BFF appointed to design Office Fit-out for Charitable Trust

We have been commissioned by a major Charitable Trust to design the fit-out for their new offices.  The offices are in The Peak building, close to Victoria Station in Central London and our Clients are taking an entire floor of 1,000 sq m (10,800 sq ft).  BFF are undertaking space-planning, design of the reception and partitioning to form meeting rooms and private offices and advising on selection of furniture.

Empty shell at The Peak
BFF have previously designed workspaces for a number of clients including, The Royal Society, The Academy of Medical Sciences, The Royal Academy of Engineering and The Institute for Government.

Offices at the Academy of Medical Sciences

BFF 30th Anniversary - Tomorrow's New Communities

A concept using the contemporary vision of a small town to inform the transformation of former asylums (often with listed buildings and landscapes) into communities or urban quarters.

John Burrell’s ground-breaking and award-winning work on the reuse of institutional brownfield NHS land was published in 1987 with the aid of an RIBA Research Award as ‘The Psychiatric Hospital as a New Community’. It has had far-reaching influence on planning policy and John Burrell became a member of the Labour Party working group on Urban Design and Planning.

In 1991 it was the outright winner of the joint Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Town and Country Planning Association competition for ‘Tomorrow’s New Communities’ for new settlements between 4,000 and 10,000 people.

BFF 30th Anniversary - Institute for Government



The Institute for Government is an independent centre formed in 2008 to help make government more effective. They aims are to carry out research, look into the big governance challenges of the day and find ways to help government improve, rethink and sometimes see things differently.  Burrell Foley Fischer LLP were the Architects for the refurbishment and remodelling of the Institute’s new Listed Grade II* headquarters in Central London. 


The building incorporates space for researchers, training and social events, a boardroom, a lecture theatre, meeting rooms, offices, a library and dining and reception facilities.  


BFF 30th Anniversary - Harbour Lights Cinema, Southampton


A landmark building located in the former P&O docks, provides two auditoria for film and video exhibition and conferences, an exhibition space, a café bar and education facilities.  The design celebrates the experience of cinema going, and being the antithesis of the black-box space, it provides a contrast to its multiplex rivals.  The foyers, café bar and offices have an open aspect which fully exploit the centre’s dockside location.


The building, completed in 1995, was shortlisted for The Sunday Times/Royal Fine Art Commission Building of the Year Award 1995 and gained a Civic Trust Commendation 1997.  Harbour Lights is attributed with having had a leading influence on the design of a new generation of cinemas.


Faye Davies accepted onto RIBA Conservation Register

We are pleased to announce that Faye Davies, an Architect in the Practice, has been accepted on to the RIBA Conservation Register.  The register enables those looking to commission work on heritage buildings to find architects with the specific skills and experience they require, encompassing all aspects of historic building conservation, repair and maintenance.

The Royal Society History of Science Centre
Faye has extensive experience in the conservation of Historic Buildings and has been the Project Architect on a number of projects involving the repair, conservation and remodelling of buildings Listed Grade I, Grade II* and Grade II.  She has completed the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings "The Repair of Old Buildings" course and has a strong track record of working on historic buildings from feasibility to completion. 

The Academy of Medical Sciences
Faye was the Project Architect on the refurbishment of an early Georgian terraced house linked to a mews house (Listed Grade II), into a family residence, the refurbishment of 41 Portland Place (Listed Grade II*), to form the new headquarters of the Academy of Medical Sciences and the refurbishment of rooms in the Carlton House Terrace headquarters of the Royal Society (Listed Grade I) to form their History of Science Centre.  She is currently working on the refurbishment of a Crown Estate property on the edge of Regent's Park (Listed Grade II) to form a private residence for a private client.   

BFF 30th Anniversary - Theatre Royal Winchester


The building started life in 1850 as a market hotel and through a number of transformations became a cine-variety theatre.  It was subsequently used as a cinema until the mid 1970s when it was brought back into use as a theatre after threatened demolition.  Prior to development, the Theatre Royal suffered from extremely cramped front- and back-of-house areas.  The acquisition of two adjacent Listed Georgian terraced buildings offered the opportunity for comprehensive renovation and extension of the existing building.




Burrell Foley Fischer LLP won a design competition to develop a new strategy for the Theatre, providing a new entrance foyer, a bar foyer in a covered courtyard, improved stage and backstage facilities, as well as a comprehensive programme of refurbishment and improvements to the auditorium, seating capacity 420. Careful articulation of the building’s surface textures, materials and spaces has allowed the history of successive generations of use to be revealed while opening up new and delightful spaces.






Awards for the building include The Winchester City Council Award for Good Architecture 2001 and a Civic Trust Award 2003.

BFF 30th Anniversary - British Museum Temporary Shop

Happy New Year.  2012 marks the thirtieth anniversary of Burrell Foley Fischer.  Over that period we have become recognised as one of the leading practices specialising in buildings for cinema, media and the performing arts, together with urban design, residential and educational design and the adaptation and restoration of historic buildings. We are proud that the buildings designed by the Practice stand the test of time and are being used and enjoyed by large numbers of people every single day, whether as places to live, to work, to learn, to collaborate or simply to socialise and relax.

Over the course of this anniversary year we will take the opportunity to look back at a number of our schemes, those that were built and those that never progressed beyond the drawing board (of course in the early days it really was the drawing board!).  Starting with a project designed to exist for just three years...


Burrell Foley Fischer LLP won a design competition in July 1997 to design a temporary shop on the forecourt of the British Museum while the existing shop was decommissioned for the Great Court Project.  The challenge was to design a contemporary building that could sit happily in front of Smirke’s great portico and that would provide an accessible, enticing environment for trading by December 1997.

A simple trabeated structure of large Douglas Fir sections, reflecting the rhythm of the adjacent colonnade, allowed the shop to evoke references to the origins of the Museum’s classical architecture in the primitive hut.  The shop was designed so that it could be taken down after three years leaving no trace on the forecourt, obviating the need for Listed Building Consent.

Marimeko shop opens in Cambridge


A new shop, Nord, is open in Cambridge, with a fit-out designed by Burrell Foley Fischer.  Nord is the latest of the 32 Marimekko shops in the United Kingdom and can be found in Bridge Street. 


Marimekko, established in 1951, is a Finnish textile and clothing design company renowned for its original prints and colours. The company designs and manufactures high-quality clothing, interior decoration textiles, bags and other accessories.  The design uses clean lines and neutral colours in order to give prominence to the merchandise.


Stefanie Fischer gives evidence to All Party Parliamentary Group for Young Disabled People

Stefanie Fischer today gave evidence to the All Party Parliamentary Group for Young Disabled People as part of their Inquiry into the issues that affect young disabled people and prevent them from living fully independent lives and how this needs to be improved.  Today’s session was on the subject of leisure with a focus on cinema.

Stefanie was invited to discuss examples of good and poor practice regarding disabled access to cinemas and to give the benefit of her extensive experience of designing independent cinemas.  Also giving evidence were representatives from Trailblazers, who recently investigated this issue (see previous post), the Cinema Exhibitors Association, and the cinema operators, Cineworld, Odeon, Vue and Picturehouse.  They were shown a screening of the Lights, Camera, Access documentary, which outlines the problems disabled movie-goers face and ways to address them, which is currently being screened at film festivals throughout the UK.


BFF's remodelling and refurbishment of Broadway, Nottingham's Media Centre, in a converted former Methodist Chapel was given an ADAPT award in 1998.  Our conversion of Norwich Cinema City from a single to a three-screen proved that it is possible to make a fully accessible venue even in a Grade I Listed building.  It won the National Local Authority Building Control Built in Quality Award 2008 for the Best Project for Access or compliance with Disability Regulations. 



See the Trailblazers report on the session

Mark Foley joins Shape East Design Support Steering Group

Mark Foley has been invited to join the Shape East Design Support Steering Group.  The group consists of a group of respected built environment professionals from a range of fields including development, architecture, engineering, planning, transport, ecology, heritage, sustainability and energy efficiency, landscape architecture, urban design, public art and leisure.






Shape East is a Centre for Design Excellence and Sustainable Innovation based in the East of England and a part of the Architecture Centre Network. They seek to provide a positive influence on the quality of urban design and the built environment through supporting the professional community, engaging the public and educating the future generations.  They promote sustainable and high quality living, providing people with both the knowledge and passion to participate more actively in changes and developments in their local and global built environments. 

Mark brings to the panel his experience of undertaking studies to explore cultural regeneration working closely with arts business and management consultants to develop strategies and establishing the feasibility of particular cultural projects and his specialist expertise in the design of theatres, auditoria spaces and buildings for the performing arts.

Visit the Shape East Website

John Burrell contributes to '10 x 10' drawing project

John Burrell is amongst one hundred prominent architects and artists who have contributed to ’10 x 10’,  drawing project which divides the City of London into a 10 x 10 grid.  The resulting 100 squares have been allocated to individuals who have  come together to draw the city.  The artworks will be auctioned by Sotheby’s at an exclusive event on 1st December, 2011 at the German Gymnasium in the new King’s Cross Development, courtesy of Argent.

SQUARE E9 - Sidelined ….off Martin Lane, London, EC4R ODP

This scene off Martin Lane is located in a short, privately owned pedestrian space linking Martin Lane and Laurence Pountney Lane, both of which run southwards downhill to the busy traffic congested Upper Thames Street.  The ‘alleyway’ is used now by office workers as a place to gather, chat  and smoke cigarettes.  The projecting masonry, steel doors and alcoves on the flank wall of 6 Martin Lane (now El Vinos) that were revealed and left when the terrace of houses was cut demolished in the sixties to make way for new buildings.

Visit the '10 x 10' Website to see all 100 drawings

Contributing architects and artists include Lord Norman Foster, Will Alsop, Odile Decq, Sunand Prasad, David Adjaye, Sir Jeremy Dixon and Professor Sir Colin Stansfield Smith, as well as British designer, writer and television presenter Kevin McCloud.  All funds raised will go towards the projects of Article 25, an international development and disaster relief charity which provides free or not-for-profit architectural, design and construction expertise to ensure that the right to adequate shelter is being met in some of the poorest nations. 


UPDATE - Friday 2 December 2011 : Raising £600 for Article 25 Charity

John Burrell's drawing 'Something in the City' was sold for £600 at the auction by Sotheby's held at the German Gymnasium last night, 1st December. It was among the 25 artworks  chosen for live auction out of the 100 works featured. 

The drawing explores the ever changing surface patina of London as observed in a left over, but much used space in the City of London. The remains of previous interior fittings have been left, almost as if 'on display' to suffer the elements. 


Private home created in early Georgian property

We have handed over to a private client their new family home, created for them in an early Georgian terraced linked to a mews house in central London.  The Listed Grade II building had for the last century been used as offices by a firm of solicitors and BFF secured Planning Permission and Listed Building Consent for the scheme.


The house, over 5 floors, was completely refurbished installing new services, contemporary bathrooms and providing a workspace for the client.  A new “heart of the home” has been achieved by creating a glazed enclosure in a light well, allowing a spacious kitchen, dining and living area on one floor.  Purpose built joinery throughout contributes to the modern, quality but understated feel in accordance with the Client’s brief.


The property does not have a garden so a new roof terrace has been created, nestled between the retained original rear roof pitches and set 1.1m below the line of the front ridge so that it is not visible from the street in a sensitive area of London.  It will provide the family with a private oasis of calm in the middle of the bustling city.   



Onassis Cultural Centre featured in Auditoria Magazine

The new Onassis Cultural Centre in central Athens, is featured in the 2012 Annual of Auditoria Magazine.  The two auditoria were designed by Burrell Foley Fischer, in a building designed by French architectural firm, Architecture Studio.

The main auditorium is designed to respond to a variety of performance types, including opera, symphony concerts, music theatre, drama and dance.  The smaller second auditorium is designed with a variable acoustic to suit small scale music, dance, drama and lecture presentations.


 View the Auditoria Magazine 2012 Annual

Model of new sinuous bridge for the Royal Academy of Engineering

A visit has been made by the project team to view a one-fifth scale model of the new stainless steel and glass entrance bridge, which will be installed on the forecourt of No.3 Carlton House Terrace.  The new bridge, to be manufactured by Babcock International Group PLC, will provide a single accessible approach to the refurbished headquarters of the Royal Academy of Engineering.


The ‘S’-shaped bridge fuses engineering, art and architecture to create a spectacular landmark, showcasing innovation and design excellence whilst being sensitive to the historic external landscape.  Balancing heritage with modernity, the bridge will lead visitors into the Royal Academy of Engineering, across a landscaped garden inspired by the designs of Decimus Burton (1800-1881), one of the original architects of Carlton House Terrace.


Kings Cross / St Pancras Development Area


As Central St Martins College of Art and Design moves into their new premises the redevelopment of the Kings Cross/St Pancras area of London continues.  Burrell Foley Fischer have been involved with a number of commercial projects in the area including two office developments and a mixed use scheme, including D1, B1 and residential uses.

We obtained Planning Permission for the conversion of a former purpose-built industrial printing works building on Wharfdale Road, within the Kings Cross Conservation Area, into offices and small business units.


We also obtained Planning Permission for the Noah’s Yard development in York Way.  The scheme provides 6,000 sq ft of office accommodation together with a ground floor restaurant, opening onto the Regent’s Quarter development.


For Argent’s Kings Cross Central development we prepared a scheme to test the parameter plans for Block J, to confirm that the developers brief for mixed use could be accommodated within the parameters for which Outline Planning Permission was being sought. 


Click here for further information on our commercial projects

Royal Society Festival of Literature and the Arts


Over the first weekend in October the Royal Society will be hosting a Festival of Literature and Arts, titled One Culture.  The Society's very first literature festival will celebrate 350 years of their science book collection, as they bring together some of the best authors, scientists, poets, historians and theatre practitioners to express, explore and enthuse about science and culture in all its forms.


The event will be hosted at the Royal Society's headquarters at 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, a Listed Grade I building.  Burrell Foley Fischer have been the Society's architects for a number of refurbishment  and reorganisation projects over the past decade.  Most recently we completed the History of Science Centre, created in the space formally occupied by the Society's library.


The refurbishment provides study, exhibition and meeting facilities, in an atmosphere that reflects the Society's committment to excellence and inspiration.  It equally provides for the safe keeping of the collections.

Visit the festival website

Rio Cinema features in hit film, One Day

The much loved independent cinema, the Rio, in Dalston, East London, features in the recently released hit movie One Day, the adaptation of the bestselling book by David Nicholls.  The lead character, Emma, played by Anne Hathaway, is seen visiting the Art Deco cinema in the film.


The cinema was designed by George Coles of Adams and Coles in 1913 and altered by F.E. Bromige in the 1930s. At this time an Art Deco shell was created within the existing interior, reducing the size of the auditorium. While continuing to operate as a successful local cinema, by the 1990s the building was in need of a comprehensive overhaul. 

Burrell Foley Fischer’s refurbishment provided the cinema with state of the art audio-visual technology and comfortable new stalls seating within the renovated and restored Art Deco shell. The box office and bar counters are designed to appear as modern insertions within the existing building fabric.  External and internal illuminated signage and neon strips accentuate the fluted features and vertical bands of the original façade giving the cinema a strong night presence.


The cinema has also recently been featured by the Guardian when it was the first to be reviewed as part of their weekly “Cine-files” series.  Each week they review the facilities and programming policies of each venue and describe the Rio as “a morally good cinema among thousands of bad and ugly”. 

See the Guardian's review

BFF buildings open to the public as part of Open House London

Four Burrell Foley Fischer buildings are open to the public as part of Open House London, which takes place on 17 and 18 September 2011.  Open House London is the capital’s greatest architectural showcase; a city-wide celebration of the buildings, places and neighbourhoods where we live, work and play. It provides the general public with the chance to explore hundreds of inspiring buildings for free, which this year includes The Royal Society in Carlton House Terrace, the Almeida Theatre in Islington, Stratford Picturehouse and the Cine Lumiere at the Institut Francais. Please note that advance booking is required for some events – refer to the Open House London website for full details.

Cine Lumiere at the Institut Francais
Burrell Foley Fischer’s refurbishment of the, Listed Grade II, 228 seat Art Deco Cine Lumiere at the Institut Francais in South Kensington restores the character and quality of the interior whilst ensuring it is up to date in terms of projection and sound technology, comfort and operational flexibility.


Stratford Picturehouse
This new build four screen cinema has exhibition and café bar facilities, and a private restaurant integral to the design. The dominant feature is its projection room, a three-storey-high cylindrical drum, suspended by metal rods from the glass ceiling and running the length of the building. 



The Royal Society

The refurbishment and reorganisation of The Royal Society’s buildings entailed making better use of a unique set of Listed Grade I Nash buildings by providing a coherent, high profile, architectural setting for the society’s activities.

Details on the Royal Society Website


The Almeida Theatre
Burrell Foley Fischer have been the Almeida’s architects since 1982 working with successive generations of directors.  The theatre has been developed into a venue of exceptional quality for the performance of drama, opera and music, and for other related arts activities. 


Improving the cinematic experience for people with disabilities

The Guardian newspaper today highlights a report produced by the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign’s Trailblazers exposing the widespread second-class service people with disabilities experience in UK cinemas.

Read the Guardian report

Burrell Foley Fischer always ensures that all cinemas we design are fully accessible and provide a variety of seating positions for cinemagoers in wheelchairs and their able-bodied companions.  The Trailblazers report however found that this was unfortunately not standard practice in the industry, and that the smaller independent cinemas generally provide better access for disabled people than the major chains.

Download the full report

The report includes Stefanie Fischer’s tips for cinema operators and developers to make cinemas welcoming and accessible to all.  In the accompanying documentary, produced by the organisation, she comment’s, “Cinema designers and cinema exhibitors could be more aware and if the whole issue of how people access the auditoria is considered right from the outset then it is not difficult to provide a choice of seating positions”.

Watch the documentary

BFF's remodelling and refurbishment of Broadway, Nottingham's Media Centre, in a converted former Methodist Chapel was given an ADAPT award in 1998.  Our conversion of Norwich Cinema City from a single to a three-screen proved that it is possible to make a fully accessible venue even in a Grade I Listed building.  It won the National Local Authority Building Control Built in Quality Award 2008 for the Best Project for Access or compliance with Disability Regulations.  


The report also features Stratford East Picturehouse, designed by Burrell Foley Fischer, as an example of best practice, commenting “the cinema demonstrates that architects clearly considered accessibility when planning the new design.  There is inclusive access throughout the cinema and at no point does a disabled person feel segregated”.