Build Architecture Awards

Build Architecture Awards 2015 80 Nick Baker Architectures talk us through how they came to win this prestigious award. Being awarded a prize for a single building is satisfying. Being honoured for a body of work is significantly satisfying. This makes us especially proud of our recent award for Best Government Architecture Projects 2015. Our work in London’s Embassy sector has come via a combination of the quality of our work and the reputation that it builds and a set of language skills in our team, who collectively speak English, German, Spanish and French. This award is the culmination of nearly a dec- ades work in the Government Sector where we have been selected to work on Embassy Buildings, Ambassadorial Residences, Consu- late Buildings, Cultural Forums and Trade Commissions along with additional supple- mentary buildings. Nick Baker was also part of the team that worked on the ‘Rebuilding of the Reichstag’ the new German Parliament Building in Berlin, during his years at Foster and Partners. Few Government Buildings are new build constructions and consist mostly of fit out or extension work to existing structures. Many of these are also historic buildings with protect- ed status whereby the process of installing new functions, new services and sustainable technologies even more difficult. We need to respond innovatively and sensitively in such circumstances to both the design and the approvals process to achieve the best results. Our London based workforce has developed a significant level of experience in the particular requirements of working in the historic building sector and specialist conservation skills as well as an informed understanding as to how Embassy projects need statutory sign off in both host and parent countries. London has the highest representation of foreign diplomatic missions of any city in the world. Designing for Government projects requires an important level of flexibility as the number of stakeholders involved typically represents the multifunctional character of the final use of spaces and places that are created. Added to this are the varying levels of security that need to be included in protecting government buildings. These design criteria typically re- quire sophisticated technologies and methods of working to provide a successful project. As designers we acknowledge that it is critical to take a collaborative approach to the design solutions that we provide. Our co-ordination with other consultants in the design team is fundamental and our method of working epitomises this. Whilst working on the refur- bishment of the Austrian Embassy, a Grade I protected building in London, into what has been classified as a ‘Green Embassy’ we worked very closely with the mechanical and electrical engineers to identify and install new energy efficient and renewable energy technologies to make a 30% reduction in the energy usage of the buildings. This provided significant financial and CO2 savings for all stakeholders in the project By building on their strengths and experience in this field Nick Baker Architects will be able to consolidate their position as a team of specialist designers who are able to work with the core values of many clients to make special places to work and reside in that are representative of their home institutions in a safe and sustainable environment. Best Government Architecture Projects 2015 Nick Baker Architects Name: Nick Baker Email: [email protected] Company: NICK BAKER ARCHITECTS Address: 2nd Floor, Lindsey House 40-42 Charterhouse Street London, EC1M 6JN Telephone: 020 7490 0644 Fax: 020 7490 0595 Website: www.nickbakerarchitects.com