Having been granted planning permission by States of Guernsey Island Development Committee earlier in 2009, Les Beaucamps Secondary School is given funding approval. The new £35m campus, which replaces the existing school, is due on site in November 2010 and completion of all areas is programmed for 2014. Design Engine have been working with the States Education team on the project since first winning the design competition in 2003.

Working closely with Turley Associates’ Southampton office, an outline planning application is submitted to Test Valley Borough Council for 360 dwellings in Nursling, Southampton. The scheme is designed to Code Level 4 and is offered as an exemplar for sustainable housing in the South of England. In reviewing the project is warmly received by the Test Valley Architects’ Advisory Panel, who describe it as “a housing development of exceptional potential both in terms of spatial quality and architectural design”. A planning decision is due in February 2009.

Design Engine completes the purchase of Evelyn House, a vacant 1976 office building adjacent to Winchester railway station. Work is due to start in January 2010, with occupation in April. This is a significant move for the practice, since we will have been operating from 2 offices for a year, having outgrown our original studios in the city centre. The new office offers 4,300sqft of efficient studio space and represents an opportunity for the practice to demonstrate our unique approach to the re-use and reinvention of late 20th century building stock.