In association with RPP of Belfast and Devereux Architects we have won a competition for a new £20m Acute Mental Health Facility at Belfast’s City Hospital. The role of Richard Murphy Architects is to be the design champion and be primarily responsible for the initial design and its development up to planning permission stage. Richard Murphy commented “Following on from our award winning dementia centres for Fife NHS and our mental health building with RPP in Belfast currently under construction this project is a serious breakthrough into a larger world of hospital design and into the particular subject area of acute mental health. The project also represents our third building in Northern Ireland and a continuing collaboration with our very good friends at RPP Architects there”. The project is expected to be submitted for planning permission in mid 2013.
AND ANOTHER NEW PROJECT IN IRELAND
An existing client for whom we have completed a residential project has bought a stunning site in the Dublin suburb of Dalkey and commissioned us to design a substantial new house. The sloping site has a breath-taking view of Dublin Bay and Howth Head. This will be our second house in Ireland but by far the most substantial of any of our previous house designs. Drawings will be posted in the next newsletter.
FUNDING NEWS
Creative Scotland awarded our Perth Theatre project £2m and we hope to be recommencing work on the post-planning drawings shortly.
MORE WORK FOR EDINBURGH MAGGIES CENTRE
The first of the now many and famous Maggie’s Centres was designed by ourselves at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh, and completed (or so we thought) in 1996. A few years later the Board asked us to double its size and we completed those extensions in 2001. They have now returned a third time and asked us for more space. Sketch proposals have been prepared and we look forward to constructing more of the centre, probably in 2014.
NEWS OF PROJECTS ON SITE
Q10 SOCIAL HOUSING, EDINBURGH
The scaffolding is being removed to reveal the completed elevations. The shell and core works are due to finish in November while fit out work is progressing internally, with many of the flats having spectacular views. We have been given the go ahead to work up designs for a nursery on the ground floor and this is shortly to be tendered.
RICHARD MURPHY HOUSE, HART STREET, EDINBURGH
The basement is shortly to be completed and the steel super-structure will begin in the New Year.
EDINBURGH ACADEMY
The project for new classrooms at the Junior School of Edinburgh Academy continues. The roof is now on and the building should be wind and water-tight in six weeks time.
COATBRIDGE COLLEGE
The Atrium phase of the project in now complete bar snagging.
NEWS OF LECTURES AND PRESS…
PRESS
Proposals for Perth Theatre received a funding boost in September, when the BBC Tayside and Central Scotland announced that Horsecross Arts had received £2m from Creative Scotland to help upgrade the theatre. Jacqueline McKay, the new Chief Executive of Horsecross said, “We are determined to restore Perth’s beautiful Edwardian auditorium and to create around it a vibrant, engaging and welcoming cultural landmark that the people of Perth and the whole of Scotland will visit and be proud of for many years to come”.
On 22nd October The Herald interviewed Richard in a “Face to Face” feature, to mark the publication of the Practice’s book. In speaking about his life in architecture, Richard commented “I (have always) had a crusade to remind people it’s tomorrow’s history we are creating.”
“Building Design” featured our joint project with RPP for Queen's University Belfast in a four page article on the 2nd November under the title “The Social Network You Can Live In”.
LECTURES
Richard spoke at the Institute of Healthcare Engineering and Estates Management National Conference “Architects for Health” in Manchester earlier this month. He also gave a talk in the RIBA Exhibition of our work (see below). James Mason will be talking about the office's work to the RIBA Cumbrian Society of Architects at the Tullie House Carlisle at 6.30pm on 15th November.
AND FINALLY…
A NEW EXHIBITION AND A NEW BOOK
Fish invade the RIBA!!
A major new exhibition of our work has opened in the Florence Hall at the RIBA. The exhibition is arranged chronologically, beginning with 1991, and features about 40 projects including our 19 RIBA Awards and 2 RIAI Awards. This record of awards puts us in the top ten of all UK practices. Details of opening times etc can be seen here. Our 1:25 scale model of part of the British High Commission in Sri Lanka complete with real fish first seen at the Royal Scottish Academy last year sits in the foyer of the RIBA.
The practice’s new monograph “OF ITS TIME AND OF ITS PLACE; THE WORK OF RICHARD MURPHY ARCHITECTS” has been published!! It was launched at the offices of Artifice Books on the 16th October and has its Scottish launch tonight (9th November) at the Fruitmarket Gallery at 6.30pm. Nick Barley of the Edinburgh International Book Festival is chairing a discussion between Richard and Sir Richard MacCormac. If you wish to come, please contact Kathy here in the office kj@richardmurphyarchitects.com.
Details of the monograph can be seen here.