News

Studio E partner, David Lloyd Jones and Max Fordham Partner, Rupert Lodge, review the progress of Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) from the early days of our pioneering Solar Office at Doxford International in 1998 (illustrated) to the recent, but now somewhat threatened, introduction of Feed-in Tariffs (FITs). They conclude that pre-determined, effective PV integration is still the exception and that it is still not the cheapest form of renewables. But, despite this, with manufacturing and installation costs continuing to fall and solar conversion efficiencies improving, BIPV will be a critical and increasing feature of building design for the foreseeable future.

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This extension will be a bright, open learning facility where students will emphasis on the academy's special subjects of mathematics, business and enterprise.

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Following a hotly contested competition the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea have commissioned Studio E to design a new combined scheme of an Academy, leisure centre, Residential and Public Realm. Studio E's team completed feasibility for close of this year and the scheme received RBKC budget approval of circa £57m. Due on site beginning of 2013 new facilities are scheduled to open summer 2014.

Studio E working with Wilmott Dixon beat fierce competition to win the commission for a batch of six academies in Kent. The sample scheme, Skinners Academy, Kent is now on site and we are currently engaged in the design for two follow on academies; Knole in Sevenoaks and John Wallis in Ashford.

Studio E and Willmott Dixon were successful in their bid for a construction Framework at Milton Keynes. We are expecting to land our first project shortly.

Pick Everard take over as IESE Framework project managers and Volker Fitzpatrick are appointed building contractors in the first stage of the two stage procurement process. All being well a start will be made on site on the extremely complex and comprehensive refurbishment in March and conclude in October.

Studio E are intrigued and excited about being commissioned by the City of London to carry out work to Tower Bridge. A lift is being added to the Grade-listed London landmark, improving its accessibility to the general public. Due to be opened end of April 2012.

4 years of labour working with the City of London and Freemen's School came to fruition when the entire 8 year £18m Masterplan prepared by a Studio E lead team secured Outline Planning permission from Mole Valley District Council. The anticipated work includes a new music school, a boarding house, renovation of the grade listed main house, a new swimming pool and extensive infrastructure and landscape work.

Studio E had previously successfully secured Planning Permission for this Materials Recovery Facility in Liverpool. It was subsequently completed by Volker Fitzpatrick. The construction can be viewed here in 90 seconds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8tU4vEEDkc

St Bedes Roman Catholic School have commissioned Studio E to carry out the refurbishment and partial new build. Sustainable principles have been applied throughout; the project has been granted planning permission and is due to start on site Spring 2012.

In January 2009 David Lloyd Jones participated in the latest Jerusalem Seminar in Architecture series established in 1992. Green Design: from Theory to Practice ran over three days with such luminaries as Ken Yeang, Stefan Behnisch, Thomas Herzog and Khee Poh Lam also participating.

The book of the conference, published by Black Dog Publishing, came out in May this year http://blackdogonline.com/architecture/green-design.html

Communities secretary Eric Pickles decided this week to call in the application for the 200,000 tonne-a-year capacity EnviREcover facility, which would be known as EnviRecover. This means the £120 million project, proposed by Spanish-owned Mercia Waste Management, will now be subject to a public inquiry, after which the Planning Inspector will issue his recommendations to the Secretary of State.

The Wokingham Cricket Club currently owns land in the centre of town. A deal has been struck with Taylor Wimpey whereby they hand over their land for housing development in exchange for a brand new cricket and tennis facility on farmland on the edge of town. The new club facility comprises a cricket clubhouse, a tennis club house, 2 cricket pitches and 5 tennis courts. It will be complete in autumn 2012.

All our new projects are now with Studio E LLP. The Partnership was set up three years ago with a view to providing a more flexible management structure and minor tax benefits. The Limited Company remains, but is likely to cease operations in a year or so as existing projects are completed. There is no change to our ethos, people or objectives.

Worcestershire County Council planning committee voted unanimously to be 'minded to approve' the planning application for EnviRecover the Studio E designed energy from waste facility. The application is now subject to an extended call in period by Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government as part of the statutory planning process.

Mayor Boris Johnson attended the ground-breaking ceremony at the site in Dagenham of the Studio E designed ELSEF £80m waste-to-energy facility being built by Biossence East London Ltd. It will be the UK's first large-scale advanced gasification plants, and will transform around 100,000 tonnes of household waste into 19 MW of energy each year and was hailed by the Mayor as a major breakthrough for his waste-to-energy strategy.

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: "This will be a fantastic facility taking our everyday rubbish and miraculously transforming it into a valuable resource - electricity. Local people can rest easy knowing that instead of any rubbish they are unable to recycle being dumped in a landfill site and emitting harmful greenhouse gas emissions, it will be used to power their homes with green energy. "

Studio E have been appointed to design their second school in Blackburn for Balfour Beatty as part of the Blackburn with Darwen and Bolton BSF programme.

Construction work started this month on Studio E's new build Witton Park High School in Blackburn for Balfour Beatty as part of the Blackburn with Darwen and Bolton BSF programme.

Studio E Architects has been selected by Kent County Council to build a new Academy. The £21million development in Tunbridge Wells will be a state of the art school boasting the latest ICT facilities.

Studio E Architects and Willmott Dixon who delivered the award-winning City of London Academy in Southwark in 2005 were one of 12 firms bidding for the contract through the PfS. Construction will start on site in April 2011 and will be operational by November 2012. The new facilities at the academy will aim to provide the highest quality education for all its pupils and raise aspirations in the local community and benefits to all.

Studio E is proud to have won the Hackney Design Award for their City Academy project. Judge's comments:

"The needs of 1,100 students should be too big for this site, yet the architect has created a ribbon of glass and colour that feels spacious and light. From the outside the building is perhaps a little too 'notice me' with it's array of primary colours; but it comes into its own on the inside. The glass walls open up classrooms to corridors and students can be seen and feel safely supervised wherever they are. Retaining the mature trees was treated as an asset, with the building snaking around them. This along with the big windows creates a calm and thought-provoking environment.

When we asked a student what was the best thing about the building, he replied "the opportunity". The judges agree - it is hard to imagine a child attending City Academy that will not be a better student as a result of the way the building conveys its purpose through effective design. Once a last resort school choice - it is now oversubscribed."

Hackney Marshes is about 70ha playing fields on land lying between the River Lea and the Hackney Navigation Cut. The land was drained, raised and consolidated after the war using bomb damage rubble from the East End. The commission, won in competition, is for a second sports centre to serve the north end of the Marshes. It will provide for existing football and rugby clubs, but also for cricket. Four new cricket pitches are being formed and it is intended to build up club cricket activities. Hackney Marshes is across the road from the Olympics site. It is expected that the facility will be complete by the end of 2012.

Studio E, working with AXIS planning consultants, have submitted the planning application for the proposed EcoPark at Charlton Lane in Surrey.

Studio E win prestigious Building Excellence Award for the City Academy, Hackney. It was awarded to the whole team in the category of 'Integration and Collaborative Working'.

Studio E Architects were honoured with School Architect of the Year and Inspiring Design Academy awards 2010 at the annual BCSE Awards ceremony held in South London on 24th June.

Earlier in 2008 the practice won the Best School Architect and Inspiring Design Primary School awards and this combined with the 2010 accolades marks a real triumph for Studio E.

Entries were received from architects, contractors, suppliers, local authorities and schools themselves. The practice beat of stiff competition vying for the top slot including the likes of Buro Happold, BDP and Aedas.

Studio E was shortlisted for four awards in total, Sustainable School of the Year for City Academy, Hackney and Best School Extension, Refurbishment or Remodel for St Charles Sixth Form College.

The British Council for School Environments (BCSE) is the UK's leading charity in education, design and construction. They are an organisation made up of schools, local authorities, and companies. Founded in 2006, they are involved in designing, building and transforming schools, colleges and other learning environments.

Studio E Architects were awarded the Green Apple Environment Award for the City Academy, Hackney - one of the major international environmental awards schemes, and a feeder into the European Awards.

Studio E is in the running to represent the UK at the European Business Awards for the Environment in Brussels next year and has also been invited to join the National Green Heroes, an elite group of environmental achievers who use their experience to help thousands of others - and the environment - around the world.

The Green Apple Awards are organised by The Green Organisation, an independent, non-political, non-activist, non-profit environment group dedicated to recognising, rewarding and promoting environmental best practice around the world. The Green Apple Awards are now in their sixteenth year.

Studio E Architects has won the Queen's Award for Enterprise - Sustainable Development. Only a handful of companies across the country receive this coveted annual award and we are just the second architectural practice to receive it in its 17 year history. It is the one UK award for commercial enterprise that has unquestioned international standing.

“The Queen's Award is a fantastic achievement. The judging is extremely rigorous and wide ranging; we are not just competing against our peers but commercial enterprises of all kinds across the United Kingdom; and it gives us recognition for the very thing that we set up the practice to do: address sustainability in all its aspects while creating elegant architecture and life enhancing settings.

The Award will give great satisfaction to members of the practice who daily struggle to make measurable and lasting environmental improvements in a climate of strictures and scepticism. It is fitting that, in the year of our fifteenth anniversary with a track record in building projects and research for all to see, we have been accorded this very special accolade.”

RIBA London today revealed today that The City Academy, Hackney has made it onto the final shortlist of entries for the RIBA London Awards 2010. The list consists of 66 schemes, from a total of 127 submitted entries, showcasing some of the capital's landmark schemes of the past year, including the Darwin Centre, at the Natural History Museum and the V&A's Medieval Galleries.

The final award winners will be announced at a ceremony that will take place at St Martin-in-the-Fields- London, an award winner in 2009 by Eric Parry Architects, on the 20th May 2010. As well as the regular RIBA awards, the ceremony will also announce winners of two special awards; 'Buildings in Historic Context' supported by English Heritage and the 'Client of the Year' award supported by Design for London. All shortlisted schemes are eligible for these two distinctions and will be considered as part of the final process.

The City Academy, Hackney has been shortlisted for a Green Apple Environment Award, the annual international campaign to recognise, reward and promote environmental best practice around the world. Winners will be presented with a handsome Green Apple trophy at the awards ceremony in June. Now in their fifteenth year, the Green Apple Awards are well established as one of the major environmental recognition schemes, both in the UK and internationally. Studio E won this award for the Inverclyde Academy and Watford Woodside projects in 2009.

Abu Dhabi Education Council last week unveiled its school facilities program at the Building Schools Exhibitions and Conference – Middle East and North Africa (BSEC MENA) held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. BSEC MENA commenced with an opening ceremony led by H.H. Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court. The school facilities program will see the building of 18 new schools across the Emirate of Abu Dhabi starting in mid-2010. These are the first new schools to be developed under ADEC's 10 Year Strategic Plan.

ADEC received more than 27 proposals from international firms in response to a design competition to produce model school designs they ran earlier this year. Studio E Architects along with local partner Tawreed and environmental consultants Max Fordham were one of three consortia selected to develop model designs through the summer of this year.

The schools will include seven Cycle 1 (Grade KG-5) schools, seven combined Cycle 2 and Cycle 3 schools (Grades 6-12), two Cycle 3 schools (Grades 10-12), and two KG-12 schools. The program will provide learning environments of the highest quality that support current teaching methods and new curricula while supporting the population growth of the Emirate.

The Studio E/Tawreed Model will be used for seven Cycle 1 schools, and features defined learning communities set around a series of green leafy courtyards. Designed to achieve a three pearl Estidama sustainability rating the proposed new schools will contain features not seen at schools in Abu Dhabi before. Innovative learning environments, flexible, conducive to transformational teaching methods and personalised learning. Teaching facilities equipped with state of the art technology and a generous array of support spaces including swimming pools, gymnasia, libraries, auditoria and dining areas.

“ADEC's 10 Year Strategic Plan is a historic transformation of the education system that will deliver educational excellence. Providing students with world class learning environments is a key element of our 10 year plan and is the foundation for achieving excellence,” said H.E. Salem Al Sayeri, Acting Director General of ADEC.

“What we are doing is creating a new way of learning. Development of analytical skills in our students is a key objective of ADEC's strategic plan and these new learning communities combined with the other innovative features of our school designs will help bring this initiative to life,” Hamad Al-Daheri, Director of Infrastructure and Facilities at ADEC, said. “In addition, research has proven that a well-designed school building could be a decisive factor on driving student achievement, and retaining quality teachers.”

We celebrated our 15th Anniversary in style on 03 December with 200 guests at our recently completed City Academy, Hackney. Tours of the acclaimed new school were conducted by the students and members of the design team; speeches were delivered by guest speakers: Sir John Sorrell, co-chair of the Sorrell Foundation and outgoing chair of CABE, Mark Emmerson, the head teacher, and Bill Watts, director of Max Fordham and long time SEA collaborator; the school song was sung; an enormous red E shaped cake was cut; toasts were drunk; balloons were released; and a good time was had by all.

Excellence in BSF Awards 2009 shortlisted The City Academy, Hackney in 2 categories - "Best Design for a New School" and "Innovation in Student Engagement"

The City Academy's exemplar youth engagement programme has delivered! The pupil and community claim it's "The Best School Ever" and the BSF judges awarded the project the innovation engagement prize!

The City Academy engagement processes, undertaken in collaboration with the Sorrell Foundation, have been documented and published as a guide to help others. PfS Chief Executive, Tim Byles, said of the shortlisted projects: "There are some great examples of projects to get pupils actively involved in BSF decision-making across the country, fantastic designs for new and remodelled schools, and examples of best practice to hold up within local authorities and the private sector."

Studio E is celebrating with its young clients!

The Prime Minister officially opened the City Academy yesterday. The 200th Academy to open in the UK, it was delivered on time and to budget by a fully partnered team led by the City of London's, City Surveyor's Department, Studio E Architects and Willmott Dixon. A strong sustainable strategy has delivered a BREEAM rating just short of excellent.

The PM delivered a speech to year seven pupils where he congratulated staff and sponsors. "I'm so impressed by everything I've seen, I want to congratulate everyone who has made this possible, and I want to formally declare this great Academy open."

Pupils worked with the design team through an exemplar youth engagement programme. The sense of ownership is uncompromising 'The Best School Ever'. Every reason for opting for this vibrant, colourful learning community.

It has been seven years in the making, but last week Bacon's College Sports Centre was formally opened by Sir Trevor Brooking, the England and West Ham mid field player and now the Football Association's man responsible for youth development.

Bacon's College has recently attained City Academy status and is the Rotherhithe School that all parents have at the top of their list. In 2003 SEA won the commission to provide the College with a new sports facility comprising a transformation of the adjacent filled-in docks to a multi-use outdoor sports facility of turf and artificial surfaces together with a new building accommodating change rooms, club facilities, sports administration, teaching spaces and a viewing terrace. The building is bright blue and composed of two two-storey contiguous blocks with the change spaces and reception at ground level.

The facility provides sports facilities, not only for the College, but for the local community and for a range of youth initiatives encompassed in Bacon's Football Academy. The Academy includes the Chelsea Football Club Development Centre, other Club Development Centres (Charlton, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Millwall and Gillingham), London Docklands Junior Football Club and other JFCs, and Bacon's Development Centre and Holiday Programme. Athletics and cricket Development Centres are also planned.

This is the fourth sports facility that SEA has created for Southwark (They are partners in the project). The other three being: the City of London Academy at Bermondsey, Burgess Park Tennis Centre, and Burgess Park Community Sports Centre. A fifth, the Southwark Park Sports Centre, focusing on athletics goes to the Planning Committee at the end of July. SEA is currently working on a new entrance and reception for Bacon's College.

“It was worth the wait. We can now get on with developing the Bacon's Football Academy and other sports in this wonderful Centre. The new facility has transformed Bacon's campus both physically and culturally.“
Tony Perry: Principle Bacon's College

Watford Woodside Leisure Centre has been shortlisted amongst eight other contenders for the RICS East of England Award, Sustainability category. The awards celebrate the best new projects in the built environment and Woodside together with its sister facility at Watford Central has set a new benchmark for the integration of low and renewable energy technologies in swimming pools as well as providing a dynamic high quality leisure and sporting facility for the people of Watford. The ultimate 2009 winners will join a long line of inspirational building projects, and past winners include prestigious projects like Theatre Royal Norwich and Bridge End Gardens in Saffron Walden as well as Studio E's Beaufort Court zero emission office at Kings Langley.

The winners will be announced at a gala dinner and awards ceremony on Thursday 14 May from which the winning projects will go on to compete in the grand final of the RICS international awards set to be held in London in October.

Studio E Architects is one of the major prize-winners in the International Green Apple Awards 2009 for the Built Environment and Architectural Heritage. Both Inverclyde Academy and Watford Woodside Leisure Centre are in line to receive a trophy by star of screen and stage, author and keen environmentalist Kate O'Mara, at Hampton Court Palace on June 29 2009.
The Green Apple Awards campaign is run by The Green Organisation, an independent, non-political, non-profit organization that recognizes rewards and promotes environmental best practice around the world.

Studio E Architects' Newark Primary School has been shortlisted in the Public Building category of the 2009 Scottish Design Awards which recognise excellence in Scottish architecture and is the only primary school to be nominated in this year's awards.
Nominations for the awards were revealed at Glasgow's Fruit Market on 18th March and the results will be announced at the gala awards ceremony being held on the 29th May at the Crowne Plaza in Glasgow and other architects shortlisted in the category includes Page/Park, Elder and Cannon and Bennetts Associates.
The aspiration of both Inverclyde Council and the design team was to provide an exceptionally high quality and environmentally responsible education facility that would inspire the children and staff that would use it on a daily basis. In response to the client's strong sustainable agenda natural lighting and passive ventilation have been maximised in all occupied spaces. Built by Barr Construction, the school is seen as a landmark within the area and offers an outwardly positive statement to the people of Port Glasgow about the role of education in the community.

Studio E Architects were nominated for a record four out of nine categories of the annual City of London Corporation sponsored Sustainable City Awards. The practice won outright the Environmental Improvement in Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Award (previous winners: Land Securities Trillium, UBS AG and M J Gleeson Group); was runner up in the Air Quality/Climate Change and Resource Conservation categories; and our Watford Leisure Centres, entered by Max Fordham, were shortlisted.

HRH Princess Royal officially opened Inverclyde Academy on Friday 20th February. The school combines two existing local schools on a new but tight site adjacent to the Inverkip road in Greenock. The school is for 1100 pupils and has achieved an A rated EPC certificate and almost a 50% carbon reduction from 2006 regulations. This has been achieved through various measures including reduction of electrical usage by the wide use of natural daylight to classrooms and double height circulation spaces, natural ventilation and a 50 KW wind turbine.

Studio E Architects have been shortlisted for the Environmental Management in SMEs, Tackling Climate Change and Resource Conservation categories of the Sustainable City Award. The winner will be announced at the 8th Annual Sustainable City Awards Ceremony on the 19th February 2009.

David Lloyd Jones was an invited speaker at the 7th Jerusalem Seminar in Architecture over three days at the end of January, this time entitled Green Design from Theory to Practice. Prior to setting out he made contact with the Anglican International School in Jerusalem and suggested that a group of students join his workshop and present a design for their ideal eco-friendly school. They rose to the occasion and clearly demonstrated to the 1400 delegates that inter-racial collaboration could indeed result in creative and positive accord.

Studio E Architects working with Willmott Dixon have received full planning permission for a new Academy for The Learning Trust in Hackney sponsored by the Skinners' Company. The £23 million Academy procured under the PfS Academies Framework will provide 1150 new places for 11 to 18 year olds in Hackney and is due to open in September 2010. Significantly it will be the first completed development for the Woodberry Down regeneration project, one of Europe's largest housing regeneration projects.

The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, visited Studio E Architects during their ESD and Schools Construction Study Tour to the UK in early June. The KHDA is “responsible for the future growth, direction and quality of education and learning in Dubai. KHDA aims to support the people of Dubai in achieving their potential from birth and through life's journey as they work towards achieving the goals set out in the Dubai Strategic Plan 2015.” The purpose of their visit was to gain an insight into how the UK has developed green schools including infrastructure development and curriculum to assist in planning and implementing Dubai's initiative for building green schools and developing an environmental sustainability programme. They also visited the Larmenier and Sacred Heart Primary School which among other awards won the BCSE Inspiring Design: Primary School Award 2008.

The Watford Observer reports: Hundreds of people flooded through the front doors of the refurbished Woodside Leisure Centre this morning as the new swimming pool and sports facilities were opened to the public. Olympic swimmer and former Gladiator, Sharron Davies, was on hand to cut the ribbon to the Horseshoe Lane centre at 10am in front of the gathered crowds. Residents then had the chance to wander around the new sports centre, take in the facilities as well as sign up for new classes. Sharron, whose father Terry is chief coach of the Watford Swimming Club, said: “I have to say this is a fantastic facility. I love the fact that it is new and innovative, in that it is environmentally friendly - it is the way forward. And it is hugely busy here today and that is what we want to see.”

Studio E Architects has been named Best School Architect at the inaugural BCSE Awards, announced at a glittering ceremony in Manchester last night. The practice also secured the Inspiring Design: Primary School award for its Larmenier and Sacred Heart Primary School in Hammersmith. Studio E beat off stiff competition, with more than 140 entries vying for the top slots of the awards. Submissions were received from architects, contractors, suppliers, local authorities and schools themselves across 15 categories covering key areas of the design, building and equipping of schools. Studio E had received 5 nominations in total, including Best Client Team on a School Project and, with environmental engineers Max Fordham LLP, Greening the School for Larmenier. The new science, ICT, performing arts and sports facilities at Townley Grammar School for Girls, Bexleyheath, was in the running for Inspiring Design: Best Extension to a Secondary School. These were awarded with a notable Highly Commended accolade. For the full list of winners, click here.

The City of London KPMG Academy at Homerton, Hackney, yesterday received planning approval, clearing the way for construction to start next month. The City of London, now with co-sponsor KPMG, are working with the same partnered team led by Studio E Architects and Willmott Dixon who delivered the award-winning City of London Academy in Southwark in 2005. Design proposals for the new Academy take the form of a colourful building ribbon that responds sensitively to its surroundings, winding amongst carefully preserved clusters of existing trees. The vibrant and exciting new educational vision has emerged from a process engaging Studio E with KPMG educationalists and with the young people of Hackney who, with the support of the Sorrell Foundation, have set out a young client brief for the 'Best School Ever'. Today's young clients will follow the construction of the new school through the next 18 months and, in September 2009, will move into a vibrant new facility, alive with their thoughts and aspirations.

Larmenier and Sacred Heart Primary School has been successful in the Civic Trust Awards 2008. A record 400 entries were received, with 100 going on to be shortlisted for an Award, Commendation or Mention. The event aims to encourage projects that are culturally, socially or economically beneficial and make an outstanding contribution to the quality and appearance of the environment. The 30 winners will be announced at a ceremony in Newcastle-upon-Tyne on 12th March. Previous Studio E winners include both the swimming pool and the girls' boarding houses at Haileybury College.

Studio E Architects has been shortlisted for no less than five accolades in the inaugural BCSE Awards. Following on from its Green Apple Award win in 2007, Larmenier and Sacred Heart Primary School in Hammersmith has received three nominations: for Inspiring Design: Primary School, Best Client Team on a School Project and, with environmental engineers Max Fordham LLP, Greening the School. The new science, ICT, performing arts and sports facilities at Townley Grammar School for Girls, Bexleyheath, is one of two in the running for Inspiring Design: Best Extension to a Secondary School. The practice itself is shorlisted for Best School Architect. For the full shortlist, click here. Ty Goddard, director of the BCSE, said: “This is the first awards programme to focus specifically on school buildings and related projects. The quality of entries led to some rigorous debate amongst the judges, and shows that investment in schools is producing fantastic projects which we can be proud of and all learn from.” Studio E is the only practice to have been shortlisted for more than 3 awards. The nominations are the latest in a long line of accolades for the practice's educational work, including the Prime Minister's Better Public Building Award for the City of London Academy (Southwark) in 2006. Studio E also has several key school projects currently in planning and nearing completion, including a primary and secondary in Inverclyde, Scotland, and an Academy and primary in Hackney, London. www.bcse.uk.net

The City of London Academy (Southwark) is currently featuring in an exhibition at the Building Centre, focusing on the future of design for educational facilities. The Academy features alongside projects including the Academy of St Francis of Assisi and Lavender Sure Start and Children's Centre. London's Learning runs from 1 November 2007 until 5 January 2008.

The RIBA publication Sustainable Architecture was launched last night at an event at Davis Langdon's London office. The book, edited by David Turrent, showcases a range of sustainable building projects throughout the UK. Studio E's David Lloyd Jones wrote the chapter on Public Buildings; Burgess Park Community Sports Centre and Beaufort Court Zero Emissions Building are both featured in the publication. RIBA President Sunand Prasad spoke at the presentation.

Burgess Park Community Sports Centre last night won the Green Construction Small Green Project of the Year Award. This follows on from the RICS London Region Award for Sustainability, presented in May. The project has since gone on to be shortlisted for the RICS National Award for Sustainability.

Two Studio E projects were open to the public this year as part of the Open House scheme. Visitors were shown around the new performing arts, science and sports facilities at Townley Grammar School for Girls by students from the Bexleyheath school, whilst closer to home in Hammersmith over 200 people toured Larmenier and Sacred Heart Primary School; the school had been part of the Open Site programme in 2006 whilst still under construction, and students had been involved in Junior Open House in 2005.

On his last day as Prime Minister, Tony Blair visited Larmenier and Sacred Heart Primary School with Californian Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The pair had been discussing issues of sustainability at an earlier press conference. Governor Schwarzenegger, impressed by the primary school's eco-friendly design, said: “This is wonderful. I will take some brochures away with me to California to show them to our legislators.”

The Sorrell Foundation today visited Studio E's offices in Hammersmith, West London. Students and teachers attended a workshop to design the atrium space for a new Studio E-designed Academy in Hackney. Pupils from Studio E's first Academy in Southwark, completed in 2005, shared their views and experiences with students who will be attending the new City of London KPMG Academy, along with those from Berger Primary School and other feeder schools. Students had the opportunity to speak with architects and tour the office, which sits on the bank of the Thames. The collaboration will continue throughout the design and construction of the Academy; this is the first time the Foundation has run the scheme from the earliest design stages. Working with the Sorrell Foundation is the latest collaborative event in Studio E's long history of working with pupils to make the design process of their new educational facility an integral part of the school's curriculum.

Larmenier and Sacred Heart Primary School has won a National Silver Green Apple Award for sustainable new-build educational / public buildings. The award is the latest in a series of Green Apple wins for Studio E projects. Last year, Burgess Park Community Sports Centre won the National Gold Award for community projects. Beaufort Court Zero Emissions Building and Grange Park Opera House are previous winners.