Pre-application plans have been submitted for a flood-resilient home on an exclusive stretch of the Thames. This replacement house will not only create a beautiful residence with panoramic views of the river, but it will also add more space for water thus helping to reduce flood-risk to neighbouring properties.The house is designed around an existing willow tree, which frames the entrance, and a new cutting for boats to pull right up to the house. The main house is lifted high above the flood level allowing the entire ground floor to flood without damaging the house. A bridge back to the mainland allows safe access to the house even during a flood.                             ​

Forest Mews was a finalist in the Grand Designs Best New Houses Awards 2014 and was featured as one of the seven best houses in the country by the Sunday Times. It has also just scooped the Fenestration Awards – Cool Wall, this month. Jessica Barker, the wife of director Robert Barker and co-designer of Forest Mews, presented the award-winning development at Grand Designs Live to a packed crowd. George Clarke, who interviewed Jessica, said he thought it was absolutely beautiful and will go on to win many awards. This would be a great recognition of the care and attention put into this wonderful project and showcase for how good architecture can really add value to development.  Baca is already working on plans for a similar mews development in Fulham. http://www.fenestrationawards.co.uk/june-cool-wall-2/http://www.forestmews.co.uk/          ​

2014’s Grand Designs Live saw the Baca stand as busy as ever with visitors taking advantage of the popular ‘Draw my Dream Home’ service.  Baca’s architects translated vague visions into real representations on paper, with proposed projects ranging from earth houses, barn conversions and a modular pre-fab house to tree houses in Costa Rica.  Here’re a few of the best sketches. The capacity to sketch live in front of clients greatly speeds up the design process and clients are often amazed at how quickly the Baca team can sketch out ideas in front of them – it really gets the design discussion going. Richard Coutts’ sketching abilities were enjoyed en masse by an audience of Grand Designers during his ‘Live Design Workshop’ on the Monday of the exhibition.  Richard drew 12 individual designs as he demonstrated the Baca design process over the hour-long session before he returned to the Baca stand to continue bringing to life individuals’ dreams and visions in front of their eyes.       ​

Planning approval has just been granted for Baca’s design for a substantial luxury eco house in the north of England. The home, commissioned by a well-known sporting personality, marks another achievement for the Practice’s 100% record on planning.Work on the site, located in Durham, should begin within the very near future. The substantial 7,000 sqft property will incorporate the latest in energy-saving technologies, such as solar slates, combined with all the modern conveniences expected of a high-end home in the modern-day.        ​

Many countries have already learned to live with regular flooding and it seems this could be in the UK’s not-too-distant future as well. Architects Robert Barker and Richard Coutts and engineer Roger Falconer ask: how can we live with water and can it actually transform our society for the better?TUE 3 JUN 2014 2:30PM – 3:30PMEDF ENERGY ARENA Imperial Square, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL50, UK          ​

Baca has designed a highly innovative, modular floating Grand Prix circuit. The floating race track is reconfigurable for different events or locations such as Hong Kong, Sydney, Mumbai, Amsterdam, Manilla or Jakarta Bay. It can be transported and altered annually and could even be leased to different host countries. This extraordinary track would be a stunning spectacle for both viewers and drivers and would be complemented by an extensive marina, floating hotels, facilities and floating solar farm or wind power to make it carbon neutral.            ​

 It has been a busy bank holiday weekend at the B2 stand with a host of exciting projects explored with Grand Designers. Projects sketched have included 2 tree top houses for holiday lets, a floating lakeside  annex, a farmers retreat in Missouri, USA and many wonderful extensions and renovations, contrasting existing and modern features. Baca will be at the stand B2 all week to do not hesitate to pop in to explore some ideas with a no obligation sketch service. You can also book ahead with Amy at adron@baca.uk.com with details of your project. You can also give the office a call on 02073975620      ​

 A Waterproof World? - 2.30pm Tuesday 3rd June Richard and Robert will be appearing at The Times Cheltenham Science Festival this June.  Maggie Philbin of Tomorrow’s World fame will be chairing the event, with Prof. Roger Falconer joining the Baca Directors on stage for the hour-long discussion, ‘A Waterproof World?’.  The panel will be exploring how we can live with water and whether it can actually transform our society for the better. The debate will be highly topical following the damage to their properties suffered by so many homeowners during the severe flooding earlier this year, with the floor being opened up to the audience for questions following the speakers’ presentations and discussion.   The formidable expertise of the panel serves to make this a fascinating insight into the causes of flooding, reducing risks from it and solutions for the future. A Waterproof World?2.30pm, Tuesday 3rd JuneThe Times Cheltenham Science Festival, 3-8 June 2014            

Baca Architects took to the Grand Designs Main Stage on Bank holiday Monday with a series of informative talks. Jessica Laurance kicked off the day with George Clarke to talk through her new build “Forest Mews” which has been recently completed. Jessica presented the build process and the problems faced with the highly constrained mews site. Stop motion pictures of the site throughout the build relayed the different stages of the job perfectly and George was impressed with the quality and atmosphere of the completed building. Baca director Richard Coutts was next on and presented a “Live Design Workshop,” showing how to compile your brief and what is involved in the design process at an early stage of a job. Drawing the audience’s dream homes live, Richard sketched his way through 15 meters of sketch paper! Cameras overhead captured the process and projected to the main screen for the audience to appreciate. Robert Barker then joined George Clarke and Rachael Hill, a National Flood and Coastal Risk Manager and member of the Environment Agency to talk about “Living with Water” The debate covered possible building solutions to the UK’s ongoing flooding issues, what people can do to their own existing homes to protect against flooding and where to get the appropriate information and guidance. The discussion made the audience aware that all property is vulnerable from flooding in one way or another and we can all help reduce its impacts. We will be at the Baca Stand B2 at the Excel centre all of this week to discuss your own dream home or help with possible solutions to constraints on your site.                 ​

It is under a week until the Grand Designs Live show opens it’s doors at the Excel centre. Baca will be at the show from May 3rd – 11th at stand B2 offering a complementary ‘Draw my Dream Home’ service where we explore aspirations and ideas with you at the stand.   The unique service attracts 100s of visitors each year. Baca director, Richard Coutts explains: “Many people know what kind of house they’d like to build. They have loads of ideas buzzing around their head… but they’ve no idea how to translate these into a practical brief for their builder. Our trained draughtsman specialise in interpreting – and visualising – vague thoughts. It’s a real delight to see faces light-up when we capture a dream so accurately.” You can simply visit stand B2 during the week however, if you would like to prebook a session with one of our team please email adron@baca.uk.com with details of the project and a preferred time during the show. You can also call the office on 02073975620. We look forward to seeing you there!         ​