D5 Architects LLP, the architecture office in Birmingham, UK, designs and constructs architectural projects in various regions in the UK. Because of its lively and strong relations with Birmingham School of Architecture and Design at Birmingham City University, D5 Architects not only supports architectural education, but also contributes to the development of students who have gone through the architectural education process, and to address theory and practice together. The team, which develops the architectural project concept with innovative, technological and environmentally friendly approaches, consists of individuals working with enthusiasm and determination. The use of BIM technologies and modeling programs, the team also considers the unity of material, form and composition under the concept of environmental sustainability. D5 Architects LLP has designed many architectural projects such as Transportation, Education, Residential, Community, Conservation and Commercial buildings. Here are 15 projects by D5 Architects LLP.
1. Heathrow Bus and Coach Station
D5 Architects worked with WSP and balloonist Pier Lindstrand for The Heathrow Bus and Coach Station project which was built in the central terminal area of Heathrow Airport. The project has a highly innovative and designingly progressive concept. The project, which serves local and national buses and the subway station below, consists of retail food and beverage units, ticket sales tables, and vertical circulation system in the passenger waiting room. The inflatable ceiling structure, which is the most striking and impressive aspect of the project, has brought a highly innovative approach to the building and the site. The project, which has proven its success with these design approaches, was built in 26 weeks as the second busiest bus station in the country. D5 Architects has won the competition to design the new ‘landmark’ bus terminal in Chatham, Kent.
2. The Wellbeing Centre
The Wellbeing Centre is designed as a community center in Smethwick, West Midlands, in a gross area of 3800 m2. This community center has taken an approach towards increasing the well-being of the community while providing space for general customers, local users, and healthcare organizations. In this project, in which a wider area was renewed, an attractive and inviting exterior form is created by thin curves. The project concept is designed to increase user experiences in every part of the space and the building. The Wellbeing Centre emphasizes its dynamism with building form, which creates a highly innovative approach for Smethwick High Street. The structure that adopts the principles of the environmentalist approach, is designed to use low energy building systems including solar thermal heating and ground source heating systems.
3. St Philips Chambers
St Philips Chambers, with a gross area of 2150 m2, is a commercial and conservation project where the former Bank of England building in Birmingham’s Colmore Row and Environs Conservation Area. The project is awarded the Interior Space Category of the Birmingham Design Initiative in West Midlands Design Awards 2002, there are several offices, accommodation, conference, and support units. The atrium area which is in the heart of the space designed to create a calm and peaceful atmosphere for the users. The office areas and other units surrounding the atrium are also in contact with the atrium, thus providing the atrium users with a view of the activities behind them.
4. Monyhull Church Annexe
D5 Architects LLP designed an annex to an old Victorian Chapel belonging to Monyhull Church, which has a significant number of users. The idea of designing the space for housing changes the old psychiatric hospital chapel into a new community center. The project, has a floor area of 480 m2, shows an approach to the old structure with precision, while at the same time designed to create a contemporary building. This structure offers a compact form, simple plan, and flexible areas for users. The building form and its spaces are designed according to environmental goals such as minimizing artificial lighting and mechanical heating systems.
5. Deaf Cultural Centre
Deaf Cultural Centre project by D5 Architects, has been awarded in the Commercial Sector, Birmingham City Council, ‘Built-in Quality Award’. Designed to draw attention to the deaf community and make the community more prominent, the building also has the goal of improving the view from the street. The building, which has public usages on the ground floor, also has spaces designed with the aim to be flexible and increase daylight intake. The structure focuses on hearing-impaired users, appeals to the different intuitions of the users while experiencing the place with its structure that is designed specifically for the needs of the users, offers them a peaceful and comfortable atmosphere and various interior views.
6. The Bordesley Centre
The Bordesley Center, which is a renovation and expansion project of an old school building designated as a conservation area in Birmingham, Sparkbrook. The gross area of the project is 3455 m2 and the structure has various functions such as accommodation, several classrooms, conference rooms, and a library, also includes a small business center to support new initiatives. Designing this modern building to serve the public while providing technologic education and training units, the project also aimed to maximize the use of the existing space of the building. As the place is an education center, the emphasis has been placed on transparency and flexibility in the structure in order to reflect the education and activities inside.
7. Coventry Rail Station
The project designed for Coventry City Council has transformed into a commercial transportation area. Neighboring to the existing 1962 Grade 2 listed station building, the Coventry Rail Station stands out with its new passenger halls and new platform design with various facilities. Elevator and stepped access are provided to all platforms with a pedestrian bridge design. The project, which includes a 644-area multi-storey car park and related public units next to the pedestrian bridge, creates a new public space between itself and the existing train station. Elevators and stepped access to all platforms are provided from the new station. While providing such a transportation center for city residents, it is also observed that train and bus users are easily guided and the use of public space is increased by this project and its approach.
8. Regents Park Nursery
The Regents Park Nursery Project by D5 Architects LLP in Small Heath, Birmingham, has 250 m2 gross area, involving the renovation and improvement of the existing nursery building from the 1970s. While the simplicity of the building’s form is outstanding, it is aimed to establish a relationship between its function and the form by generating it with colored wooden strips as a cover material. In addition to providing the vitality of the form with wooden strips in various shades, dynamism was added to the building by the canopies. While the canopies that are integrated into the form offer a large indoor playground, and also the dimensions of the doors and windows are designed with the size of children, as a purpose of strengthening the relations between the building and the children who are the main users of the space.
9. Harley Davidson Academy
The Harley Davidson Academy, located in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, with a gross area of 650 m2, is the only specialist academy center in the UK that provides students multiple training and workshops on Harley Davidson Motorcycles. The Bromsgrove campus, with its association with the old Rover factory, has a wonderful goal of preserving its manufacturing and engineering culture. The project was designed as a singular form with reference to the form of the other campus buildings and their placement on the site. With the challenges of engineering approaches, a balanced relationship has been established between opacity and transparency in the building by the use of materials such as glass, steel composite panels, which brings industrial and architectural aesthetics together.
10. Arts & Technology Faculty
Located in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, the project is about developing the arts and technology units in the educational activities of Heart of Worcestershire (HOW) College. It also expands the existing university’s art faculty building, in addition to maintaining automotive workshops to extend The Harley Davidson Academy. There are also TV studios in the building, where there are digital materials and recording devices, music technologies, and game design studios. In the design of the project, which continues by adopting the principle of the university that working in harmony with the latest technology, the form and design composition has been created differently from the existing building typologies in order to reflect their own identities.
11. Redditch College Campus
Designed by D5 Architects LLP, Redditch College Campus with 3985 m2 gross area in Worcestershire, is a university project as a center that accommodates various forms of education and publicity. By changing a road that normally divides the area, a new main entrance is provided to the college and an emphasis point is created through the street view. Whereby the placement of the building in the site, it is observed that two different public spaces are formed around the campus. Apart from units such as accommodation, education, and training, the campus also includes a dining area, a cafeteria, and a nursery. These different units are shaped around a long atrium. With placement around the atrium, the natural ventilation and daylight intake of the units are maximized.
12. Gallery House
The project, which was built on an area of 225 m2 in Leintwardine, Herefordshire, is designed as a house and workshop space while adopting an innovative approach in terms of form and space formation, also harmonizing with the existing texture of the area by choosing traditional materials in the building. While allocating living spaces such as bedrooms, the Gallery House Project also offers garage and workshop space for different activities of users. The house creates different vista spaces for the users to enjoy the nature view in the common areas and terraces of the house. While determining the placement of the house in the area, the principle of maximizing the use of sunlight has been adopted. Ground source heating system is used in the designed project to be highly insulated.
13. Danzey House
Located in Warwickshire, the project is a contemporary country house project for a private client. The project, which has a gross area of 800 m2, is designed to remove the temporary barn structures in the area, to renew and protect the various structures, and to transform the existing farm. The wavy upper crust form, which is designed with inspiration from the topography of the site, is supported by columns, while the building generally consists of glass walls. D5 Architects, which has adopted the sustainable approach highly, has completed its project with various environmentalist contributions such as different rainwater drainage systems, wastewater filtering, ground source heat system technology in this country house project. Also, Danzey Farm House is one of the 15th houses in the country to receive Planning Approval under the discriminating planning policy of the National Planning Policy Framework.
14. Froglands Farm House
Froglands Farm House, a residential project of D5 Architects, is a family farmhouse built in a rural area with a gross area of 225 m2 in Worcestershire. The first floor consisting mostly of bedrooms and the ground floor enriched with large terraces for social spaces are encountered. Besides bedrooms facing the backyard, the kitchen and dining area receive sunlight at various times of the day. The garden walls were used to expand the surrounding area and create a separate area from the surrounding buildings. The use of local materials such as natural blackened wood and blue Lias stone is considered to adapt to the nature of the area.
15. North Gate Bus Station
The station project with a gross area of 1110 m2 in Northampton, includes the bus interchange and 12 stands in the area. The indoor waiting area with the travel information center, restrooms, and catering units is located at this new 21-stand bus interchange. The building, which draws attention to its transparency and dynamism, and its luminous ceiling in its structure, offers a directive and moving structure from the street view. Inside of the station area is designed with wide openings that provide a spacious atmosphere inside. However, it can be seen that the North Gate Bus Station also has a modern approach to the structure and facade design.
