Greenhouse
The brief emphasised the need for a clean structural build with wide spanning spaces and limited physical obstacles/protrusions © W H Brown
“Given that the main users of the building will all be visually impaired, the internal organisation of the building had to be as simple as possible so that the users can form a mental picture of the building, and navigate their way around it with ease and independence,” said Hamilton. Prefabricated panels The necessity of open plan spaces without protruding structural support made the geometry of the building challenging. In order to get around this problem, the external walls, which support the larch cladding and the windows, were all formed from prefabricated panels, manufactured from James Jones FSC certified, UK produced JJI-Joists, used vertically. “The clients’ brief was that the building should be environmentally friendly, and these I – joists gave additional depth and
so enabled extra insulation to be used, giving the building a more energy efficient performance,” explained project engineer Douglas Walker. “In addition, the depth of the studs also meant that the supporting steel columns of the main frame could be hidden within the external walls, ensuring the curves of the facade were uninterrupted, as were the internal spaces. From a structural point of view the I-joist panels provided an efficient, light weight and easy to install solution for the facade. The low depth ratio was particularly important as the joists had to span up to 5m in places.” Curved façade The engineers also worked with the I-joist
JJIs’ depth enables steel columns to be concealed within external walls © Page\Park Architects
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suppliers to develop a plywood plate connection which successfully deflected the load of the roof off the wall studs and onto the steel support.This connection also served to guide the head and base of the wall panels into the curve required for the façade. By March 2011 the building was in use and Rosie McLauchlin, Centre Manager at Linburn, was gradually introducing small groups of users into the facility. “It is a beautiful building and we are now structurally complete,” said McLauchlin. “We are busy furnishing the various areas, introducing some soft finishes into these tall, airy spaces, and looking forward to bringing in larger groups of users.”
Open plan Linburn Centre, showing central spine, stud walls, and undulating zinc roof © Page\Park Architects