised by the large, sloped cuboid structure housing the ski slope that projects prominently from the roofline, creating a distinctive visual landmark along the River Clyde.

Following the success of Xscape Milton Keynes, FaulknerBrowns were invited to deliver the next Xscape facility in Castleford, West Yorkshire.

Like the original centre, Xscape Castleford features a real-snow indoor ski slope, a multiplex cinema, a ten-pin bowling alley, a climbing wall, bars, restaurants and shops. For this location, we sought to attract an even wider mix of visitors by introducing an ice climbing wall, high-level assault course, trampoline park, kids’ soft-play area, and indoor and outdoor skateboarding parks, among other leisure offerings.

Visually, the building is defined by the prominent, purple-clad sloping roof profile which houses the ski slope. This angular design gives the centre a distinct visual identity.

Xscape Milton Keynes is a sport, entertainment and retail complex housing an indoor real-snow ski slope—the first venue of its kind in Europe. The slope is 170 metres long, 60 metres wide and covered in 1,500 tonnes of snow, making it the largest real-snow slope in the UK.

As well as the slope, the centre features a 16-screen cinema, a ten-pin bowling alley, a family entertainment centre, a nightclub, a gym, restaurants, bars and shops. This expands the centre’s commercial potential by attracting a wider mix of visitors.

Visually, the building is defined by its bold, curved roof structure that was achieved through a steel frame made from 5,000 tonnes of prefabricated steel. This design accommodates the facility’s main attraction and creates a striking skyline.