News → HAT Projects

January 5, 2019

Ely Museum awarded HLF funding

We're thrilled that the Ely Museum development project has been awarded capital funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, enabling this ambitious project to become reality. Following an outstanding match funding campaign by the museum's team and volunteers, the HLF has awarded £1.66m to the Museum, towards the total capital project budget of £2.2m.

The restoration and extension of the Grade 2 listed building, which itself has a fascinating history as the Gaol of the Bishop of Ely, will increase the floor area available for displays, create a new multi-purpose space for education and community programmes, and restore historic features that are currently hidden from view. Read more about the project here.

December 14, 2018

Trinity Works longlisted for MacEwen Award

Trinity Works, our self-developed studio complex in Colchester, has been longlisted for the RIBA MacEwen Award, which celebrates 'architecture for the common good' - projects which demonstrate a clear sense of social purpose. We're truly honoured and delighted to be considered for this award, as it rewards exactly those qualities that we feel are most important in our work - the criteria say that 'We’re looking for built projects that are of real and demonstrable benefit to society, something that architects are well-equipped to achieve.'

We want to embody this in our practice - not just responding to the brief set by our clients, but expanding this to maximise the social and public benefit of each project. At Trinity Works, we're thrilled by how quickly the space has been adopted by our community and how it is starting to serve as we had hoped - as a meeting place for creating and cross-fertilising civic projects for our town, at large and small scales.

December 3, 2018

Seven Sisters Road housing submitted for planning permission

Our 45 apartment project for Pocket Living has been submitted for planning permission. On a prominent corner site in north London, the project will create 45 affordable sale one-bedroom apartments, and has been designed to be a landmark piece of architecture for the area. Read more about the project here.

November 28, 2018

Fore Street artist's studio wins planning

We're delighted that our proposal for an artist's studio and living accommodation has been granted planning permission in Suffolk. Within a conservation area in the picturesque town of Framlingham, the project adapts the 'ruin' of an existing dilapidated workshop building on the site, to create a simple, spacious, and economic shell for our artist client to inhabit.

It's been a pleasure to work on developing this project over some time, to make sure it meets our client's desire for space and light with basic materials maximising the potential of a small budget, while responding appropriately to the site and context.

October 16, 2018

Hana reviews the new V&A Dundee for Architecture Today

Hana reviews the new V&A Dundee by Kengo Kuma for the October edition of Architecture Today, suggesting it's skewed shells skilfully meet the requirements for new museums, but perhaps it's time to rethink the brief...

The article is available to read here.

September 21, 2018

Ely Museum wins planning permission

We are thrilled that our project at Ely Museum has won listed building and planning consent. The £2.2m project to overhaul the Grade 2 listed building, which itself has a fascinating history as the Gaol of the Bishop of Ely, will increase the floor area available for displays, create a new multi-purpose space for education and community programmes, and restore historic features that are currently hidden from view. Read more about the design here.

The development plans have won initial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), and a second stage funding bid to the HLF for £1.67m has been submitted and will be decided later in the year. The Museum, an independent charity with a small staff team and a broad, dedicated team of volunteers, is currently fundraising for the remaining income needed to complete this project.

Pending confirmation of funding, construction work will start in 2019, with completion in 2020.

September 13, 2018

HAT profiled in RIBA Journal!

Hana & Tom were recently interviewed by Hugh Pearman for the RIBA Journal, profiling the practice and providing an introduction to Trinity Works and the thinking behind it.

The full article is available to read in the September edition of the magazine or here.

June 15, 2018

Working on Colchester's key public spaces

We're excited to have been commissioned by Colchester Borough Council to develop proposals for rejuvenating two key public spaces in the town centre. St Nicholas Square, and the Balkerne Gardens area around the Mercury Theatre, both have immense potential to become wonderful focal points, as part of the wider network of town squares that is quite a unique quality of Colchester's historic centre.

We will be working collaboratively with the organisations and business that border these two spaces, to develop a shared understanding and a design strategy that can realise their full potential, as well as developing a business case and delivery strategy.

May 14, 2018

Hana becomes a Public Practice Associate

Hana has been selected as one of the founding cohort of Public Practice Associates. She is undertaking a part-time, year-long contract with South Cambridgeshire District Council, working with village communities to co-create a new generation of Village Design Statements. Rural design is an area that Hana has long been researching and exploring through design, and she is excited to have the opportunity to pioneer new work in this area.

Public Practice is an innovative social enterprise, founded last year to help address a lack of public sector planning capacity, recognised as the primary barrier to delivering the quantity and quality of homes the country needs. It is a key initiative of the Mayor of London's Good Growth by Design programme, and is also supported by the Local Government Association, Future Cities Catapult, British Land, The Berkeley Group, and Peabody. Local authorities are using the first cohort to bring in design expertise at a time when almost half of all councils have no in house design capacity.

May 14, 2018

Announcing Trinity Works

We're very excited to announce a new self-initiated project, Trinity Works. We are creating a new home for our studio, along with Colchester Makerspace and a new independent café, Café Saison, in a 1970's former church in the heart of Colchester Town Centre.

We'll be in residence from 1 July 2018, so plan a visit, or you can have a sneak peek tour of the site on Sunday 20th May 2018, as part of the Trinity Street summer festival. Read more about Trinity Works here.