junko reports on the environment centre

The construction work at the Environment Centre at Lordship Recreational Ground in Haringey finally got rolling after a few months break. The timber floor beams have landed on site: fifty-four piles are supporting the main structure. The floor joists will arrive this week. ATA and the design team have been busy working on the final check. The straw bale building is designed to Passivhaus standard.  

ATA in the triodos magazine

An article about ATA in the beautifully produced The Colour of Money, Triodos Bank's quarterly publication.
As Zana pointed out this issue is all about food so it's quite nice to have some fine sustainable architecture thrown in!
Triodos is a global pioneer of sustainable banking whose mission is to make money work for positive social, environmental and cultural change. It's worth checking them and their clients out.
You can read the article here.

women in practice

The AJ's January issue focusses on women in practice and features contributions from Anne Thorne Architects to Zaha Hadid.
You can have a look on line or get a copy from the RIBA bookshop.

Below is an unedited extract of the questions by Fran and Rute.

photographing the pilot houses at West Hendon

The Pilot scheme for the West Hendon Regeneration designed by ATA for clients Barratt Metropolitan LLP is nearing completion and families are moving into the houses next week. A delightful day was spent in the company of architectural photographer Ioana Marinescu talking to her about spaces and capturing the site in the beautiful winter light. We can't wait to see the result.

an office move, good conferences and interesting projects - 2011 wasn't that bad

January must be a  good time for reflections on 2011- skating speedily over those endless discussions about the Green Deal mechanisms and possible effectiveness - high points were enormous jumps in interest and actual delivery of Passivhaus buildings, and consolidation of Passivhaus Trust as a great UK enabling organisation, and the conference was great.

For ATA a wonderful celebration of 20 years since founding in 1991, twenty years of hard but absorbing work on community and green projects - gave the team some overwhelmingly fantastic feedback, everyone felt sky high - then a move to Industry - from gently decaying mews in Bethnal Green (pictured) to zippy regenerated new offices in Haggerston - where we are well settled in and warm at last.