Qualified at the Welsh School of Architecture, Jane Boyes had already started making her mark on the local design scene before undertaking a management buy-out of the firm where she worked in the early 1990s.
In 1994, she was joined by her former colleague, Gary Loo, who came on board as practice partner. Today Boyes Rees Architects has 70 staff with a turnover nearing £5 million. In March 2011, Jane received recognition of her achievements when awarded the title of Best Woman in Property at the Welsh Women Mean Business Awards.
Marketing & PR Manager, Sophie Watkins says, “Today, Boyes Rees works across all sectors but have a number of significant focuses. For example, we work on a vast number of projects in the education and healthcare sectors, but are also very active in hotel design. We also work in the residential and retail sectors, often on mixed use schemes and we work with a number of the well-known supermarket chains. In addition, we have a specialist interior design team who undertake work that is incorporated within a major project such as a school or hospital, but we also work on stand-alone interiors projects, from bespoke luxury homes to private healthcare residences. Effectively, we have a varied, but balanced portfolio of clients”
The practice works on projects across the UK and is currently picking up key projects in the southeast of England, but, somewhat naturally due to its location, there have been a significant amount of buildings designed in Wales and the Southwest. One notable, current project is for Coleg Morgannwg – one of the largest providers of further education and training in south Wales. The College’s ambition is to transform its estate through strategically planned change to create a learning facility that will deliver long-term sustainability, and will be an iconic beacon for skills development in Rhondda Cynon Taf. Its design will meet contemporary and future requirements and ensure that sufficient numbers of highly qualified learners in high-tech and the knowledge-based industries are available.
Following production and delivery of a detailed multicampus feasibility study, Boyes Rees Architects is designing for the new Nantgarw campus site. The proposed building design comprises two curved (facetted) parallel blocks linked by a glazed street. The rear block rises to four storeys and the front block is three storeys high, with a glazed roof linking the two blocks to create a central atrium area.
The building is designed to achieve a minimum BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating, with an aspiration to achieve an ‘Outstanding’ rating. Amongst a number of sustainable features, the design responds by incorporating a biomass boiler, solar thermal panels, plus high levels of insulation and air tightness. Based on its exemplary sustainable credentials at design stage, the project has been selected as a Constructing Excellence Wales demonstration project and has also been chosen as a case study for the 3 year EU/WAG funded Low Carbon Research Institute programme that Boyes Rees is working on with the Welsh School of Architecture.
Back to Sophie, “Both Jane and Gary have developed Boyes Rees as a progressive and innovative practice, which includes bringing sustainable design to the top of the practice’s agenda. We have established our own in-house BREEAM assessment capability and, more recently, we also have Code for Sustainable Homes assessment capability. The Directors ensure that resources are continually invested in CPD training for staff in all key industry subjects, including sustainable development.”
For further information please telephone 02920 558900 or visit www.boyesrees.co.uk/
