Many few will know that through our association with water, and particularly our amphibious approach, we have become the friends of the Royal Marine Commandos. To date we have designed and constructed memorials to honour past and current events including memorials at the National Arboretum, Bordeaux (Cockleshell heroes), Iraq, Afghanistan, and others. This year is the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War.Located on a defunct helicopter pad at Port Stanley, we worked with Leander Architectural at a forge in Derbyshire to craft a three-dimensional emblem that adorns a rock from the nearby hills of goose green. Some more personal plaques are bound to the hillside where heroes made the ultimate sacrifice.Veterans of the campaign and their families, bereaved family members, and civilians who supported the Armed Forces will attended a commemorative event at the National Memorial Arboretum, Lichfield, Staffordshire on Tuesday 14 June.​

We are pleased to announce that Baca has been appointed as the lead designer for a the “Tourist Destination Activation Centre” in the Red Sea. The team consisting of Craft.group and MAB Project Management will be meeting on site on Sunday for the kick-off meeting. The project builds on baca’s recent projects including the Hollybush Lakes Watersports and Equestrian Centre in Aldershot, UK and the Australian Underwater discovery Centre in Perth, Western Australia.​ #tourism2022 #destination #architecture #waterfront

On our site visit to the coast, we called into Yanbu al Nakhal, Saudi Arabia; which means "Spring of the Date Palms", about 30 miles northeast of Yanbu al Bahr, which means "Spring of the Sea".A thousand years ago, this valley was in its prime. It was dotted with more than 300 thriving villages. Today, there are only 24. Oral history from the villagers indicates that the valley was dotted with neatly planted and watered farms. This area was well known for wild date farms and sweet and sour lemon orchards. Now, it is known for growing watermelons, henna and vegetables. Thousands of years ago, channels were built to bring water from the mountains to the valley. There are thousands of channels around this valley. They can usually be found near a village or farm. Water was available to the farms even during droughts in the valley. But this water was not enough for the farms to be successful. They needed to store water when it was plentiful. For many centuries, drinking water was carried by camel and donkey to stone lined watering places that were built approximately every 6 miles on this plateau (Al Baydhah). They built 3 ft stone walls around the water channel to keep out sand and debris. These water storage places were replaced when the government built freshwater pipelines.  Given the heat and the sand, it’s really a surprise to see the wadi’s filled with vegetation and the odd stream, with the backdrop of the ancient settlement.  For those usually dealing with European river catchments this a contrasting climate and sustainable issues than we’re usually used to. A thoroughly enjoyable visit and nice surprise.​

This site is in flood zones 1, 2 and 3.The proposed development is to replace an existing dilapidated house andoutbuildings with a state-of-the-art eco-friendly flood resilient property. The newdwelling is sited so that the new owners can benefit from views over the RiverWid. The owners are healthy retirees who wish to create their forever home.Pedestrian and vehicle access to the proposed dwelling is past a generousrewilded garden that leads to the front door and garage; the access road risesgently to provide a dry route to and from the property (for a small flood event).The house spans both north and south gardens connected by a ramped spine. Itis the circulation that gives this house its character, rising in half storeyincrements to connect all element that gently lift the main habitable rooms outof the floodplain.The entrance is at grade consisting of a generous lobby that connects to adownstairs toilet/ boot room and utility/plant room. The owners can then chooseto take the stairs into the bedroom wing or alight the gently ramped spine thatleads towards the main living areas that are in the northernmost part of the site.The main living space of kitchen, dining and living room are open plan withgenerous views over the River Wid. A flight of stairs off the kitchen lead to thefirst floor that contain the master bedrooms.The southern part of the house is reached by the ramp that switches back fromthe living area and contains the remaining two bedroom. These bedroomsoverlook the re-wilded garden.The house has been designed with a range of sustainable surface watermanagement measures including a living roof, permeable driveway andfootpaths, a raingarden, plus additional landscaping which will reduce thevolume and rate of surface water runoff discharging from the site, therebyreducing flood risk to surrounding land. The property will be constructed above the ground on elevated mini-piles whichwill not only provide protection to the new dwelling, but will also have minimaleffect on existing flood flow routes and storage, thereby not increasing the floodrisk to surrounding land. The dwelling has a smaller footprint than the existinghouse (due to its elevation on piles) thereby increasing the flood storageavailable in this area. Flood storage attenuation tanks are located beneath thepermeable driveway.The gardens are to be rewilded which will provide a biodiversity net gain. Theincludes an extensive Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SuDs), therebymanaging the water at source which reduces the impact of flood water on peopledownstream in the village.This bespoke home offers low energy design suitable for 21st century livingwhilst adopting smart water resilient strategies that can act as future exemplarfor the area.​

Baca Architects have been appointed by marine contractor, Subcon as the Lead Architects for the Australian Underwater Discovery Centre (AUCD). The commission will deliver Australia’s largest natural marine observatory (2km out at sea) at the end of Busselton Jetty, 2 hours south of Perth in Western Australia. Click to view the project page on our website here Three alternatives have been drawn up for the $30 million Australian underwater discovery Centre: The Cetacean Design reflects the shape of a whale, to raise its head over Geographe Bay. The Rock is inspired In shape and colour by Castle Rock in western Australia. And the Voyage mimics The silhouette and lines of a ship moored against the pierBustleton Jetty managers will formally reveal and present the choice of designs by Henderson based Subcon: Blue solutions on Monday, and the public is being encouraged to vote for their favourite. Subcon: Blue Solutions are a marine contracting company specializing in building offshore windfarm and artificial reefs is joined by CoreMarine Engineering; the team that delivered Snoetta’s “under” restaurant. But what ever appears on the surface, underneath, the Australian underwater discovery centre aims to be the worlds biggest natural marine Observatory, complete with an underwater trail and Underwater dining. Construction should start in the middle of next year, with the centre open by December 2022. Bustleton Jetty managers are aiming for more than 200,000 new visitors in 2023 bringing the total to more than 900,000.Bustleton Jetty Chairman Barry House says: “This is as authentic as it gets, because people are in the tank and the fish are looking in. By adding underwater dining, underwater sculptures, marine art and other features, this project will enhance Bustleton Jetty’s 155-year-old experience.” Mr House says that at its peak times, people are turned away from the current Observatory because you can only fit 44 people in each hour” In 2017 we started looking at how to make a visit to demand and after to feasibility studies a market research, determine that engaging our current unique Marine offering what’s the best way to grow and meet our environmental goals” Jetty Chief Executive Lisa Shreeve Says the current underwater Observatory will become a marine research centre promoting clean oceans and feature public interaction with world-class research and laboratory to educate people about ocean climate change.Mr House claims that the construction of the new Australian underwater discovery Centre will create work for 200 people!’s ones operation thousands of jobs will be created over the coming years as cafés, hotels, service stations, retail stores, bus companies, trade agencies all prosper, returning some $200 million in economic benefit in Western Australia. “This is an exciting stage of the project, to get the feedback on the most attractive design that will be a catalyst for drawing people to Western Australia from all over the world, especially those who love the ocean,”​

This week, we are delighted to share some photos of our newly constructed Flood Resilient Houses in Stratford-upon-Avon!.With this, we also bring you an article by STIR World which describes the implimented flood defence strategies and showcase some extra details. Excerpt from the article below:.‘Their designs for 11-high quality homes have regenerated a brownfield flood-risk site that has laid inactive for over a decade, relieving the effects of inundation in an Environment Agency Flood Zone 2 and 3 designated area.’ - STIR World.You can read the full article here:.https://www.stirworld.com/see-features-baca-architects-elevate-residences-above-flood-risked-site-in-stratford-uk.And view the project in full here:.Baca Architects - Flood Resilient Homes

It’s the time for the second post in the double-bill this week!As the month of November has seemingly passed faster than you say ‘Norfolk Luxury Wellness Resort’, we already find ourselves at the penultimate post of the series!Now, we bring you the Ashwicken Lake Clubhouse!Sitting within the perimeter of the lake and accessible by bridge, the clubhouse hosts a range of activities for holiday-goers and locals alike. Activities such as, yoga, swimming, sauna, massage, physio and luxury dining.The Clubhouse also features a deep decking area which people can use to sun-bath, jump into the lake or just explore the surrounding lake environment from different vantage points.One of the key-selling points of this Clubhouse is it’s retractable swimming pool roof. On a beautiful summers day in Norfolk, the pool roof can be fully retracted so that pool-loungers can bask directly in the sun and swimmers can feel safe swimming directly ‘in the middle of the lake’.Make sure to follow @bacaarchitects to see which typology will conclude our Luxury Wellness Resort series, next week! We promise, you won’t be disappointed!Find out more about our Luxury Wellness Resort at:https://wickenwater.com/

The Baca Team have been busy recently! Stretched between the continents of North America and Oceania last week, we now return [much!] closer to home this week and find ourselves back in Norfolk.To catch-up with the Norfolk Luxury Wellness Resort series, this week we’ll be having a double-bill!First up this week, we have the Floating Villas!Hosting two storeys, the first floor level is dedicated entirely to a luxurious living space, for a family of up to 6, to function comfortably with the back-drop of an elevated view out across the Ashwicken Lake that is suitable for any family occasion!A mix of single and double sized bedrooms occupy the lower level and benefit from a more intimate connection with the lake water-level - but rest-assured, these are ‘Floating’ Villas, so you needn’t worry about any unexpected baths!Follow @bacaarchitects to see which typology we have to share with you from Ashwicken Lake next.Find out more about our Luxury Wellness Resort at:https://wickenwater.com/