This week, we’re placing a spotlight on our project at Black Robin Farm, a retrofit and refurbishment of this historic farmstead, which seeks to preserve the agricultural character of the existing buildings and their unique setting, while extending the campus to include a new flexible art gallery and events space.

The new gallery building is located on the northern side of the track and is formed of three distinct gallery volumes, rendered in lime and flint. The monopitch roofs follow the fall of the land, provide north-lit galleries and optimal orientation for photovoltaic panels. Internally, the gallery spaces have been designed in collaboration with Towner to create flexible, simple and raw spaces for art; one of the galleries is designed as a climate-controlled space and the other two are designed to GIS standards.

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Our director Fergus Feilden will be joining RCA Alumni on Tuesday 28 May for a series of intergenerational conversations. As well as presenting a number of Feilden Fowles’ projects, he will be documenting his journey since graduating the RCA, using image and sound, alongside other guests Jane Hall (Assemble), Stephanie Macdonald (6a) and Sohanna Srinivasan.

To join this public event, please follow this link to register for a free ticket.

We’re delighted that the Dining Hall at Homerton College, Cambridge has been awarded a RIBA East Award. Our director Edmund Fowles and project architect Eleanor Hedley were at the ceremony this evening alongside Francesca Moore, vice principal at Homerton College.

Feilden Fowles’ design for the hall is symbolic of Homerton’s progressive character and its bold social ambitions, yet simultaneously sits in dialogue with the rich architectural heritage of Cambridge. There are echoes of the marching buttresses of King’s College Chapel, references to the Victorian Gothic Revival of Homerton’s Great Hall, and motifs of the neighbouring Arts and Crafts Ibberson Building. The highly crafted material and tectonic language combine as a marker of today’s architectural thinking, an embodiment of low-tech design principles: an Arts & Crafts building for the 21st century.

‘A young (ish) Cambridge college took a chance on a young architectural practice with big ambition and an even bigger heart. The result is a building that is a triumph of intelligent design with deep social, cultural, and environmental purpose.’ Francesca Moore

We’re sharing a film made by Jim Stephenson and Laura Mark, where Edmund speaks about the influence of the Arts and Crafts, low tech design and the social agenda behind the creation of the building.

We are excited to share that we’ve been shortlisted for the competition to design Antwerp’s new contemporary art gallery MHKA. Sitting on the banks of the river Scheldt, the 22,000m² of gallery space will provide a new home for the Flemish Government’s contemporary art collection. We’ve partnered with Studio Nauta and Pieter Bedaux to form an international team, building on our skills in the arts and cultural sector, and a collective strong sustainable agenda. For more information on the competition, see the article by the Architects’ Journal here.

We are seeking an experienced individual for a temporary role covering the Practice Manager’s maternity leave, starting June 2024.

To find out more about this role and how to apply, follow the link to our careers page. We look forward to hearing from you!

Feilden Fowles has been appointed as lead designer on a holistic transformation of University of Oxford’s Mansfield College, working alongside development partner Stories to address the estate and the needs of students and teaching staff. The wide-ranging project involves the development of a plan for new facilities and the significant enhancement and refurbishment of heritage buildings, while working towards the College’s ambitious sustainability targets. The architects won a limited design competition run by Stories working with architectural advisor Municipal.

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Tate Britain today announced our collaboration with Tom Stuart-Smith Studio, to transform the landscape in front of the gallery.

This new garden, to be named the Clore Garden, has been made possible by a generous donation from the Clore Duffield Foundation. Chaired by Dame Vivien Duffield, the foundation is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. The project will be realised in partnership with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and will create a beautiful and welcoming new green space on London’s Millbank open to everyone.

Home to the world’s greatest collection of British art, Tate Britain attracts well over a million visitors each year. Its new garden will reframe the way these visitors approach the gallery from the river. Opening in 2026, the Clore Garden will offer an open invitation to rest and recharge, a space to encounter art and engage with the natural world, and a place for local communities to enjoy.

Image : © Tate Photography

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.