Spotlight on PRP Architects

Andy Von Bradsky describes becoming an architect as a " terrible accident." TiC hears how an Alsager lad took up the mantle for 21st century housing.

ANDY von Bradsky compares architecture to cooking. “It is an instant creative act,” he says. “You are creating pleasure for somebody; something people will enjoy. That’s what we are doing really, putting ingredients together and making wonderful meals in our own special ways.”

It’s a good analogy, but not one that fully describes the whole of von Bradsky’s remit since he became chairman of PRP Architects in October.

Since joining PRP 22 years ago, much of his work has been on large-scale housing and
masterplanning projects nationwide, but currently, under von Bradsky’s guidance, PRP is becoming the taste of the eastern hemisphere, picking up substantial design contracts in both Russia and China.

The practice has recently been commissioned to masterplan and design a substantial housing development in Sochi, Russia, the city hosting the 2014 winter Olympic games. “It is the place where all the Russian politicians go to sun themselves,” he says. “It is, they say, the Mediterranean of Russia, but the winter Olympics is there because of Sochi’s huge mountain ranges.”

In tune with timber

On the home front, von Bradsky, who also heads PRP’s sustainability strategy, is finding timber more than capable of solving the country’s housing drive and has a positive part to play in satisfying the government’s Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH).

Most famously, perhaps, due to the blaze of publicity surrounding the event, PRP is known to most as the design team behind the timber frame code Level 5 Sigma Home showcased at the Building Research Establishment’s (BRE) Offsite exhibition in June.

He admits while the project was instrumental in understanding the CSH, from design through to cost, there is room for improvement. “One of the areas was air tightness,” he says. “It is very difficult to achieve in certain conditions. It was one of the areas understood to have been an issue.”

He admits that to build a complete neighbourhood with a requirement to code Level 5, it wouldn’t have been viable to add all the renewable technologies onto the building in the way that Sigma did – making use of solar panels, roof turbines and photovoltaic panels. “It is about scale of development,” he enthuses, “not just one-off developments.”

Von Bradsky explains that between 30% and 35% of PRP’s buildings are currently timber frame. “Most of the schemes are a mix of social and private housing,” he says, “but they are effectively led by the social aspect of the scheme.” PRP is currently relinquishing its relationship with Stewart Milne for phase two of the construction of nearly 400 homes in the east London borough of Tower Hamlets.

The Crossways Estate in Bow was built in the 1970s and was centred around three 25- storey towers. PRP’s masterplan includes new housing and the full refurbishment of the existing towers. The five-storey new-build project features timber and concrete frame houses and flats, creating a modern backdrop to the towers.

PRP teamed up with contractor Willmott Dixon five years ago, to project manage Gallions Ecopark development in Thamesmead. The timber frame developments, achieved the BRE’s Ecohomes rating of “excellent”.

Contractor demand

Aside from its sustainability benefits, von Bradsky explains that demand for timber comes from contractors who are pricing materials. “Clearly there’s a cost benefit to the contractor otherwise he wouldn’t use it,” he says. “A lot of contractors have very close relationships with timber manufacturers and incorporate them in their supply chain.”

The fact that timber is very compatible with the CSH makes it unique, he says, particularly for insulation. “We tell out clients that in terms of addressing the new regulations, the first thing they should do is wrap up the building. With timber frame you can do this very well. Within a very narrow footprint, say between a 140mm and 200mm frame system, you can get a huge amount of insulation within it.”

In terms of timber’s challenges, von Bradsky sees two areas in need of address. “As temperatures in the UK rise, overheating is becoming more of an issue,” he says. “I think manufacturers need to review their systems by incorporating some heavy weight material within the panel construction to achieve some kind of thermal mass.”

Von Bradsky also sees the timber industry having to respond to the demand for highdensity developments. “We are a bit nervous about going over certain heights with timber,” he admits. “The longer the length of frames you use, the more shrinkage becomes an issue. We know you can build to seven storeys, but you have to be aware of shrinkage issues.”

Northern Soul

There is a real sense of care and savvy in the way he talks. His answers are measured, unhurried and wrapped with zeal. He describes a home as much more than just an object. “It covers so much of what people are about,” he stresses. “It’s about a whole range of issues to do with people’s social economic welfare and lifestyle.”

In his own words, becoming an architect was a terrible accident. Growing up in Alsager, east of Crewe, he recalls an intricate awareness of the surrounding architecture. “I remember being horribly depressed about where I lived; the characterless streets filled with two-storey detached homes,” he says. “The house we lived in was a cavity wall construction and was very new in its day. It had thin flimsy walls and you could hear everything around the home from one room to the next.”

Coming from a family of engineers and architects, von Bradsky’s late decision to take up architecture in his 20s could hardly have come as a surprise, ending up in Manchester where he trained at Manchester Polytechnic and South Bank Polytechnic.

Settling there in the 1960s, von Bradsky recalls firsthand the modernist architecture of post war Britain, witnessing the rebuilding of industrial suburb, Hulme. “It was the big 1960s dream of rebuilding the bath crescents in a modern idiom, with streets in the air and separation of cars and pedestrian walkways, and the use of concrete everywhere. It was notorious from day one as having socialeconomic problems with all sorts of criminality going on.”

Little wonder then that von Bradsky was propelled into a profession enabling him to change the idiom, developing an incisive interest in housing. Before joining PRP in 1985, he worked for the London borough of Richmond on Thames where he designed his firstbuilding, a set of eight retirement homes. “At the time they were single storey homes, but it was a nice touchy feely project I could really get my hands on and know how everything fitted together and really understand the nature of it.”

Today, von Bradsky admits that his current house, an Edwardian dwelling near one of the practice’s offices in Surrey, is a constant reminder of another issue the UK faces in terms of housing – increasing the energy efficiency of existing stock. “I’ve done the whole carbon footprint thing and it’s pretty shocking,” he says candidly. “It is in a conservation area, so it’s very difficult to know how to upgrade the building to become more energy efficient.”

Trust

Despite his success in the UK and overseas, there is one dream that has eluded him to date and one he admits will be put on the back burner for now. “I’d like to build my own home,” he says wistfully. “It’s great designing for other people, but nowadays life is so stretched and stressed that it’s difficult to even think for yourself.”

It is then when he admits the other source of pleasure keeping his life in check. “I have a young son in his teens, so supporting him in his sport and other activities is probably my greatest pleasure at the moment.” Is there a young architect in the offing, I ask? “For me architecture was a one-off. I would never want to impose anything on my son, although I expect he won’t go anywhere near architecture,” he laughs.

And with that, von Bradsky returns to the helm of PRP’s global enterprise. The forthcoming years will see the practice deliver mass housing projects from Chongqing, China, to developing proposals for the UK’s ecotowns. How does he cope balancing all these different aspects of the business? “The best bit of advice I’ve had in my new role is to trust. I never imagined I would get to where I am, so when things get a bit crazy, I have learnt to relax and trust.”

For Andy von Bradsky, architecture wasn’t such a terrible accident after all.