They've Got It All Covered
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
FRIDAY 03/05/2013 In association with The British FRIDAY 03/05/2013 WWW.BDONLINE.CO.UK 10 STEEL FOCUS BRENT CIVIC CENTRE Constructional Steelwork 11 WWW.BDONLINE.CO.UK Association and Tata Steel The main elevation is dominated by a dramatic steel and ETFE roof canopy soaring over a They’ve got it timber-finned “civic drum”. all covered Hopkins Architects’ Brent Civic Centre in north London brings together a range of public services in an elegant COMMUNITY HALL cross-bracing. At top and structure crowned by a stunning ETFE and steel roof A radial ceiling structure bottom, the members fix into Text by Pamela Buxton was needed within the a connecting fin plate that 22m-diameter community is bolted to a casting plate hall to support the load of the in the concrete column. The level-three floor slab above. feature fin plate has a slight ow football fans flock- Hopkins designed this as curve to match the profile of ing to Wembley will exposed braced steelwork, the concrete. have something other increasing the challenge for The steelwork has been than the famous arch 4 steelwork contractor Bourne. finished in a micaceous iron to look at as they make The structure is formed oxide top coat and will be N like a spider web, with 12 exposed as a feature of their way to the stadium from the underground. Hopkins Ar- cranked sections measuring the hall. chitects’ Brent Civic Centre, on 5m and radiating out to “It took a while to come Engineers Way just off the main meet concrete perimeter up with but it’s a very simple pedestrian route to the stadium, 1 3 columns. At the 2.5m crank structural solution of tension opens this summer, dominated point, these are linked by and compression,” says by an ETFE-filled roof sailing 5 steel rods that together URS regional director Mike high over a circular “civic drum” form a tension ring. Further Pauley, adding that the and atrium. connecting wires criss- construction method avoided The 40,000sq m building is 2 cross back to the top of the the need for adjustors within on course to gain a Breeam “out- adjacent members to provide the structure. standing” rating and combines civic, administrative and com- munity functions. By bringing AERIAL PERSPECTIVE together different uses within an interactive public space, the 1 Brent Civic Centre 2 Wedding Garden 3 Arena Square 4 Wembley Stadium architect developed ideas first 5 Olympic Way explored in the Hackney Service Centre, completed by the practice “We wanted to design a build- atrium, the roof reflected the de- in 2009, according to senior part- ing that was both stunning and sire to bring all departments to- ner David Selby. buildable within the budget,” says gether in one building ‘under one The £100 million building Selby. “Local authorities want the roof’. The use of standard steel brings together 2,000 staff from most sustainable modern build- sections for the roof structure disparate offices and deliberately ing, but not one that is ostenta- was an economical and elegant seeks to encourage connectivity tious. So at Brent Civic Centre, solution.” and openness through its design. our approach utilised thermal Hopkins opted to orientate the This also entailed a rationalisa- mass, natural ventilation, robust building on Arena Square, with tion of office accommodation, surfaces and suspended services. visitors entering the atrium at with eight seats for every 10 staff External features were largely ground level and proceeding up to reflect anticipated numbers in functional, for example the brise- grand civic steps to the council the office at any one time. soleil facade. In the case of the chamber. Instead of occupy- also symbolic of the connectivity The exposed nature of the steel between different floors and de- created an extra level of difficulty partments that the new building for steelwork contractor Bourne aims to embody. Engineering, which installed 900 At the front, the civic drum tonnes of structural steelwork. is clad in laminated timber to “It was a very challenging pro- 1 distinguish it from the rest of ject,” says Bourne design manager 7 the structure, and occupies the James Bichard. “The aesthetics of 4 4 south-east of the plan. It includes the structural steelwork detailing a ground-floor community hall, was really important because it and above this, the civic cham- was all visible.” ber and members’ offices. This Brent Civic Centre is at the is reached via the steel-framed, heart of a rapidly transforming 31m-high atrium that links the area, with a 160,000sq m mixed- CIVIC CHAMBER the seventh floor and support 1 3 6 drum to the administrative offic- use scheme designed by Make The double-height council the raking hat that is the es and also forms a public space Architects for Quintain planned chamber is situated at level glass lantern at the top of the with one-stop shop council facili- on an adjacent site. This will pro- three with a central lantern structure.” ATRIUM ROOF tapered end is pin-fixed to ties at mezzanine level above the vide 1,300 new homes and a large rising from levels five to Unlike the community hall, The atrium roof grid is the perimeter roof beams, ground floor. public square. eight, the latter level visible the bulk of the steelwork formed by five, 30m-long which are also shaped The atrium acts as the main visitor entrance for the civic centre. The slimline structure of the The civic centre’s predicted above the drum roof. is covered by slatted oak plate girder I beams, to accommodate the 2 5 All of the slimline steelwork is visible and is an important atrium and roof is set out on a Breeam score puts it on course to “The steel frame over the veneer panels, with the each measuring 950mm connection. At the bottom, aesthetic element of the 31m-high structure. 7.5m grid, and filled with ETFE being the greenest public office council chamber rises from exception of the central x 350mm. These were the columns terminate in pillows. “We were pleased it was building in the UK, and the fourth fifth to sixth raking in while feature lantern. delivered in sections and a feature pin connection to ing the whole site, the practice ther end by steel framework – a slender because that was the greenest in the world. also triangulating; a complex welded on site and are linked the end plate of a 7.7m-high left an adjacent space for a wed- structural necessity to support the whole point of using steel – to get geometry to imagine, but one by beams to form a 7.5m concrete column. ding garden to support use of the slab where the central columns a structural efficiency and light- that looks elegantly simple grid pattern. The roof beams 1,000-capacity community hall as were removed to facilitate verti- ness,” says Selby. PROJECT TEAM when modelled,” says Mike The beams are supported accommodate integral, a wedding venue. Administrative cal circulation stairs. The cross- “We picked the material that Client London Borough of Brent Pauley of URS. at their ends by 23m-tall, 1m-wide, U-shaped, pressed- accommodation is arranged over braced, glazed elevations reveal suited the vision,” says URS re- Architect Hopkins Architects “At the sixth floor, a circular, hollow-section steel insulated gutters which nine floors in an L-shaped build- staff moving between the floors gional director Mike Pauley. Engineer URS compression ring holds the tapering columns, brought support the ETFE pillows on ing wrapping around the rear of through perimeter stairs within “Where we were getting the 15m Contractor Skanska ends of the raking members to site in two lengths and all sides as well as dealing SECTION the site. what Selby describes as “mini- spans, concrete became too heavy Steelwork contractor and supports vertical welded. At the top, the with rainwater run-off. This structure is braced at ei- conservatories”. The bracing is visually to achieve that [vision].” Bourne Engineering members. These rise up to 1 Office accommodation 2 Civic steps 3 Atrium 4 ETFE roof 5 Community hall 6 Civic chamber 7 Lantern DRAWING: HOPKINS ARCHITECTS; MAIN PHOTO: JON CARDWELL FRIDAY 03/05/2013 In association with The British FRIDAY 03/05/2013 WWW.BDONLINE.CO.UK 12 STEEL FOCUS TWIN SAILS BRIDGE Constructional Steelwork 13 WWW.BDONLINE.CO.UK Association and Tata Steel The triangular sections rise up to twice the height of a conventional bascule bridge. The carbon-fibre masts on Raising the either side add a further 20m. main sails Wilkinson Eyre’s Poole harbour crossing is a clever twist on the traditional drawbridge, with diagonal bascules that rise up like the masts of a ship Text by Pamela Buxton t takes just two minutes to open the latest Poole harbour crossing to allow the busy maritime traffic to pass, and another two minutes to close THE ‘SAILS’ I As the two 35m-long it back down and allow road and pedestrian use to resume. Since it bascules rise through 88 opened last year, the Twin Sails 1 degrees to open the bridge, bridge at the entrance to Holes 2 they appear to cross, in a Bay has greatly reduced the se- 4 reference to the shapes of vere road congestion that used sails of the maritime traffic to occur every time the existing in the harbour. 1920s bridge rose to allow vessels Conventional bascule to pass. As well as these practical 3 opening requires an benefits, the bridge, designed by interlocking bolt to contend Wilkinson Eyre, adds a sail-like PHOTO: WILKINSON EYRE with the potential rocking flourish when in open mode in movement from one reference to its context.