AJ100 Awards 2022

We are thrilled to share that we have received three shortlists in this year’s AJ100 Awards 2022.

HTA is shortlisted for Employer of the Year Category. 

 HTA focuses on people: those working within the practice and those living in the places and homes we design. We believe that commitment to good employment practices and more significant investment in the development and care of all our staff is a fundamental reason for the business success. As a forward-thinking practice, we have adopted a permanent policy of more flexible working between our four studios. Our team focuses on ensuring staff are supported, and creativity and collaboration are encouraged with weekly design reviews leading to an annual output celebrated in our Winter Exhibition and Yearbook.

In Addition, Our People Groups, including the D&I Forum, Blacc, INCL, and HTA Parents, work with our 8 Mental Health first-aiders to provide support and guidance for all staff and introduce a new EDI Strategy with various commitments and biannual board reporting. Our studios continue to serve breakfast and lunch with social events and parties returning last year. All staff received pay increases and profit share payments in 2021. Together these measures and many more helped turnover grow by over 20%, whilst staff turnover remained below 10%, and we welcomed 45 talented new people to join the practice.

Meridian One, has been shortlisted For Collaboration of the Year with Hawkins/Brown. 

Meridian Water is a major 20-year London regeneration programme led by Enfield Council, bringing 10,000 homes next to the Lea Valley Regional Park. 'Meridian One', delivered by Vistry Partnerships, will comprise a mixed-use development of 950 homes, of which 50% will be affordable, delivered within five development parcels defined by mixed-use landmark buildings. A series of public spaces will link these to create one cohesive neighbourhood within a verdant parkland.

HTA and Hawkins\Brown have been working collaboratively to design and deliver the first homes within the development, splitting the work equally, removing any sense of commercial tension and allowing both practices to work, in effect, as one Practice. Both practices approached the duties of the masterplan with workshopping ideas. Developing options together was the key before agreeing on the delivery of the buildings. 

 The project coincided with lockdown, and both practices made an opportunity out of the adversity through regular online meetings and workshops. A shared Revit model was created to ensure a single design was delivered to the client. 

The design benefitted from this close collaboration as HTA and Hawkins/Brown developed distinctive buildings that felt part of the same family. Fisher Cheng & Urban Projects Bureau assisted us in the design development, focussing on a building each plus engaging in consultation. The four firms each brought their take on which details to employ from the previously established design guide. 

 The proposals have been developed with a thorough engagement process with the London Borough of Enfield's planning department, Design Review Panel, Design Advisory Group, the Greater London Authority and the local community. A complete planning application for Phase 1b was submitted in November 2020 and approved in May 2021.

Colab DfMA toolkit, has been shortlisted for the Innovation of the Year category.

COLAB is an interdisciplinary consortium of forward-thinking organisations at the cutting edge of innovation in the construction industry. Led by L&Q, one of the UK’s leading housing associations and residential developers, alongside partners Virtual Viewing, HTA Design, and Hawkins\Brown, the team members are leaders in DfMA, offsite and digital transformation. This collaboration aims to move away from traditional project-specific solutions to building homes and move towards a portfolio and product-based approach – adopting a manufacturing mentality.

With Climate Change being the most urgent issue of our time, the Colab DLMA toolkit will empower its users by giving them the correct data, including carbon metrics of offsite products. In addition, the tool will be a great tool to ensure time, material and human resources are used responsibly right from the design stage.

This cutting-edge collaboration combines the expertise of a pioneering organisation. HTA has extensive knowledge in DfMA and MMC, having worked on some of the most significant MMC-led projects in the world. Having completed several volumetric modular buildings in London, their interdisciplinary collaborative approach and DfMA expertise are vital in advancing innovation in UK construction.

Hawkins\Brown are innovation leads in architectural design and technology, with a wealth of expertise and a record of championing quality and sustainability in the industry. Virtual Viewing has developed pioneering digital technology solutions for the construction sector for many years and is still pushing the boundaries with cutting-edge solutions.

Bringing together these different elements and the diverse range of skills that the three practices offer will break down some of the barriers in the industry and could prove to be a game-changer for the sector.

 It's a fantastic shortlist this year, and HTA is very much looking forward to the award ceremony that will take place on 22 June at the AJ100 gala dinner. Thank you, everyone involved, and fingers crossed..!

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