Levitt Bernstein Explained

Levitt Bernstein is an architecture, landscape architecture and urban design practice established in 1968 by David Levitt and David Bernstein with studios in London and Manchester. Levitt Bernstein's long-standing commitment to housing and urban design is balanced by many projects in the arts, education and cultural sectors, as well as health, offices, retail and community-based schemes.

Selected projects

The practice has undertaken the following projects:

• 1976 & 1998 — Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester^[1]
• 1997 — Ikon Gallery, Birmingham
• 1999 — Colston Hall, Bristol
• 1998 — Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent
• 2001 — Stratford Circus, London
• 2003 — LSO St Luke's, London
• 2004 — YMCA Indian Student Hostel, London
• 2006 — The Brunswick Centre, London
• 2007 — Toynbee Studios, London
• 2007 — Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds
• 2007 — James Lighthill House, University College, London
• 2008 — Victoria Gallery & Museum, University of Liverpool
• 2008 — Ramsay Hall, University College London
• 2009 — Granville New Homes, London
• 2009 — Bolanachi Building, Bermondsey Spa, London
• 2010 — Heating Infrastructure Project (HIP), University of Liverpool
• 2010 — Greengate House, London
• 2011 — Central House, University College London
• 2011 — Queensbridge Quarter, London
• 2011 — Aylesbury Estate South West Corner, London
• 2011 — Harvey Court (refurbishment and modernisation), Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
• 2013 — Papermill Place, Walthamstow, London
• 2013 — John Dodgson House, University College London
• 2014 — VIVO, Ocean Estate, Tower Hamlets, London
• 2014 — So Stepney, Ocean Estate, Tower Hamlets, London

Awards

The firm has won a number of awards, including:

• RIBA Architectural Awards
• Civic Trust Awards
• Housing Design Awards
• London Planning Awards
• Regeneration and Renewal Awards
• Housebuilder Awards
• Affordable Home Ownership Awards
• Constructing Excellence Awards
• First Time Buyer Awards
• British Construction Industry Awards

Further reading

• Housing our Ageing Population: Panel for Innovation (HAPPI) (Published by: HCA, CLG and Dept. of Health: 2009). This report was commissioned by the Homes and Communities Agency on behalf of Communities and Local Government and the Department of Health to consider how best to address the challenge of providing homes that meet the needs and aspirations of the older people of the future. The work builds on Lifetime Homes: Lifetime Neighbourhoods: a national strategy for housing in an ageing society. A 13-member panel was supported by Levitt Bernstein and PTEa, working with Design for Homes.
• Recommendations for living at Superdensity (Published by Design for Homes, 2007: Working in collaboration with three other architectural practices (HTA, PRP and PTE Architects), Levitt Bernstein prepared a design guide tackling the challenges of living at densities higher than 150 dwellings per hectare.
• David Levitt (September 2009), Housing Design Handbook, Routledge. .
• Higher Density Housing for Families: A Design and Specification Guide (Published by London Housing Federation, 2004): A guide developed by Helen Cope and Levitt Bernstein, with cost advisors Walker Management. The guide, which starts with a matrix of recommendations for different housing typologies, concentrates on responsible design and specification to ensure that higher density housing for families is developed in a way that maximises the advantages and avoids the pitfalls.
• HCA Research, Dwelling space calculator and generic plans for affordable housing(2008): Levitt Bernstein developed a simple space standards calculator to generate the minimum dwelling floor areas which would comfortably meet the current range of standards for affordable housing.

Notes and References

1. Williams . Fran . Discover the AJBL: Royal Exchange Theatre by Levitt Bernstein, 1976 . . 15 September 2021 . en.