Q2 2022 Review
Emily Pallot
18 July 2022
The last quarter has flown by with so much to be positive about. The highlight for me has been watching Director Olly Wood take part in a gruelling challenge to raise money for our nominated charity for 2022, RefugEase – a small ‘n’ mighty UK-based NGO providing humanitarian aid in Ukraine. Olly ran an extra kilometre every day in June, running over 465km in 30 days, and raising over £4000 in just a month.
A big thanks to all of our clients and collaborators who made a donation and to those who supported Olly by running alongside him at different points in the challenge. It was such an impressive achievement and has inspired the team, so keep an eye out for our next set of charity events and if you haven’t done so already please do consider making a donation to support this fantastic cause: https://lnkd.in/ewCYcQUF
It has also been a really positive time in the studio, having achieved several project milestones as well as receiving some exciting new commissions. Plans were submitted for a flagship 8,000sqm academic building at Arts University Bournemouth. This exciting project is committed to achieving net zero in both embodied and operational energy which aligns with our ambitions to minimise the impact of climate change through our work.
It was great to hear that our new build project for South Staffordshire College has received funding approval from the DFE, and our 76 home co-living scheme development in Wickham Street, Portsmouth was unanimously approved by Councillors at Planning Committee. This is the first co-living scheme of this scale in Portsmouth, demonstrating that the city continues to embrace innovative design typologies to address their housing needs.
With all of this, the studios are bursting with activity once again and it was great to recently welcome a group of T-Level students from Havant and South Downs College to experience it first-hand. I’m really passionate about bridging the gap between education and practice and this is one of many industry and education partnerships that myself and the team are proud to support.
Of course, the summer months have also allowed for plenty of fun outside of the studio. Our practice ‘Family Day’ was a big success, bringing together team members and their families for a bbq, games and Go Ape. This is a really important event in our company calendar, allowing a great opportunity to put names to faces, strengthen studio friendships and show our team how much we value their support.
For me, the summer also means cycling! As many of you already know, this is one of my big passions and I’ve loved being part of Doyenne, an inclusive road cycling club for women in property. It was set up last year in collaboration with Ladies in Real Estate and Blacktop | Doyenne RCC, the aim being to help new riders gain confidence, diversify the male-dominated sport, and create new ways to network. We have grown our membership to over 150 members across the industry with many more exciting events planned for the rest of 2022.
Please do let me know if you would like me to add you to the mailing list for Doyenne. Or if there’s anything else we can help with, do get in touch. For now, wishing you a wonderful summer and all the best in the months ahead.