Earlier this month, Director Elly was invited to give a talk at the ICF Annual Conference. The 2023 conference focused on productivity and timber utilisation with the theme 'Growing Trees for Tomorrow's Needs'. Elly presented our experience on "Designing with Timber" and how this can support the delivery of healthy, low embodied and low operational carbon buildings. We thought that the subject was too important not to share more widely, so we have collated the following blog so you can understand the importance of using timber in architecture.

Creating a comprehensive project brief can be essential to realise your project, but what should your architectural brief say?

We never stop learning! We're pleased to share that the team at Arbor have been studying hard and have achieved not one but two new certifications!

Abor Architects are hiring!

Arbor Architects is looking for a Part II Architectural Assistant to join our 4 person office in rural Herefordshire. We work on a range of different projects in the local area, across sectors, ranging from new build Passive House, listed building renovation, educational buildings, retrofit and commercial. We are a small practice so work on multiple projects at a time, a pro-active and collaborative manner is a must. As a part II you would be working on all stages of the process with emphasis on design, communication, project management and building performance. Applicants should be passionate about design, sustainability and creative thinking. Technical knowledge is welcomed along with proficiency using Revit and the Adobe creative suite. We do also use Vectorworks and Sketch-up in the concept stages but not a must.

In our view, responsible retrofit of historic buildings, based on a whole building approach, is the way to achieve benefits to energy and environment, heritage and community and building health – people and fabric. It’s only through a deep understanding of context and a thorough analysis of the building’s existing condition, that we can implement the most appropriate retrofit strategy. This might be a phased approach, but it needs to consider all proposed interventions holistically to achieve the best results and balance the risks.

When I first joined Arbor I was a stressed out part II student, not entirely sure I wanted to continue studies in the field and feeling quite overwhelmed by the pressures of sticking with it and riding out the slump. But now, with hindsight, I'm so pleased I did carry on and I am now part of a team that I have learnt so much from and felt such a rapid progression In my own personal growth In the past two years - thanks Arbor!

We started Arbor Architects with a desire to design beautiful, contextual buildings which are inherently sustainable, and crucially, to work with our clients’ closely through the process. We love to design, and we love to work as a team, believing strongly in the power of shared thinking to arrive at creative and robust solutions. Over the years of working together we have honed our design skills, which enables us to utilise many different media (hand sketching, energy modelling, physical and digital modelling to name but a few of the techniques we use) to bring our clients an enhanced service that helps them visualise proposals and input into their shaping and refinement.

Happy new year to all our clients, colleagues and collaborators! We hope that 2023 gives us all the opportunity to break new ground, the time for causes we’re passionate about and ultimately, the chance to make a difference!