Garrett Jones

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Bellew, Patrick

Patrick Bellew

Specialties:
High performance buildings systems
Integration of environmental/building systems
Architectural and structural schemes
Thermal mass energy storage technologies
Radiant conditioning systems

History
Patrick Bellew, a UK native, attended the School of Architecture and Building Engineering at the University of Bath, receiving a BSc upon completion. During his time at Bath, he was influenced by Professor Ted Happold, who was the founder of Buro Happold, as well as Professor Derek Clements Croome, who ran the Environmental Design Module at Bath. Once he graduated from Bath, Patrick joined the Burro Happold firm, which at the time was a small office in Bath. Working with the firm greatly influenced Bellew’s take on environmental and structural design. Bellew worked for Burro Happold from 1981 till 1987, when he joined Synergy Consulting Engineers as the Director of the firm (3). In 1989 Bellew worked with Neil Thomas to start Atelier One, and in 1990 he joined forces with Neil Thomas and a few other up and coming engineers to create Atelier Ten, his current firm. He is the presiding Principal of Atelier Ten, and has had great success expanding his company’s portfolio and international reach through both design and research (1). Much of his research draws from observation of the environment. In one of his more famous studies, Bellew monitored a specific blind termite to discover how their elaborate hive chambers controlled temperature in harsh environments. From his observations he deduced that convection, thermal mass, and evaporative cooling were crucial in sustainable design. His explorations were put into place in the design of the Federation Square, where thermal massing and shape controlled temperature and moisture naturally without heavy mechanical equipment (4). This process is very typical of Bellew’s thoughts concerning design.

Patrick has taken on many projects around the world, constantly pushing high-end and sustainable design. Some of his award-winning projects include The Earth Centre, the Great Notley Sustainable Primary School in Essex, the Martial Rose Library at King Alfred’s College, and the Winchester and the Baltic Arts Centre in Gateshead. His projects range from commercial buildings to communal places, as well as cultural and national centers (2).

Patick has taken on numerous other appointments outside of Atelier Ten since the success of the company took off. He is a Chartered Building Services Engineer, a Visiting Professor at Yale University School of Architecture, and a Trustee of the UK-Green Building Council. He just finished two positions as a member of the CABE Design Review Committee and as a Member of the Advisory Board of the UK-Green Building Council (2).

Along with his numerous prestigious appointments, Bellew has received many distinguished awards. He was declared a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 1997, given the Honorary Fellow of the RIBA award in 2001, and received the Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineers. He won the Happold Medal in 2008 and was awarded the title of Royal Designer for Industry in 2010 (1).

As of now Patrick Bellew is continuing projects and research as well as publishing papers for Atelier Ten in numerous fields of heat transfer, energy use, and sustainable design.

Selected Projects:

Great Notley Sustainable Primary School, Essex, UK

Sources
(1) http://www.atelierten.com/about-us/patrick.asp
(2) http://www.atelierten.com/about-us/a10_patrick_bellew.pdf
(3) http://www.betterbricks.com/design-construction/patrick-bellew-interview
(4) http://www.bdcnetwork.com/article/atelier-ten-learning-white-ant?page=show

Written by Garrett Jones

February 1, 2011 at 7:35 pm

Posted in Engineers

Atelier Ten

Main Office: London

Additional Offices:
New York
New Haven
San Francisco
Manchester
Glasgow
Edinburgh
Bangkok
Singapore
Melbourne
Sydney

Number of employees: 280

Engineering Specialties:
Environmental Design
Building Services Design
Energy Analysis
Benchmarking
Lighting Design
Masterplanning
Carbon Strategy
Fire Engineering
Verification

History:
Atelier Ten was founded in 1990 by a team of engineers including the current Principal Patrick Bellew (2). Initially the firm worked with small projects that were local and focused on basic sustainability, but the firms comprehensive analysis of environmental issues quickly gained notoriety in the engineering and architecture fields. As projects became regional and ultimately global, more an more effort was put into the services offered. The firm expanded its office, adding sections for fire, thermal, heat, sound, and project management engineering. Due to the increased demand of the firm’s services, Atelier Ten took on consulting as a means to give data and thoughts without being tied down to a single project. The firm has also opened its doors in the past ten years to collaboration with other big name engineering and architecture firms such as Thorton-Tomasetti, Buro-Happold, and Arup. Due to the company’s success, additional offices have been opened around the world. The firm has become a key player in the promotion of environmental legislation and agreements in the UK, with there most recent work looking to push the Kyoto Standards (3).

Key projects in the history of the company include the Singapore Art Center in Singapore (1997), Federation Square in Melbourne, Australia (2002), the Apple Flagship Store in Tokyo (2003), the Comcast Center in Philadelphia (2008), and most recently the Gardens By the Bay in Singapore Bay Marina (2010) (1).

At the end of 2020, Atelier Ten joined the Surbana Jurong Group, a global consultancy in urban and infrastructure development headquartered in Singapore. They are a distinct member company within the Group, and by joining forces they are deepening their expertise and strengthening their commitment to championing sustainability and developing climate change solutions.

Selected Projects:

Comcast Center, Philadelphia, USA