SHOFFICE BY PLATFORM 5 ARCHITECTS

Shoffice (shed + office) is a garden pavilion containing a small office alongside garden storage space located to the rear of a 1950's terraced house in St John’s Wood with the brief requiring the shoffice to be conceived of as a sculptural object that flowed into the garden space.

The glazed office space nestles into an extruded timber elliptical shell, reminiscent of a wood shaving, and forms a small terrace in the lawn.

The interior is oak lined and fitted out with a cantilevered desk and storage. Two rooflights - one glazed above the desk with another open to the sky outside the office bring light into the work space.

The lightweight structure, formed with two steel ring beams, timber ribs and a stressed plywood skin, sits on minimal pad foundations.

Much of the project was prefabricated to reduce the amount of material that needed to be moved through the house during construction.

 

Location: London, England

Architect: Platform 5Architects

Structural engineer: Morph Structures

Design development & Fabricators: Millimetre

Client: Private

Year: 2012

ROTHERHAM CENTRAL STATION BY AEDAS

The architectural designs are for South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE), Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (RMBC) and Yorkshire Forward, and will see the station significantly upgraded to rival other improved stations in Barnsley, Doncaster and Sheffield.

 

The station provides a key gateway to Rotherham for local rail users and provides a vital link via Doncaster and Sheffield to mainline services for Scotland, London, Birmingham, Manchester and other regions across the country.

In addition to transport facilities, the station will also incorporate a new passenger lounge, retail space and a travel and information centre and the high-quality standard of the proposed designs for the facilities at the new Rotherham Railway Station will represent a step change in service provision and station design, for visiting travellers and the regional community.

The station redesign uses a striking roof structure to create a landmark gateway to the town centre and ensures the plans reflect its position as a key component towards the town’s regeneration and Urban Renaissance programme.

The design of the transport hub will seek to unify the stations elements within a coherent architectural and landscaping strategy, enhancing the resident, visitor and user experience that will embrace the principles of social, economic and environmental sustainability.

Architectural firm, Aedas, have devised the building which is designed to create a modern, lightweight entrance structure which uses natural light to create an impression of openness and space.

The building also includes a new passenger waiting lounge, ticket office, retail area and lifts to the platforms. The platforms themselves have been updated, with new canopies giving improved weather protection to passengers, and with

Improved CCTV across the whole site.

Coun Gerald Smith, who represents Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council at the South Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority, said: “These improved facilities and the new look of the station certainly provide a better first impression of Rotherham for train travellers.

 

 

Location: Rotherham, South Yorkshire, UK 
Architects: Aedas 
Structural Engineer: Arup, Leeds 
Funding Contributors: Yorkshire forward, Network Rail (Access for all Scheme) 
Area: 1,150 sqm 
Year: 2012 
Client: South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) 
Photographs: Daniel Hopkinson

ROYAL OPERA HOUSE PRODUCTION WORKSHOP BY NICHOLAS HARE ARCHITECTS

Nicholas Hare Architects were appointed by the Royal Opera House in 2007 to design a new production workshop for set construction and fabrication at a new site in Purfleet Essex.

The new building accommodates a large paint-shop for vertical and horizontal scene-painting as well as carpentry and metal workshops.

The vaulted building form is designed to allow fully assembled scenery to be seen as it will on stage, and incorporates continuous rooflights set between the deep primary structural truss members to provide even daylight with reduced glare.

The arched roof is living and planted with sedum to soak up rainwater and provide extra insulation. Long skylights curve in the roof to provide even daylight with reduced glare creating improved conditions to work under.

The cedar wood faced building has a strong presence in the new production campus at the High House Production Park, which includes restored barns and gardens.

The workshop was shortlisted for the New London Architecture Award in 2011 and the Production Campus was named Project of the Year and won the Regeneration award at the 2011 RICS East of England awards.

The scheme recently received the RIBA East Spirit of Ingenuity Award for its "dedication to light and to the craft of making". 

"The workshop has exceeded all our expectations as a work place and is the envy of other Opera Houses around the world. It has totally transformed the way we build and paint our scenery."

 

 

Location: Purfleet Bypass, United Kingdom 
Architects: Nicholas Hare Architects 
Structural Engineer: Arup 
Quantity Surveyor: Gardiner & Theobald 
Area: 4,300 sqm 
Year: 2012 
Client: Royal Opera House 
Photographs: Hufton + Crow

CHURCH WALK BY DAVID MIKHAIL AND ANNALIE RICHES

This new build scheme, situated on one of the oldest streets in Stoke Newington, provides two 3-bedroom houses, a triplex and a 1-bedroom flat. Through design ingenuity quality housing is achieved at a relatively high density, carved out of a troubled and awkward brownfield site.

Significantly overlooked and overshadowed to the rear, the low-rise building form has been closely calibrated using the BRE daylighting guide to avoid injuring the surrounding neighbours’ amenity.  

Unconventional roofs have been carefully shaved and angled to achieve maximum daylight levels and privacy.   Along the street, planted terraces and green roofs step up in a ziggurat form to ensure an animated and unusually green streetscape.

At the heart of each dwelling is a double height family room. North facing windows provide ample natural light, aided further by clerestory glazing at the terrace level above.

Living rooms address the street, providing surveillance and security.  The rear ‘concertina’ elevation is clad in lime washed softwood timber, achieving a both visually and acoustically soft elevation to the neighbouring buildings.

Construction is of pre-fabricated cross-laminated timber, exposed internally where possible with bespoke Douglas Fir skirting boards and timber flooring throughout.  Along the street elevation, brick set in lime mortar is chosen for its robustness.

Whole-house ventilation with heat recovery, triple glazing and high levels of air tightness ensure that Church Walk acts as an example of how careful, sustainable design can greatly enhance the value of difficult inner city sites.

 

Location: London, England

Architect: DavidMikhail and Annalie Riches

Year: 2012

MARTELLO TOWER “Y” BY PIERCY CONNER ARCHITECTS

Converting a Napoleonic defence tower built in 1808 into a 21st Century private residence was a demanding brief.

Duncan Jackson, the founder-director of Billings Jackson Design, bought Martello Tower Y in Suffolk, England, with the intention of creating his family home.

Early planning negotiations revealed the true scale of this ambitious project. The tower is a Scheduled Monument and is located on a flood plain in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Before work began, it was on the ‘At Risk’ register so the priority in conservation terms was to prevent further damage to the brickwork and to restore it where necessary. English Heritage and Suffolk Coastal District Council were keen to minimise the impact of any works so external interventions had to be unobtrusive.

The tower was built in 1808 to defend the east coast against potential invasion. It was last inhabited in the late 19th century and was derelict at the outset of the project. The only entrance is on the first floor of the building, which houses what was an ammunition store.

The new roof follows many of the curves within the original building while the 3 metre thick solid bonded brick walls (originally designed to withstand cannon fire from the North Sea) create a massive base from which the new roof is tethered.

The building is vaulted internally, at the roof and the floor, with a central column supporting the structure. The original brief called for a minimum of three bedrooms and a new roof-level main living space.

The condition of the tower made it difficult to go into more detail initially, so the design evolved over time through intense collaboration between architect and industrial designer. 

The curving roof extension is not only sensitive to the monument and its setting, it echoes the sculptural interior of vaulted brickwork creating a congruency between contemporary and historic.

The success of the project is due entirely to the collaboration and commitment of all team members. Ultimately, it took the determination of this team to satisfy the authorities without compromising design vision, leading Philip Walker of English Heritage to describe the design as “an exemplary and unique conversion of this type of building.”

Location: Suffolk, England 
Architect: Piercy ConnerArchitects 
Project Team: Jackson Design, Sam Lucas (Joinery), Commercial Systems International Limited (Steelwork), Billings Design Associates (Facade Design) 
Structure: Price & Myers, JP Chick and Partners 
Year: 2010 
Award: RIBA Award for the Eastern Region in March 2010