We are delighted that Black Robin Farm, our project for Eastbourne Borough Council (EBC), in partnership with Towner Eastbourne, has been granted planning permission, following the planning committee vote in favour of the scheme. The application will be formally approved by a senior official once conditions are fulfilled.

This unique project in the beautiful rolling landscape of the South Downs will deliver unprecedented equal access to the national park whilst preserving and enhancing the beauty and ecology of the site’s remarkable 19th century agricultural Downland setting.

Black Robin Farm, situated on a site that was formerly a dairy farm, will be a new type of culture centre where art, culture, heritage and ecology will come together as a new eastern gateway to the South Downs. The project will be design with sustainability and site specificity at its core, with a commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. This follows EBC’s successful £19.8 million bid to the government’s Levelling Up Fund, £11 million of which is being invested into the Black Robin Farm project.

Thanks to Eastbourne Borough Council, Towner Eastbourne and @townergallery & the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. To read more about the project, click here.

Our directors, Fergus and Edmund, were recently invited to join host Dave Sharp to launch his new series, Office Talk UK, a business and marketing podcast for architects.

In the first episode, Fergus, Edmund and Dave discuss Feilden Fowles’ innovative approach to PR, marketing and architectural competitions, as well as the work they put in behind the scenes to form lasting connections with their clients. Listen here to find out how their investment in the branding, representation and design of their website, from the early days of the practice, has paid off today, leading to the award-winning schemes at Yorkshire Sculpture Park; Homerton College, Cambridge; and more.

Feilden Fowles’ plans for a mixed-use development for Green Templeton College (GTC), University of Oxford, have been granted planning and listed building consent by Oxford City Planning Committee, representing a milestone in the college’s 40-year plan, which includes improving its main accommodation, academic and social facilities, while continuing to decarbonise its estate. The primary aims of the development are to enhance facilities for students and the wider GTC community on the central college site, including provision of high-quality student study bedrooms, an enhanced entrance and porters’ lodge, doubling dining capacity and much needed student study space. The proposals embody GTC’s ethos of ‘making the world a better place to live in’ contributing positively to the sustainability of the College estate and to the architectural heritage of Oxford. To read more about the project, click here.

We are excited to have been shortlisted for the Architectural Review’s Emerging Architects 2023. We’re looking forward to presenting our scheme at Homerton College alongside some of the new projects going on in the studio to the judging panel. To see the full shortlist, follow this link.

Our designs for a new arts, culture and education centre on the South Downs coast have been submitted to planning. The scheme at Black Robin Farm will create new learning studios, gallery and events spaces and become a gateway to the beautiful landscapes that surround the site. For more information on the project click here.

Feilden Fowles Director, Ed Fowles, alongside Homerton College Vice Principal, Francesca Moore, will be leading a group around the New Dining Hall in October 2023. To join them, find tickets here.

Sir David Attenborough’s compelling words, ‘The future of the natural world, on which we all depend, is in our hands’ were unveiled in bronze lettering outside the Natural History Museum’s main entrance and will overlook the new gardens. The quote will form part of the newly developed gardens designed by Feilden Fowles in collaboration with J&L Gibbons at the Natural History Museum as part of the broader Urban Nature Project.

The Studley Revealed project for the National Trust at Fountains Abbey has been submitted for planning. It aims to deliver conservation benefits by restoring historical sightlines and vistas that have been lost over time. It will also provide more information about the garden and include improved visitor facilities, to ensure the garden receives a welcome worthy of a World Heritage Site.