Probyn Gibbs Associates

26/03/2024

Congratulations to AHMM for winning a Civic Trust award for Reuse and Adaptation for the new Tower Hamlets Town Hall. Formerly the Royal London Hospital, AHMM have extended and adapted the Grade II listed building into a flexible and inclusive asset for the borough.
It was a pleasure to work with AHMM and Bouygues on this project, providing Access Consultancy advice and guidance on all aspects of the development. since 2016.
For more information use this link: https://www.civictrustawards.org.uk/winners/tower-hamlets-town-hall

20/07/2022

The Pritzker prize, which includes a $100,000 jackpot, went to Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal, architects who are promoting the best solution to the housing crisis and the problems of climate change. They do this by refurbishing existing homes, rather than demolishing and re-building - a favourite fall-back position of UK most local authorities.
Read more about their work here:

Architecture’s top prize has been awarded to a design duo who could show Britain how to bring its emissions under control, says Open City’s Phineas Harper

21/04/2022

In the midst of crisis in Ukraine, it is an architect who is thinking forward to the end of the war and the question about the rebuilding of the country's devastated cities. Julia Park writes in Building Design that the right thinking now may save millions of lives in the future,

This terrible war is a catastrophe but the eventual rebuilding of Ukraine could yet provide a legacy of which future generations can be proud, says Julia Park

21/03/2021

It's refreshing to discover a new and appropriate response to the problems of design and regeneration which doesn't damage the environment in some way. These unflashy French architects have found a way to work which takes what is already there and makes the most of resources to keep environmental and financial costs to a minimum while enhancing lives and experiences for all.
My thanks to Mireille Galinou for drawing my attention to this t article.

The Pritzker prize, once reserved for flamboyant creators of icons, has gone to Lacaton & Vassal, whose rallying cry is: ‘Never demolish, never remove – always add, transform and reuse’

25/10/2020

A lot of my work these days is related to accessibility and inclusion, so it was heart-breaking to read that people with disabilities are still experiencing major problems with their accommodation. This is despite Habinteg Housing Association promoting Lifetime Homes and accessible housing for 50 years, and the London Plan and Housing Associations requiring 5% of all housing developments to be fully accessible for decades.

For a generation priced out of home-ownership, renting is a key route to independence. But for wheelchair users, inaccessibility can make it an impossible dream...

12/10/2020

In these troubled times, the government plans to discriminate towards hugely-profiting developers and do nothing to help homeless people who are desperate for decent housing. It's scandalous.

06/07/2020

Further information is reported in the Guardian today about the disastrous changes proposed to the planning process. The government thinks this will ensure that more housing is created, but if it's substandard how can it be considered a reasonable solution to people's desperate housing needs?

‘Rabbit-hutch’ flats could be crammed into repurposed office spaces

30/06/2020

This government has already relaxed planning controls on the conversion of tower blocks into substandard flats, so who can tell what the outcomes will be of further tinkering with planning law. The planning system is flawed, but at least it provides some protection for our environment. Let's keep it that way. Please sign this petition.

Cummings is working on a plan to rip up England’s system of rules and permissions for new buildings. It could fill our towns with shoddy blocks of flats and ugly office buildings -- and take away your right to object. Sign the petition!

13/12/2018

As an Architect and Access consultant, I read this Guardian article from 29th November (Housebuilders face backlash for lobbying against disability access) and saw red! I know from my own experiences, and from the Occupational Therapists and other Access consultants I have worked with, that homes for people with disabilities are in very short supply. This is particularly relevant for people on low incomes who need social or affordable housing, as they rarely have the income to be able to chose the ideal home and then tailor it to their needs. And often people with disabilities are on low incomes anyway.
I've been at meetings where developers try to argue away the accessible housing because it's a bit bigger and needs different considerations, saying that there isn't the need for it, when groups like Age UK, Habinteg and Disability Rights UK know the real story. Is it uncharitable to wish that they could experience for themselves the problems that a disabled person encounters every day in their home? The increased cost of an adaptable house is tiny in comparison with the obscene profits made by the majority of major housing developers.

You can read the article here:
http://guardian.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

13/12/2018

The subject of homelessness is uppermost on many people's minds as we approach Christmas. Thank goodness for Crisis, Shelter, the Salvation Army, etc, as well as food and clothing donations organised throughout the country that will help many people during this cold winter.
In the attached post, Julia Park looks at the reasons for homelessness through government policies over the years, as well as finishing on a positive note about the work of an architecture firm making an excellent suggestion about how to help people out of the double bind of finding work when you are homeless. Excellent reading!

Architects' ingenuity gives Julia Park reasons to be hopeful despite digging through some depressing stats

31/08/2018

The Guardian is raising issues about ridiculously small flats that are slipping through the planning process. It's shocking, when Britain's private housing is the smallest in Europe, that we are producing studio flats no bigger than a double bedroom. At least social housing standards remain generous - as they need to, when every home can expect to be fully occupied. Except in this instance of an office to housing conversion which evades the planning process.,
The worse aspect of this appalling conversion is that it is currently being used by Newbury Council to house homeless families temporarily, so there are whole families living in 13 square metres.
Why aren't we outraged, demonstrating against the rabbit hutch mentality that punishes families for being homeless and writing to our MP? Any other ideas?

This small block next to the A12 packs in 60 studios. Yet converting offices into tiny living spaces doesn’t even need planning permission

28/08/2018

"What would cities look like if they were designed by mothers?"

Every now and then I read an article which sums up how I feel about accessibility and inclusive design. This one was passed on to me by a friend who has heard me talking about the importance of inclusive design and the problems caused by the thoughtlessness and ignorance of designers.
I don't agree with all her generalisations, but Christine Murray in the Guardian on 27 August 2018 is worth a read:

Architecture’s lack of diversity shows in the urban environment, says Women in Architecture awards founder Christine Murray