Upper Twyford Barn

Hereford, United Kingdom

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Upper Twyford Barn

Hereford, United Kingdom

Type

Commercial › Office

YEAR

2006

Architype's own offices!Architype’s local premises are located at Upper Twyford, 4 miles south of Hereford city. We have transformed a pair of derelict farm buildings, owned by the Duchy of Cornwall into a contemporary workplace. The design was inspired by the qualities of the landscape in which the buildings are set, the site’s strong sense of place, respect for the architectural character of the buildings, and a desire to express and embody Architype’s philosophy in the creation of a sustainable and inspirational place to work. The building is designed to a high ecological specification, using timber sourced from local woodlands, natural organic finishes, and recycled newspaper insulation. Particular attention was given to minimising water consumption. Food for office lunches is being grown on the land around the building, and an apple and pear orchard will be planted shortly. We now enjoy a beautifully daylit office, with exceptional views across fields and woodlands, naturally ventilated, heated by biomass, with ample high quality space for working creatively, meeting and socialising.Facilities include: studio for 20 architects, admin space, kitchen and WCs, informal meeting space and lunch area, and two meeting rooms. We regularly hold meetings and design workshops for clients and consultants, and host courses and conferences.We also have a great office culture that allows us to embrace our location. This includes:- Spending time together over tea and lunch - Recycling (paper, glass, tin, plastic, cardboard)- Composting, wormery- Growing own food for lunches- Organic food delivery- Local free range eggs delivery- Traditional milk delivery- Bread oven built by Architype architect George- Cycling to work- Joint office forums twice a year- Whole office site visits to our projects- Social get togethers- At present resourcing local old variety fruit trees to plant own orchard
- At present researching electric car or two for pool business useJonathan Hines director at Architype: "In the near future, we also plan to refurbish a property for our London office just to show that this ecological standard can also be done in an urban context". Our favourite quote is when our London colleagues describe our eco-barn as a "space to think".