About
Architects Masterplanners Urban Designers
Continuing Care Multigeneration Co-Housing
Continuing Care Multigeneration Co-Housing
THE PRACTICE
Noel Isherwood Architects and Urban Designers specialise in housing and public buildings. This encompasses
extensive experience of arts and heritage based regeneration projects, private residential, community, commercial
and ecclesiastical building projects.
Senior housing communities, multigenerational co-housing and continuing care environments now form a significant part of the projects in the office. We have design and engagement tools to assist in creating attractive and engaging places, where people feel valued and become an integral part of a thriving community.
To service diverse and active communities, mixed uses are considered key. They include the incorporation of key focal points such as the ‘village hall’ or its equivalent, corner shops, pharmacies and other shared internal and external common space. So for example our MUST concept (Mixed Use Settlement Theory) is the principle developed and promoted in much of the work by the practice. This links in with our Masterplanning service which ensures that the places created have the feel of, and incorporate independent living, more reminiscent of an open village than of a closed institution
Senior housing communities, multigenerational co-housing and continuing care environments now form a significant part of the projects in the office. We have design and engagement tools to assist in creating attractive and engaging places, where people feel valued and become an integral part of a thriving community.
To service diverse and active communities, mixed uses are considered key. They include the incorporation of key focal points such as the ‘village hall’ or its equivalent, corner shops, pharmacies and other shared internal and external common space. So for example our MUST concept (Mixed Use Settlement Theory) is the principle developed and promoted in much of the work by the practice. This links in with our Masterplanning service which ensures that the places created have the feel of, and incorporate independent living, more reminiscent of an open village than of a closed institution
Expectations are not always met when
people move into senior housing or
assisted housing developments. Standard
development can create frustration for
residents and developers alike. We help
bring a greater sense of wellbeing to
those living and working in this kind of
development.
We create active social life for seniors to live
with dignity in beautiful, comfortable
surroundings that create the highest quality of
living affordably.
We do this by using our unique diagnostic
process with our experienced design
team. We identify your opportunities and
then, subject to viability, move you
forward to implementation with a clear
route map. We work in a holistic manner
with our design team consultants to
create holistic and sustainable buildings
and communities. Our buildings and the
places we create are designed to
compliment and integrate with the
surrounding neighbourhood and the
environment.
There are many daunting challenges in
planning and development today. Our expert
architectural and urban design team will
provide you with the optimum route to a
successful completion of the project. Together
with our carefully selected design team
consultants, you will have full confidence in the
process even though you have never done this
kind of project before.
THE TEAM
Noel Isherwood is the Founder and Principal of the practice who leads an experienced team of Chartered Architects who are able to see your vision through to reality in the fields of architecture and urban design. We believe that there should be a seamless connection between urban design, the ‘masterplan’ and the architecture whatever the size of the assignment (from £20 million commercial developments to smaller projects led by communities and individuals, and from international and UK contracts to local South Wales ventures). We have developed a specialism in the field of senior and multi-generational housing and actively support the principle of community-led housing. Together the team is kept in shape by our Practice Co-ordinator.
The foundation of Noel Isherwood
Architects dates from the late 1980‘s in
London. The current form of practice was
established in 2010 by Noel, urbanist and artist
based at the Environment Centre in Swansea
since 2017. Senior Living, Co-Housing and
Multigenerational housing projects have
become the key specialist area in which the
practice now operates.
The drive for more
housing, but with significantly improved social
or community value, is where
Noel sees the
future of large scale housing demand.
Wellbeing and health concerns are more able
to be addressed in these new ‘housing models, many of which..’ have been well tried and
tested in other countries and have been
proven to work extremely well.
Noel is a
founding member of Swansea Co-Housing
group and understands the difficulties that
many people have with the standard housing
models. While such groups have been seen
as very fringe in the past, recent experiences
such as the Pandemic lockdowns have
taught us that quality neighbourhoods,
inclusivity and connectedness have become
more desirable commodities, valued by young
and old alike.
He studied Architecture at Canterbury School of Architecture and won the Third Year RIBA Student Prize. Following this he studied at the Architectural Association in London, including urbanism, where he received his AA Diploma.
Noel has had extensive experience in bringing together diverse stakeholder interests to produce realisable visions to create low carbon communities. He led workshops with and for the Prince’s Foundation and others to assist in the delivery of Neighbourhood Plans with local communities across England. He was a Co-Founder of the first urban Community Land Trust at St Clements Bow and for a period was the Poundbury Representative of the Princes Foundation.
Noel has had extensive experience in bringing together diverse stakeholder interests to produce realisable visions to create low carbon communities. He led workshops with and for the Prince’s Foundation and others to assist in the delivery of Neighbourhood Plans with local communities across England. He was a Co-Founder of the first urban Community Land Trust at St Clements Bow and for a period was the Poundbury Representative of the Princes Foundation.
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Janet is PA for Noel Isherwood, helping to develop systems in the practice. She plays an
important role in keeping the team in order. After more than 30 years as a Secretary or Personal
Assistant working in a professional management institute, a worldwide Scripture publishing
charity and a Bible Lands travel business – all at Director or Senior Leadership Team level – She
gained first-hand experience of supporting executives daily facing the challenges of funding
constraints, tensions between business and ministry and the difficulties of finding suitably qualified staff sympathetic to the organisation’s work and ethos. We are happy that she is able to draw on this wide experience and developed skills working at Noel Isherwood Architects.
‘Taida is instrumental in the smooth running of many of our projects,
bringing years of experience to the centre of the residential and
educational projects alike. She sticks with the project through the
technical stages, maintaining a clear focus on the design while
resolving issues that might divert.
Taida also plays and important role in the relationships between Noel and the client and the web of consultants, engineers and contractors involved in bringing the building to life’.
Taida is Senior Architect in the practice highly qualified and skilled in CAD and drawing information production and project management. She has worked for a number of boutique architectural practices in the UK with an emphasis on heritage and traditional building construction, but is equally at home with contemporary design solutions. She has a thorough understanding of the building process with the enthusiasm and competence needed to see designs and projects through to completion.
Taida also plays and important role in the relationships between Noel and the client and the web of consultants, engineers and contractors involved in bringing the building to life’.
Taida is Senior Architect in the practice highly qualified and skilled in CAD and drawing information production and project management. She has worked for a number of boutique architectural practices in the UK with an emphasis on heritage and traditional building construction, but is equally at home with contemporary design solutions. She has a thorough understanding of the building process with the enthusiasm and competence needed to see designs and projects through to completion.
‘Rocio uses her combined urban planning and architectural skills to
assist with the masterplanning work in the practice. She uses her technical skills to marshal layers of information including GPS,topographical surveys and other data into a co-ordinated and precise
masterplan, in collaboration with other member of the planning and design teams’.
Rocio is an architect with masterplanning and heritage skills. She graduated with honors and was awarded with an extraordinary prize upon graduation from ETSAE (Spain). She is conversant with all the mainstream computer aided design programs and assists the team with her wide drawing experience and Architectural design skills. She has an interest in the regeneration of the heritage building stock in the context of wider urban analysis and city structuring.
Rocio is an architect with masterplanning and heritage skills. She graduated with honors and was awarded with an extraordinary prize upon graduation from ETSAE (Spain). She is conversant with all the mainstream computer aided design programs and assists the team with her wide drawing experience and Architectural design skills. She has an interest in the regeneration of the heritage building stock in the context of wider urban analysis and city structuring.
Rhiannon is an architectural assistant, a recent graduate of Cardiff University School of Architecture. She took two years on her ‘year out’, to gain valuable experience at a firm of
Architects in Truro, Cornwall. In her fifth year she looked into the redevelopment of the Civic
Centre in Swansea. This was part of a unit which sought solutions that could save unloved post-war architecture from demolition, in light of the climate crisis and limited resources. Her project was featured in ‘The National’ newspaper, which led to her involvement with the Research & Development phase of ‘GALWAD 22’, a government funded project run by National Theatre Wales which celebrated the Future Generations Act.
ARCHITECTURE ● URBANISM ● VISION
Projects And Services
Architecture
As an experienced team of architects Noel Isherwood Architects dedicates itself to providing clients in need of a new, extended or refurbished building, with the professional architectural services they need to bring a project safely, sustainably and cost-effectively to completion, according to the current RIBA Plan of Work.
Our practice has wide experience in the residential / housing sector, but also in the arts and community, commercial, ecclesiastical and healthcare sectors and of working with historic (including Listed) buildings, including in conservation areas and of interior design. Our team also has experience in the education sector, and of working on projects in world heritage locations.
Noel Isherwood Architects also has a team of experienced urban designers with the ability to take you through the steps necessary to regenerate or enhance a city quarter, neighbourhood, town centre, village, brownfield and/or to develop over a greenfield site.
These steps may include Masterplanning, Public Realm Design Guidance, Characterisation Studies, Urban and High Street Regeneration, Enquiry by Design and more.
Visualisation
We have wide experience in the residential sector, but also experience in the arts, community and charitable, commercial, ecclesiastical, education and healthcare sectors and of working with historic buildings, including listed buildings in conservation areas and world heritage locations.
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