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A love of buildings, new and old

By William Assheton

Partner

GSS

GSSArchitecture is celebrating its 140th anniversary as an architectural practice throughout 2019. This month, William Assheton, Partner at the Practice, takes the opportunity to reflect on his time at GSSArchitecture since he joined 22 years ago.

 

I THINK perhaps my grandfather being an Anglican priest, my parents taking me and my brother to castles, churches, cathedrals and other historic buildings and my being educated in a building designed by eminent Victorian architects (Pugin, Scott, Butterfield, etc.) led me to an interest in architectural history.

At Manchester University I chose ‘historic’ options whenever possible, including my dissertation on the Last Flower of the Gothic Revival (Ninian Comper), but I wanted to work on new buildings, although in the various practices I have worked in I usually became involved in repair and alteration to listed buildings.

At the other end of the spectrum, whilst working for Frederick Gibberd in London, I worked on the Canary Wharf Tower and other modern offices and shopping centres.

When I moved back to the Midlands the prospect of working on a combination of modern and historic projects at Gotch, Saunders & Surridge appealed to me and so I joined in 1997, becoming a Partner in 2001. Since that time my career has been full of variety, with repairing historic buildings being balanced by new builds.

I am currently working on Corpus Christi College, Oxford; the refurbishment of The Hind Hotel in Wellingborough, and repairs to many churches in the surrounding area. The scale ranges from the over £3m refurbishment of the Old Bishop’s Palace, Ely, to window repairs at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Northampton, whilst the Radstone Community Centre on the edge of Brackley is a recently completed new building on which I have worked. Perhaps the building of which I am most proud is a new prep school in Oundle, which was very economical and yet which has a contemporary feel, fitting well to its setting on the edge of Oundle’s historic centre, with fields to its rear.

What I enjoy on projects is the different briefs we have to meet and the design process, including the whole construction team: client, other consultants and contractors, all working to the same goal. The completion of a project can be bittersweet when one has worked for a number of years with a team who one normally never actually says goodbye to, with individuals gradually drifting off. One of the reasons I feel GSS are often used again by clients is because I think we imagine we are our clients and so think about how building works will affect a live site, and also how our clients will use the building once they have occupied it. Having quantity surveyors in-house also makes us more cost conscious than if we did not.

After 22 years of working at GSS I have learnt to love Northamptonshire and its many fabulous, much underrated buildings. I have worked on new buildings and alterations to many schools in and around Northamptonshire, varying from small extensions to new schools. At GSS we feel part of the community, having built so many buildings here over our 140 years in Kettering. I look forward to more years and contributing to the lives of many, which should be to their benefit!

For more information about GSSArchitecture and to keep up to date with its latest projects and activities visit www.gssarchitecture.com

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