HIGHLIGHTS

2010 saw think architecture+design continue to establish their new practice. As well as the ongoing leisure and residential studies work commenced on a couple of office refurbishment schemes with the one being submitted for Planning Approval towards the end of the year. This scheme goes to committee in early 2011 with a recommendation for approval and thereafter the scheme will hopefully go to site in the first quarter of 2011.

Other work picked up through the year included a couple of strategic site reviews/masterplans with the one being for a major mixed use out of town site and the other being a distribution centre situated adjacent a motorway. The first of a series of health club designs was completed in this year and also the fit-out for the regional office of a national contractor was designed as well as looking at some building rebranding studies for another client.

With the ever increasing workload Sarah Dabbs joined the practice and her position of designer directly reflects her broad range of design skills and interests from the micro to the macro.

Initially Sarah trained as an Interior Designer and gained a First Class Honours Degree at the University of Huddersfield where her thesis included a masterplan study of transitional spaces at a transport interchange. Whilst working in London she had the benefit of working for some very high profile interior design companies specialising in high end retail, leisure and residential fit-out.

With Sarah's already established interest working at different scales she took the opportunity to pursue an MA in Urban Environmental Design at Leeds Metropolitan University and afterwards she worked alongside John Thorp on his book about his work in shaping Leeds over the years. Sarah's role was to assist with producing the required graphic output together with liaising with co-writer Rachel Unsworth.

More recently Sarah had been working on the FF&E package for a four star hotel in Chesterfield that opened in November 2010. Recently this hotel has been recieving outstanding reviews especially citing the ambiance created by the internal fit-out.

Since joining think architecture+design Sarah has turned her design skills to website design and development and is currently preparing a new site for think architecture+design which is due for release early in 2011.