Robin Nicholson

Fellow

Robin uses his long experience as an architect who loves rethinking the way we use buildings, to work with the practice and others to transform our industry; into one where the buildings and places we make have ‘long life, loose fit and low energy’ for the benefit of the users, the clients and the wider world.

Although climate change is such a potential catastrophe we have the opportunity, knowledge and privilege to help move towards a net zero energy built world. Robin acts as convenor of the Edge Thinktank and chairs the Cambridgeshire Quality Panel to help steer thinking towards these goals. He has been an Honorary Professor at Nottingham University since 2013.

Robin loves gardening and has helped make a number of them, including our narrow 70 metre long award-winning garden along the towpath.

Project Experience

The EDGE

The April monthly meeting of this multi-disciplinary think-tank was held at our office and discussed topics ranging from Futurebuild 2020, the Green Construction Board’s Buildings Mission, re-booting the DQI and whether the Commons Chamber should be reshaped to be more conducive to a common purpose.

All this is to encourage the Professional Institutions of the construction industry to collaborate to bring about change for the greater good; so, no surprise that climate features large.

Lambeth Community Care Centre

It was a long time ago when the CCC opened in 1985, but the project team’s goal was to transform the Health Service by providing low cost care near to your home. And it worked brilliantly with 20 beds where short stay patients were cared for, while their own GPs visited them as though in their own home.

As costs of hospital care continue to rise, is it not time to look again at this more affordable and domestic model?

Gardening our towpath

Six years ago, we moved the concrete benches from our old office next door to the towpath and began planting the narrow rubble-filled strip along our building and the one next door. Now we aim to provide flowers and herbs all the year round in our 70m x 70cm garden mainly using recycled plants and seedlings. The joy this brings to users of the towpath is a delightful surprise. Come and visit us and it!