Ana paula pacheco

Lloyd's of London Architectural Speculation Tensions, Circumstances and Influences Ana Paula Beghetto Pacheco

Lloyd's of London Architectural Speculation Tensions, Circumstances and Influences Ana Paula Beghetto Pacheco

The Inside-Out Building: located in 1, Lime Street, City of London. It is the youngest building that obtained the highest listing status (Grade I): “The

Lloyds building designed by Richard Rogers Partnership stands the test of time with its awe-inspiring futuristic design which exemplifies the High Tech style in Britain.� 1Completed in 1986, the Lloyd's of London building and its radical structure have become a symbol of the British architectural resurgence in the 1980s - when the Post Modernism and Classicism were the prominent styles.

Furthermore, conservative and populist forces, backed by Prince Charles were campaigning against modern architecture. No other building constructed after the World War II in the medieval streets of the City denied so strongly the dated pastiche of 'keeping in keeping' architecture as did the Lloyd's building by Rogers.

1 Waite, Richard (19 December 2011). "Rogers' Lloyd's becomes youngest Grade-I listed building".

Architects Journal. Retrieved 7 February 2013.

Lloyd's of London Architectural Speculation Tensions, Circumstances and Influences Ana Paula Beghetto Pacheco

He rejected the Postmodernism's allusions to outdated historicist styles, although himself presented multiple historical references. Rogers rooted his interest in a different lineage with diverse derivations that can be verified in an eloquent and coherent way at the Lloyd's design. His architecture stemmed from the industrial age and his poetry was informed by the Soviet Constructivism; the Archigram's self-sufficient, utopian and technology-oriented projects; the Santa Ellia's Futurism; and the 1960s Japanese Metabolists.

Rogers was interested in prefabrication and was influenced by the work of Louis Kahn and his idea of buildings divided into ‘served and servant’ spaces. The plan of the Lloyds remits to Frank Lloyd Wright's Larking Building, organized around a large central atrium. Roger's appreciation for Maison de Verre, in Paris, designed by Pierre Chareau, contributed to the use of translucent glazing.

The six service towers (for elevators, firefighting and escape, lavatories and risers) surrounding the body of the building were positioned so as to optimize the irregular geometry of the site. They were built with pre-cast elements and entirely separated from the main floor constructed with in situ concrete, creating a vast open floorplates. Precisely assembled stainless steel was used to clad these service towers. The extensive use of glass contributed to compose the external appearance and to optimize the lighting, electrical, and conditioning systems.

Inside-out building was commissioned and constructed between 1977 and 1986, when Lloyds, a leading insurance company, spearheaded huge transformations by introducing electronic operations to the financial market. By the time Rogers won the commission, only about 4 per cent of underwrites used computers, and most of the members did not believe that this situation would change. Nevertheless, Rogers' team did not follow the conservative instinct of the members and instead incorporated the use of computers terminals and information technology into the project, fact that had a substantial impact in the dimensions of the service towers and in the building

Lloyd's of London Architectural Speculation Tensions, Circumstances and Influences Ana Paula Beghetto Pacheco

proportions.

The Inside-Out Building: pipes, air ducts, elevators, stairs are horizontally aligned with the building exterior; the bathroom units are stainless steel boxes externally plugged into the structure; blue mechanical gantries are attached to the roof to sustain platforms used to wash the windows. The sum of all the references and solutions applied at Lloyd's building generated a futuristic interpretation of a Gothic Cathedral, featuring on its surface a dramatic set of light and shadow. The challenge of creating architecture with meaning in a large and generic character building was overcome by Richard Rogers and his team.

On the one hand, Rogers could not impress on Lloyd's building a desired public character: he initially thought the ground area as an extension of the street destined to City workers and tourists, but security concerns prevented him from achieving the original plan. On the other hand, it is possible to affirm that the architect succeeded in challenging the conventional thinking in a crucial moment for architectural discussions. He also accomplished to create innovative relations with the building's surroundings, especially with the 1920s Neoclassical arch by Sir Edwin Cooper and the Victorian Leadnhall Market: a glazed canopy that leads to the main entrance of the building recalls the architecture of the market.

The building does justice to its name, by radically conveying its functionality and contemporariness and fluidly communicating with the neighbouring cityscape. It became a modernist landmark in the financial heart

Lloyd's of London Architectural Speculation Tensions, Circumstances and Influences Ana Paula Beghetto Pacheco

of an increasingly liberal and business-oriented City of London, a palimpsest of overlapping periods which, as Rogers proved, do not need to be informed by extemporaneous values. In extracting maximum benefit from the space and the available technologies, he turned inside out British self-notion of its place in modernity.

Lloyd's of London Architectural Speculation Tensions, Circumstances and Influences Ana Paula Beghetto Pacheco

References: Powell, Kenneth. Richard Rogers: Complete Works 1. Phaidon, 2001.

Powell, Kenneth. Richard Rogers: Architect of the future. Italy: Birkhauser, 2006.

Richard Rogers Inside Out. Royal Academy of Arts, 2013.

Waite, Richard (19 December 2011). "Rogers' Lloyd's becomes youngest Grade-

I listed building". Architects Journal. Retrieved 7 February 2013.

Images: https://www.lloyds.com/lloyds/about-us/the-lloyds-building/images-of-thelloyds-building (accessed 29 february 2016) Powell, Kenneth. Richard Rogers: Complete Works 1. Phaidon, 2001, pp. 175, 198.