Kent SMS

one step ahead

admin — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 11:47:10 +0000

kent SMS attended the 30th anniversary party of the architects pcko, who by their own admission; having arrived as emigres from Poland back in 1981 with no office and all four partners with unpronounceable surnames, were amazing fortunate to win a housing competition that enabled them to break new ground.

The main reason for their success has to be their early adoption of cutting edge technology that enabled clients to make savings and make the scheme more marketable. It is well worth visiting their exhibition at the Building Centre in Store Street, London.

Chris Bishop created the exhibition

europe beckons

admin — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 09:50:09 +0000

If you are a small consultancy there is not a great deal that you can do to out gun the larger practices in a straight fight. Invariably they win not always on design ability but on the key performance criteria such as financial stability, number of people available to work on the project & increasingly even your familiarity with BIM. So what is the answer? Something we strongly advocate is collaboration not just here in the UK but in Europe or wherever you feel your strengths can make a difference and gain a competitive advantage

a close call

admin — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 10:44:33 +0000

Kent SMS is very pleased that client Terry Pawson has been shortlisted for the Lake Windermere Steam Boat Museum competition. The practice is down to the last eight with submissions to be completed by mid-october. It is going to be a tough one with the likes of Adam Kahn & Niall McLaughlin also on the [...]

Eco2

admin — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 11:27:31 +0000

during the week kent sms visited a site in the harrow weald that is to be the location for 14 apartments & four houses. yoop architects have designed the scheme commencing with a super-insulated fabric and solid block.

it has no need for renewables but does have a whole house heat recovery system which should see it achieving a code level 5. there has been a great attention to detail with the inclusion of a wildflower garden, native hedging and appropriate trees as advised by really wild flowers kent sms was very impressed with the construction director gerry lennon of sandwood who are the design & build company undertaking the construction of the project which is expected to complete by august 2o12

adjaye on architecture

admin — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 14:55:32 +0000

On friday the o8 July at the V& A David Adjaye spoke with enormous passion about his chosen subject for which he has been awarded the OBE. As an architect with an international following he has studiously managed to avoid the usual pitfalls, preferring instead to establish his own language and design philosophy.

He has always eschewed the hermetically sealed advancing openess in order to build bridges with the community. Now he is involved with what must be his most complex project ever. The Smithsonian, close to the White House in Washington DC will have a facade that is totaly suspended and comprised of bronze, glass & Steel which is so classical in style that he declared ‘it could be a temple’.[ image by kind permission of Ed Reeves]

RIBA members

admin — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 10:07:41 +0000

Kent SmS supports architects not just for business reasons but because they are incredibly resourceful. To supplement their income one practice we work alongside runs a studio at Kingston School of architecture. It is a massive commitment for little recompense. We much admire their enthusiasm. Architects rarely take things at face value and for some inexplicable reason need an enormous amount of convincing that marketing & business development really are things they should undertake.

new model required

admin — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 08:53:39 +0000

Surely you do not plan to continue marketing your practice/company the same way as before the recession arrived? Even in London where things move along at quite a pace and change can be rapid there is little sign of departure from tradition. Many architects & engineers still continue to talk mostly about themselves, use outdated marketing techniques and presentation material to communicate what they do. Many do not have a marketing strategy in place which means they have no collective focus and therefore are failing to think even a year ahead.

timothy smith & jonathan taylor

admin — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 16:10:11 +0000

Short listed for the AJ Small Projects competition the event last night was a really excellent showcase of what can and is being achieved by skilful, gifted architects who have taken the decision to brave the elements and strike out on their own. This Kent SMS client did not win but it has certainly given [...]

and the winner is…

admin — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 15:54:23 +0000

Kent SMS attended the private viewing of the AJ Small Projects competition where there was much anticipation as to who the winner would be & outright disbelief when The Jellyfish Theatre stole the show.

Once Upon a Wartime

admin — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 14:33:35 +0000

Kent SMS asked Blueprint to cover the exhibition designed by Pippa Nissen Studio…….
Once Upon a Wartime brings five 20th-century children’s stories about the experience of war to life in a forthcoming exhibition at the Imperial War Museum. The exhibition, designed by Pippa Nissen Studio, uses the books: War Horse; Carrie’s War; The Machine Gunners; The Silver Sword and Little Soldier to provide an insight into the reality behind the fiction. Nissen’s role has been to create a unified approach that brings the fictional stories into the detailed and realistic settings required by the museum’s educative mission. ‘Working with the experts from the Imperial War Museum, we had to find a balance between engaging, entertaining and educating children without scaring them,’ she says.