Three new care home projects worth an estimated £13.5 million look set to cement a relationship between Yorkshire architect DWA and one of the UK 's largest care home operators.

Planning permission was granted last week for a contemporary 64-bed BUPA care home in Ashford; a planning decision is expected in early December on an 80-bed contemporary care home in Brighton and BUPA is currently in discussions with planners about a 64-bed home in Haywards Heath – all designed by York-based DWA Architects.

With a national portfolio of more than 300 residential and nursing homes across the country, BUPA currently provides care for over 21,000 people in the UK . Development director Lyth Watson has high praise for the DWA team and is already looking to the future:

“DWA is our preferred architect, and they're working on three flagship schemes and an extension for us at the moment. The team gives a fantastic service and I really appreciate their honest, straight talking approach. We're incredibly pleased with the work they've done for us so far and we're actively looking for opportunities for them to do more.”

Founded in 1988, DWA has carved a niche in the care homes market, where it has an enviable track record and has notched up a stream of industry accolades. The firm can count ten of the top 50 UK care home operators amongst its clients, with BUPA and Southern Cross – the country's two largest operators – among them.

Chief executive David Ward is understandably pleased with the firm's latest achievements: “It's fantastic to have been selected by BUPA to work on these projects – particularly as we were pitching against some of the best care home designers in the country – and I'm really pleased that what we've done so far has paved the way for extending our work with them,” he says.

With headquarters in York , and offices in Warrington and London , DWA Architects currently employs 80 people nationwide.

Picture shows: The DWA Architects designs for the 80-bed BUPA care home in Brighton .

July 2008 > Scarborough Court, Cramlington

DWA Architects provided a full design service on this 55 bed new build residential and nursing home in Cramlington , Northumberland for the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

The building occupies a prominent position at the east end of the site, adjacent to other large civic and amenity buildings. The new home will provide 19 nursing beds and 36 residential beds, all in spacious single rooms with en-suite showers and toilets. Hoist tracking will be provided in all nursing rooms to give residents with restricted mobility maximum independence.

The building is the first care home in Britain to be designed with the objective of achieving a zero carbon rating. The care home will be primarily heated from a ground source heat pump. The building also includes ventilation heat recovery of 90%, and building fabric has been designed with exceptionally low thermal transmittance. The thermal conductivity of the ground floor and roof is only 0.1 W/m ²K. The overall plan of the building is designed as a heat trap, maximizing heat gain from the afternoon sun. A two storey atrium lounge and double height dining room will be ventilated using the resulting stack effect. Bricks and stone selected for the project have been sourced locally to minimize transport emissions of carbon dioxide, while durable timber chosen for external cladding will be installed without the application of environmentally harmful chemical treatments. Rainwater recovery is also included in the scheme with tanks located for emergency use by the Fire Brigade, as well as supplying toilet cisterns throughout the building.

Ten employees at York-based DWA architects have been rewarded for ten years service at the firm this week.

The employees, who have clocked up more than 100 years of exemplary service between them, each received a case of wine to mark the occasion. David Ward, founder and chief executive of DWA, and director John Stockill, who have both been with the company for 20 years, presented the awards.

Amongst the recipients were director Andrew Jenkins and architectural technician Brian Collinson. Brian says, “Being part of a team with so many long serving staff in a range of roles enables us to share experience and knowledge which benefits the team on a daily basis. It also makes DWA a great place for people who are new to the industry to come and learn and develop.”

DWA Architects is York 's largest and one of the north's leading multi-disciplinary architecture and design practices. People are very important to the firm, which is proud to be one of the few architectural practices to have attained Investors in People recognition.

David Ward says, “We're lucky to have so many loyal, hardworking and long serving staff. Our team has already achieved great things this year and having the right people is integral to that success. We're always on the lookout for talented people to join us at DWA.”

Picture shows: DWA's long serving team. (L-R) David Ward, Andrew Wright, Chriss Potts, Malcolm Cadden, Mike Hay, John Stockill, Chris Shearman, Andrew Jenkins, Anthony Roberts, Brian Collinson, Mel Fairbourn-Varley and Tim Poupard

April 2008 > Hat Trick for DWA Architects

John Stockill of DWA Architects has completed a hat trick of national healthcare award wins this month.

For the third year running, John and his team were given the award for Contemporary Design at the national Caring Business / Pinders Healthcare Design Awards. Actor Richard Briers presented the award for Priscilla Wakefield House in north London at a dinner at Lords cricket ground.

The judges praised DWA's creativity in fitting a 112 bed care home onto a site less than half an acre in size, while carefully planning ample outdoor space through the creation of a series of terraces and roof gardens around the outside of the building.

They also said that DWA's use of contemporary design, coupled with careful use of colour, provided an aid to orientation throughout the home, especially for those suffering from dementia.

In 2007, John's team won the same award for a care home in Hammersmith from a shortlist made up exclusively of DWA projects and again in 2006 for a development in the centre of Derby .

Richard Briers was representing guest charity The Alzheimer's Society at the awards dinner, for which the event raised £10,000.

John Stockill - DWA Architects, Karen Heale - Caring Business Publisher, Mitesh Dhanak - Precious Homes and Richard Briers.

Without waiting for the dust to settle after moving into a new office in January, York architectural practice DWA has hired six new members of staff in recent weeks.

The firm's continued expansion follows several new contract wins, including a multi million pound extension to the Monkbar Hotel in York city centre to provide enlarged conference facilities and 25 new en-suite rooms over four floors.

The new recruits take staff numbers at the firm to 72. Alongside several new architectural and CAD technicians, Roy Langstaff has joined the team as a senior architect.

Since qualifying from Leeds Metropolitan University in 1996, trained architect Roy has worked in a wide variety of sectors including retail, industrial and defence. This experience will bring an abundance of expertise to DWA, where he will be looking after the day-to-day running of the design team, overseeing workload and client liaison and ensuring deadlines are met.

Roy is looking forward to broadening his experience with the new projects DWA has on the go. He said, "I was first attracted to the role because of the overall commitment through all levels of the company, especially the chief executive's commitment to the workforce. I am now looking forward to the variety of the projects I'll be involved with."

DWA Architects is York 's largest and one of the north's leading multi-disciplinary architecture and design practices. According to David Ward , founder and chief executive, the growth plans continue well into the future:

"The latest appointments have followed a series of contract wins, and we are looking for more people to help manage our growing portfolio of work," he said. "There are plenty of opportunities at DWA for creative, talented people."

Picture shows : Roy Langstaff - Senior Architect, Alex Johnson - Junior CAD Technician, Amy Nortcliff - CAD Assistant, Mark Dunwell - IT Technician and Edward Cross - CAD Technician ready to get down to business at DWA Architects.