'Green' architects practise what they preach for National Bike week
Lean, keen and green – a posse of Norwich architects saddled up to set a 'wheely' good example during National Bike Week. Eleven senior members of Feilden+Mawson staff left their cars at home in favour of a cycle ride to their Ferry Road offices.
The party of architectural and technical staff followed the lead of the trio of local partners – Robert Todd, Philip Bodie and Emily Barnston – by arriving in the office car park on two wheels instead of the usual four.
“National Bike Week has given us the perfect opportunity to show that we at Feilden+Mawson practise what we preach,” said Robert, managing partner of a firm with a reputation for an innovative approach to energy efficiency and sustainability.
Feilden+Mawson’s environmentally-friendly approach has been stamped on a number of ground-breaking East Anglian projects, including the award-winning Wisbech Boathouse (an iconic building which stands at the heart of the £50m Nene Waterfront Regeneration Project), the Orbis Offshore Renewable Energy Centre at Lowestoft, the Beacon Park Innovation Centre and the Seagulls Children’s Centre in Gorleston, the Sure Start Children’s Centre in Great Yarmouth and the Henderson Business Centre in Norwich.
Other sustainability schemes on the drawing board include the proposed new £50m Lowestoft College Campus and the massive Duke’s Wharf regeneration project in the heart of Norwich.
“Travel to work issues now form a significant part of any commercial planning applications and we are delighted to set an example by embracing the Bike Week initiative. We thoroughly enjoyed it – and we are talking about making it a more regular activity,” Robert commented.
The Feilden + Mawson riders converged on the city from all points of the compass, some travelling up to 14 miles by pedal power to reach their desks.
“Some people who live in the city already bike to work regularly. But with several of us living out of town, it was a novel experience to see the car park in front of our offices empty on a busy working day. I’d be delighted to see it happen more often.”
It is not the first time Feilden+Mawson staff have got on their collective bikes either. In the past an F+M team has competed in 50 and 100-mile cycle events round Norfolk – while a group on a study trip to Amsterdam spend their weekend touring the Dutch capital by bicycle.
Article courtesy of Newsmakers PR