Mikhail Riches

Our Associate Director Amy Waite recently visited multiple shortlisted projects in the North of England as part of the RIBA North East Awards Jury for 2025. 1. The Ad Gefrin Anglo Saxon Museum and Distillery by Elphick Associates uses repurposed oak and stone to contrast with galvanised steel, referencing the utilitarian elements of the brewing process. 2. The Farrell Centre, is an ‘urban room’ for discussions about the built environment designed by SPACE Architects and elliott architects. It blends period details with modern interventions, including a colourful staircase and a new lift shaft for accessibility. 3. Rocket House by NAPPER ARCHITECTS sensitively restores one of the few remaining rockets houses in the UK into a holiday home. Craftsmanship is clear, with original whinstone now revealed on the exterior, while interior reconfiguration provides comfortable and adaptable accommodation. 4. Sundersea Sunderland by Tonkin Liu is an expansive sea-inspired artwork which encases a car park, creating rippling patterns through a perforated aluminum screen. 5. Teesside University Bios by FaulknerBrowns prioritises using durable materials and commits to whole-life carbon emissions in its new facility for Health and Life sciences. 6. Whitburn Coastal Conservation Centre by MawsonKerr is a community hub for nature conservation in the setting of the Souter Lighthouse. Recycled plastic tiles clad the exterior which highlight the damage to the coast from plastic and landfill sites. RIBA

Our Associate Director Amy Waite will be speaking at the Sustainable Development X Urban Conservation Conference in Bath next week, alongside some other brilliant speakers and facilitators. The conference is a collaboration between Bath Preservation Trust, University of Bath and Bath & North East Somerset Council. For more info on the event, click here: https://lnkd.in/eq7u4xbm #architecture #bath #lecture #sustainability #builtenvironment

Congratulations to our newly qualified Architect Chloe Clacy, on completing her RIBA Part 3 Qualification! Since joining us in 2022, she has been pivotal in delivering numerous projects including Camden Council's small sites programme, City of York's Housing Delivery programme, and graduate homes for Queens' College Cambridge. We're glad that the hard work has paid off – well done, Chloe!

The finalists for a Glasgow canalside regeneration contest have been revealed, showcasing innovative designs aimed at transforming underused urban spaces. Stallan-Brand with Ann Nisbet, O'DonnellBrown in collaboration with Stirling Prize-winning practice Mikhail Riches, and Collective Architecture are among the practices shortlisted to access the final phase of a competition run by Scottish Canals, Glasgow City Council, and C40 Cities.

The finalists for a Glasgow canalside regeneration contest have been revealed, showcasing innovative designs aimed at transforming underused urban spaces. Stallan-Brand with Ann Nisbet, O'DonnellBrown in collaboration with Stirling Prize-winning practice Mikhail Riches, and Collective Architecture are among the practices shortlisted to access the final phase of a competition run by Scottish Canals, Glasgow City Council, and C40 Cities.

Earlier this year, our plans for a new Gurnell Leisure Centre, enhanced parkland and approximately 300 new homes for Ealing Council (London Borough of Ealing) received planning permission. 35% of the new homes proposed will be affordable. The new Leisure Centre by GT3 Architects will re-provide a much-loved amenity for residents of Ealing with a larger low-energy facility, which uses low carbon strategies. The delivery of new homes on the site will help part fund the new leisure centre and provide much needed housing for Ealing Borough residents. The proposed development is expected to outperform the embodied carbon benchmarks set out by the Greater London Authority. This performance has been made possible by embedding a range of carbon saving measures in the early-stage design. By combining leisure, the surrounding parkland environment, and appropriate housing into one sustainable masterplan, Ealing Council is committed to creating a truly unique destination for the Borough. We were pleased to be architects and master planners for the scheme working alongside landscape designed by Periscope, Leisure Centre by GT3 Architects, Hexa Company Ltd. - Consulting Engineers, Gleeds, Tibbalds, Greengauge Building Energy Consultants, Expedition Engineering Ltd, Anderson Green Ltd, Integrated Transport Planning and A-squared Studio Engineers. Visual by SLAB

Happy to be here with Annalie Riches in a very wet Cannes this morning - & looking forward to catching up with friends and colleagues.

This week, our founding directors David Mikhail and Annalie Riches will be attending MIPIM 2025. Please email info@mikhailriches.com to get in touch.

My monthly site visits to York for the SSoA Students for Climate Action Society prevails into 2025. Caddick Construction Limited together with Mikhail Riches are in the construction phase of building a mixed tenure housing estate for the City of York Council. It is brilliant and must be said that the council as per the climate emergency are aiming to have this housing scheme be voluntarily Passivhaus certified. The long-term benefits of this decision will only help the occupants save up to 75% of their energy bills. Thanks to butterfly roofs maximising solar energy with panels, deep insulation and air source heat pumps altogether this will be a highly rewarding project that I have the pleasure to witness at the construction phase. I have been able to question and gain information in a very specific design field, Passivhaus. Listening to the onsite challenges from the site manager has been priceless as a future aspiring architect. On top of advertising the site visits, organizing the day and representing my society, I have been given the privilege to digitize the progress on site through the monthly scanning via 3D Matterport. Documenting the project for future potential use, helping bridge the gap of practice and education. Many thanks to Louis Musetti and Matt Hargreaves for their time and sharing of knowledge.

Celebrating International Women's Day this weekend by recognising the women that contribute to our work at Mikhail Riches and across our industry. Of our employee-owned business, 60% of our team are women, striving for gender balance across all levels. At leadership level, three of the five seats on our EOT's Board of Directors are held by women. Annalie Riches | Sophie King O'Neill | Amy Waite | Sophie Cole | Ayesha Khan | Katrina Duncan | Kate Altmann | Sanjukta Jitendhar | Chloe Clacy | Connie Pidsley | Lucy Taylor | Emily Bennett | Livvy McKittrick | Carla Kyalo | Jane Brenan | Deborah Khan