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Steering Group

Architect Corinne Hall is supporting future talent by acting as a mentor for STEER. The programme supports undergraduates transitioning into industry and promotes diversity and inclusion within construction. Corinne will be supporting Heidi, who is completing her Architectural Technology degree at Leeds Beckett University.

Heidi visited Race Cottam on 19th December to discuss CVs and Software skills, as well as being treated to a site visit to Astrea Academy, with a guided tour by Architect Laurie Cottam.

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Bear with us...

At the start of December we had a unusual guest visit our office. Architect Paul Foster brought bear Albie to work, to experience the world of construction. Albie lives at Paul's daughter's school in Nottingham, and each week visits a different family who record his adventures and report them back to the class. Albie visit our Cataracts Centre site at Sheffield's Northern General Hospital, had a go on BIM and used a drawing board. Exciting stuff!

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On Wednesday 15th October, Architect Tim Robinson was invited to attend the official opening of the Walton Centre in Liverpool.

The Centre is unique to the NHS in that it is the only specialist Neurosciences Trust in the UK and is the first hospital in the North West to use an in-theatre intra-operative MRI scanner (iMRI) for adult patients.

Race Cottam designed and detailed the scheme which was constructed by Interserve Construction and became operational in May.

The scanner and associated specialist equipment was funded by a £2million donation from The Marina Dalglish Appeal, set up by the wife of former Liverpool FC manager and player Kenny Dalglish. Both were in attaendance to officially open the facility.

The video above shows the facility in action!

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Cataract Commences

Our project to create a new Integrated Cataract Facility at Sheffield Teaching Hospital's Northern General Campus has commenced and is progressing quickly. Contractor Clugston has already completed the groundworks and steel frame and we are excited to see the building starting to take shape!

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Astounding views at Astrea

This is a recent panorama taken by project architect Laurie Cottam at the Astrea Academy site in Sheffield. Kier are progressing well with the ground works which are extensive due to the topography of the site. The views from the academy will be stunning, as you can see from the photo, and you can even see our office (if you look very carefully)!

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Two months to go!

The York Piazza Building is now on the home straight with two months to go until handover. The external shell is nearly completed, with the final fascias and soffits being installed, and the lecture theatre drum ready to receive its feature cladding. Inside, Interserve are well advanced with partitions, the kitchen has arrived and been installed, and N G Bailey are progressing the M&E services installation.

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Woodside School Starts on Site

Work has now commenced on the new build site for woodside school with the existing building refurbishment already seeing a great transformation. The topographical challenges of this exciting site will off fantastic views across the city!

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We've been shortlisted for Architectural Firm of the Year!

We are thrilled to have been shortlisted within the Architectural Firm of the Year category for the Insider Yorkshire Property Industry Awards!

The nomination follows a strong year for our practice, having completed a number of notable projects within Yorkshire. These include; UTC Leeds, the new Portland Entrance for Leeds Beckett University, the Huntsman Entrance at Sheffield's Northern General Hospital and the Spring Lane and Biology Phase 2 Buildings at the University of York.

We continue to be active in the region, with works currently on site for the University of York's Piazza Building, Provincial House Student Accommodation, a new Cataract Centre for Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, the new Astrea Academy in Sheffield and Allerton Waste in North Yorkshire. The nomination also comes just six months after Race Cottam won the award Best Interior Environment at the Building Better Healthcare Awards with our scheme for St. Luke's Hospice, Sheffield and received a commendation for our extension to Sheffield Children's Hospital's Theatres.

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Picture Perfect

With start on site quickly approaching for the new Astrea Academy in Sheffield (formally Woodside/ Pyebank School), here are a couple of our latest renders for the scheme. Developed with support from Ares, the landscape architects, the views show the scale of the development on the steeply sloping site.

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Piazza Pronto

York Piazza Building is progressing well on site. The external envelope is well progressed with the SFS frame completed. This means that Interserve have been able to progress with the brick work and fibre-cement panels which will give the building its distinctive look. Curtain walling is also progressing well, with the final panels beginning to be installed in the atrium. The building is really starting to come together now, and you can get a good sense of how the finished spaces will feel!

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Meet the team: Corinne Hall

Corinne joined the Race Cottam team in 2006 as a Part 1 student, and never left! She undertook her Part II studies as part of the first cohort at Sheffield Hallam University on their practice based learning course and completed her professional qualification at Huddersfield University in 2013. Corinne has worked on a wide variety of projects during her 11 years with us, including Lakeside Children's Centre, Gamma Knife at Sheffield Hallamshire Hospital, Leeds Beckett University's Headingley Masterplan and a number of Morrisons retail schemes. She is currently completing her third project at the University of York, the Piazza building, and is working on designs for a new health centre in Milton Keynes.

Corinne is a keen cyclist and loves to get out into the Peak District every weekend. Her other big passion is music and she can regularly be found at various venues around the North of England on what some people have called a never-ending gig-athon.

Meet Corinne!

What was your first job at Race Cottam? My first job was assisting of the refurbishment of the Grade II Listed Butcher works. As a year out student, it was a really steep learning curve, but what an exciting job to be involved with!

What has been your favourite job at Race Cottam? Having been here for 11 years now it’s really hard to choose, as I’ve worked on so many great jobs with fantastic teams! Working with Sheffield Forgemasters was really memorable, and I have loved working with the teams at both Leeds Beckett University and most recently the University of York

What is your favourite building? The Musee D’Orsay in Paris

Who is your favourite architect? Glen Howells – his designs are so well considered and crafted.

Dream commission? I enjoy being involved with jobs which make a difference - I would love to design a new home for the Cathedral Archer Project!

Favourite song?‘Hallowed Be Thy Name” by Iron Maiden – yes I am a massive metalhead!

Tell us something we didn’t know about you? I play clarinet and saxophone.

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Crypt Factor

Karaoke King Laurie Cottam took to the stage on 23rd March as part of Yorkshire property's premier talent contest. Appearing in front of an audience of more than 700, Laurie performed his tribute to Phil Collins. Clearly a natural, Laurie sailed into the final, against strong competition from the likes of Tina Turner and ‘Oldplay’. He lost out to a boy band in the final, but has vowed to return next year.

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Piazza Opens its Doors

March 30th saw Interserve Construction open its site for the Piazza Learning Centre at the University of York's Campus East. As part of the national Open Doors event, members of the public were able to visit the working construction site, and learn about the project and the roles involved in delivering the building.

As project Architect, Corinne Hall joined the site team in welcoming the visitors and acting as a tour guide for the event. Amongst others, it was great to receive visitors from both York and Selby Colleges who were undertaking courses in construction - we hope that our site has inspired the next generation of construction professionals!

It was a great time to view the site, as the build was 32 weeks into its 64 week programme - exactly half way! Steelwork has been completed, the glulam and structural plywood soffit has been delivered from Austria and installed, and the SFS and window packages are now being fitted. The University Library team were particularly pleased at the opportunity to visit their space on the second floor and admire the impressive roof structure which will remain exposed in the finished scheme.

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Woodside School

Late last year we were delighted to be selected to design the Woodside School in Sheffield. Awarded through the YorBuild2 framework, we were supporting contractor Kier, who will be delivering the new the £24m through-school.

The site is on a prominent hilltop location close to the centre of Sheffield and includes the Grade II listed Pye Bank primary school, which will be refurbished to provide a nursery and primary school up to Year 4. Years 5 & 6 of primary up to 6th form will be accommodated in a 3 storey new-build block which follows the 30m slope down the adjacent site. Working the levels has been challenging, with existing retaining walls from a demolished housing scheme to contend with. The design exploits the levels, to provide external access from 3 levels, and balconies to science and 6th form to make the most of the views.

The design offers a real opportunity to create a unique learning environment within Sheffield, with pupils sharing resources across the two sites, each with a unique feel. The buildings are also designed to enable community use and to fit in with the local environment.

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Botanical Gardens Official Opening

On Wednesday 15th March Dave and Laurie Cottam attended the official opening of the new Race Cottam designed learning centre located in Sheffield's Botanical Gardens. The facility was opened by the Duke of Devonshire, Peregrine Cavendish, who is patron of the Sheffield Botanical Gardens Trust. He was very impressed by what he called "an amazing new education centre".

Named after a generous donor, the Dorothy Fox Education Centre will provide an educational resource for people of all ages, providing educational activies of a horticultural, botanical and heritage based nature, including lectures, demonstrations, art courses and photography classes. The facility includes a library and three flexible classroom spaces which can be combined to create a large lecture room. The centre has been designed to encourage links with outdoor learning, optimising its setting within the Grade II Listed Botanical Gardens.

Everyone was very pleased with the new facility with Chairman of FOBS Jill Sinclair saying; "we are thrilled by the opening of the new centre, which gives us chance to develop some exciting new initiatives. It has the potential to put Sheffield on the map as a major venue for horticultural education in the north."

Dave and Laurie have both signed up as Friends of the Botanical gardens Sheffield (FOBS), and are hopeful this will reflect on their gardening skills!

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Interserve Construction is making great progress on our Piazza Learning Centre for the University of York. With the steelwork completed, we were all excited to see the glulam (which has come all the way from Austria!) begin to arrive at the end of February. The photos above show the geogrid roof which will be exposed in the second floor library, and the 1.2m deep beams to the atrium. We think that the spaces are beginning to look and feel great, and we can't wait for the roof to be constructed to get a propoer feel for the interiors. The building is due to open Spring 2018.

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Race Cottam Associates' design for University Technical College Leeds has been shortlisted in the Building Conservation category of the 2017 RICS awards for the Yorkshire and humber region! The development converted a Grade II listed Victorian metal pressing factory, built in 1888, into a new education facility providing an state-of-the-art engineering training for pupils from aged 14 to 18. Our scheme, delieverd by BAM Construction, secured the future of this important heritage asset, whilst adapting the building to provide a sustainable and approriate use. We are delighted to see UTC Leeds receive critical recognition and have our fingers crossed for success at the awards on 12th of May.