MArch - 1st Year - Hotel Helix, Newcastle Upon Tyne

Helix Hotel

McCutcheon

The idea is to develop plot 9Bpart of the current helix @ Newcastle site,into a spa and hotel space with public amenity spaces such as;

• Spa and treatment rooms

• Pool

• Bar / Restaurant

• Resting common Areas

• Entertainment areas

Altering plot 9B from a build to rent (BTR) scheme to a hotel and spa with public amenity space makes more sense for the Newcastle Helix development.

Development of Helix: Key aims:

The Helix development fulfils three key functions for us:

• The site itself is a living laboratory. Projects and experiments run at scale, in real-time. Infrastructure, urban planning, data, and ageing are themes of thier research at Helix.

• By locating alongside businesses, they close the gap between academic research and commercial innovation.

• New buildings increase thier capacity for research, education, and engagement.

Landmark location:

It is a landmark location comprising: • 24 acres

• 20 different building plots

• 6 residential plots

• an estimated 4,000 jobs

Hundreds of innovators, businesses and progressive homeowners living and working side by side, along with great food, drink, and entertainment venues. Businesses that co-locate here benefit profoundly from being in the centre of one of the most important innovation hubs in Europe.

Design Aim:

To create a tower constructed of mechanically engineered timber (MET) to use the design as a precedent on why the UK should allow MET towers above 8m.

The design must include a viable hotel layout, that maximises space, natural light and biophilic design while also accommodating public amenity spaces and spa facilities.

This is due to the fact that the helix site and surrounding area have links to university campuses, bars and clubs, and local attractions such as St. James’s, the football ground and the discovery museum.

Although there are some hotels in the area there is none that offer spa facilities and few that offer public spaces without access to the hotel.

The Helix is also a residential community, with hundreds of planned homes. The one, two and three bedroomed homes are exemplars of sustainable urban development and incredibly efficient to heat. In time, state-of-the-art smart homes that can be run by a your phone. These homes are affordable and are a mixture of social rent and Rent Buy.

Adding a hotel and spa to this list, with the addition of public amenities will close the gap between business / commercial properties and residential properties, adding a middle ground per se.

When considering public amenity another aim is to ensure that there is sufficient active frontage around the build, this is due to the minimal active frontage around the Helix development, and the lack of public realm within the site.

DESIGN CONCEPT

According to the 2011 Census for York the larger demographic that would be in need of housing are young professionals, both married with a family and single.

Concept

When developing the design for Hotel Helix, the main thought was functionality.

What was needed to ensure that a hotel would be viable?

Using this data to tailor the build while inn keeping with the microcosm and work from home trajectory to create a co-housing unit that has residential homes suitable for sin gle occupants up to 3-bed homes, while also considering the demographic of young profes sionals and what amenity they would require / prefer within the scheme.

What should this hotel have those others in the area do not?

How can this hotel become a gathering place for members of the public that are not hotel or spa guests?

What spaces will take up the square footage?

The adjacency bubble diagram shows original thoughts, movements and connections to spaces that are needed for a hotel.

Most hotels provide function/conference rooms and meeting rooms, however the concept of this design is to actively engage with the surrounding public. Therefor additional self-sustaining businesses and commercial spaces were at the forefront of the design.

Site and Objectives

Benefits of hotel and spa in Newcastle

As shown in the image to the right, there is not an abundance of hotels around the Helix development and even fewer of these hotels have spa and wellness facilities.

Newcastle as a city could benefit from an additional hotel within the North-East section of NE1 due to the local amenities, such as ST. James Park, China Town and close by snooker/pool halls and casinos.

Benefits of hotel and spa in Helix

The new Helix development is primarily offices and educational centres, with close student accommodation and bars, therefore, the site will become primarily unoccupied after 6 pm.

The addition of a hotel with public amenities, such as a spa, bars and restaurants will create movement and occupation within the helix site after the offices shut down

Due to the demographic of young professionals and students within the helix development, the amenity a hotel and spa will provide will aid with the nightlife and economic value

Newcastle Helix

Benefits of using Mechanically Engineered Timber (MET)

The synergy between Timber and Wellness:

Health and productivity benefits of green buildings:

Wood buildings are part of the green building trend, which uses building structures and processes that are environmentally responsible and resource efficient. Studies of wood buildings are informed by a solid foundation of knowledge about the human and organizational benefits of building green. Cumulative evidence based on occupants’ self-reported outcomes shows that green buildings reduce symptoms of sick building syndrome and contribute to overall better health.

Why were timber towers banned in the UK?

The environmental and well-being advantages of timber appear inarguable, its use will always be curtailed if concerns over fire cannot be addressed. The 2017 Grenfell Tower fire caused 72 deaths and 70 injuries and put the spotlight on the construction industry’s use of combustible materials in residential buildings.

The UK government launched an independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety, led by Dame Judith Hackitt, and a raft of consultations on regulatory changes followed, one of which included a ban on the use of combustible materials on the external walls of habitable buildings over 18m high.

What can be done by the architects to make timber towers work?

To ensure timber buildings are safe, engineers and architects have a choice. First, they can use established methods to ensure the structure doesn’t burn, which includes encapsulating the timber in fireresistant materials and other techniques. The other option is to account for the burning wood and properly understand whether or not a fire will burn out, and if it will, how long that will take?

Why is Timber a good building Material?

Natural material

Timber is one of the few natural building materials, which has a lot of advantages. Generally, timber is non-toxic, does not leak chemical vapour into the building and is safe to handle and touch. It also means that as timber ages, it does so naturally.

Off-site construction method:

Insulation:

Timber is a natural insulator and can help reduce energy needs A timber frame allows more space for insulation than a brick build ing, and wood also has naturally thermally insulating properties.

Health and productivity benefits of wood buildings and interiors:

The strongest evidence of wood’s human and organizational benefits is based on wood’s biophilic properties. Biophilia refers to humans’ innate need for connections to nature. When individuals have contact with nature, their neurological, physiological and psychological responses result in less stress, lower blood pressure, more relaxation and positive moods, and increased concentration.

Conclusion

Wood can create healthy and productive buildings. British Columbia is ideally positioned to continue taking a leadership role in wood building design and construction. Research conducted in a wide range of disciplines points to the same evidence-based conclusion: wood is good for the environment, people and for organizations.

Why is timber a good building material for towers?

Its fire-resistant properties as a structural building material. Timber is a charring material. Research states that thick sections such as beams, without other heat sources, will extinguish themselves, leaving the inner sections relatively undamaged and intact.

That includes the glulam beams, a fire consultant with Sweco Norge, the company responsible for fire safety in the building, said even after long exposure to fire a tower made from timber “will have a sufficiently great load-bearing core of fresh wood”.

A 2010 study by researchers at the University of British Columbia established a link between wood and wellbeing. The presence of visual wood surfaces in a room lowered sympathetic nervous system activation, which is responsible for physiological stress responses in humans.

Mass Engineered Timber (MET)

Although wood has been used for the construction of homes for thousands of years, innovation gathered pace in the 1990s with the emergence of mass engineered timber (MET) in Austria. MET is a group of building products that include glued laminated timber, or glulam, and cross-laminated timber, known as CLT. Both are made of layers of wood, which are then bonded with structural adhesives. CLT layers are stacked at perpendicular angles and are predominantly used for walls, floors and ceilings. Glulam boards are made with the grain aligned in the same direction. These are used for columns, beams and truss elements

It reduces wastage, streamlines the supply chain, lessens the reliance on traditional skills and provides swifter completion time, as work under factory conditions is not hampered by variables like bad weather.

Ecology and sustainability:

Timber is ecological and sustainable and a truly renewable building material. Timber is grown quicker than it is used. Most of the main timber supplying countries have longstanding policies to re-grow more timber than is felled. If new trees are planted to replace those harvested, timber will continue to be available. Timber is milled all over the world and is often used close to where it is produced. This promotes local economies and reduces the energy needed to transport materials long distances.

Transportation costs are lower due to the fact that timber is lightweight. The components in a timber frame weigh less and can be used on brownfield sites or sites with difficult land conditions

Wood also has better insulating proper ties than steel. Wood’s structure contains minute air pockets, which limit its ability to conduct heat and help to minimise the energy needed for heating and cooling our eco timber houses providing very energy efficient homes.

Versatility:

can be used in a wide variety of ways. Being light, it is easy to install and can be worked with simple equipment. This re duces the energy needed for construction. Different species of trees produce timber of differing colours, textures, and functional qualities.

No limits on design and size:

Considering the relationship between using the material and the environment is very important when building. Using timber as the main building material is the right choice with its endless design possibilities, as well as unrivalled physical and technical proper ties for a timber frame.

Timing:

Low production for energy:

It takes very little energy to convert the wood in trees to the timber used in the building. This means that the embodied energy in timber is low. In fact, it is the lowest of almost all common building materials.

A store for carbon:

Timber is made from carbon drawn from the atmosphere. This carbon would otherwise be adding to the greenhouse effect. Using timber in buildings stores the carbon for as long as the building stands or the timber is used.

The speed of the build is quicker with tim ber. A timber frame can be partly pre-cut, modulated, and built to precision making build time much quicker than for a brick build. Time is also saved since less building debris is around to clear.

Timber-framed buildings are far quicker to erect than brick or stone buildings. A quick er build time clearly saves time and money for both domestic and commercial property owners. Building with timber is also a less specialised and expensive skill.

Durability:

Timber is a highly durable material. Some well-made wooden structures last for cen turies. It is also easy and cheap to maintain compared to other materials, especially if you don’t mind it changing colour over time.

Design Concept - Connections

The concept derived from connections

Connecting the city to the newly established Helix development

Connecting plot 9B on helix to the wider Helix site.

Ensuring people connect with nature and the environment as well as each other.

• A hotel is all about connections to the city you’re in and the people within it

• A spa is about connecting with others and yourself.

The idea is to also create a connection, visual and physical between both the spa and the hotel while incorporating the connections mentioned above

Helix Plot 9B

Newcastle City Centre

Helix Plot 9B Connections

BuildingNature People

Materials

Design Concept - Massing

Massing, viability, and daylight

When developing the massing, multiple massing variations were tried.

Due to the larger scale of the scheme and smaller scale of the site the only way to ensure the economic viability of a hotel, height must be achieved.

However, when considering the concept of the public realm and connections to the site, the public use of the building needed to be easily accessible for pedestrians. There was also the issue of ensuring active frontage was maximised. This resulted in creating a 3 story podium for the public amenity on the lower levels of the building, making the hotel accommodation sit on the higher levels.

When trialling the massing for this, because of the contrasts of the sire there was a need to ensure that there was sufficient day lighting on the lower levels, specifically of the hotel rooms that were facing towards, or situated in the centre of the site. Due to this option, 2 was not viable as the hotel rooms in the centre did not achieve ‘right to light’ satisfaction due to the height of the towers.

Looking at the viability of the hotel accommodation floors the best option was to create a core with a wraparound circulation corridor and a set of hotel rooms. This meant that option 1 was more viable than option 2.

option 1 option 2 option 3

RESEARCH

Precedent A

The 18-story Brock Commons Student Residence at the University of British Columbia, which began construction in November 2015, and was completed in 2017 and was built at a speed of two floors per week, using prefabricated façade panels, glulam columns and CLT floor slabs. At 53 meters tall, with housing for 404 students, it will be the tallest mass wood hybrid building in the world.

Brock Commons demonstrates the benefit of a hybrid design that combines mass wood and concrete, with costs that are comparable to all concrete and steel structures. Use of prefabricated materials, including the CLT slab panels, glulam columns, steel connectors, and facade elements. As a proof of concept for the swiftness of construction.

The building’s construction is comprised of a one story concrete podium, the two concrete cores currently under construction, and 17 stories of mass timber topped with a prefabricated steel beam and metal deck roof. Lateral stability is provided by the cores, while vertical loads are carried by the timber structure. The building’s glulam columns are fitted with steel connectors that provide a direct load transfer between the columns and a grid of cross laminated timber (CLT) panels, allowing the building to meet new seismic design requirements for the 2015 National Building Code of Canada

The building, which has been designed to target LEED Gold certification, will tap into the UBC district energy system, and by employing carbon-trapping wood construction, it will have a carbon benefit of 2,563 tonnes (the equivalent of taking 490 cars off the road for a year). The hope is that once Brock Commons is completed and able to be studied, British Columbia’s building codes for tall wood structures will be revised and mass wood construction will become more common.

Brock Commons student residence Acton Ostry Architects Inc Vancouver, Canada:

Timber Tower Study

Timber Towers:

Intelligent City

Product:

Intelligent City provides the design, fabrication and delivery of innovative urban housing for sustainable and inclusive communities.

Thier approach reduces risk and outperforms conventional housing projects in speed, accuracy, and quality. Thier buildings are more sustainable, livable, and affordable. Thier delivery is effective, trouble free and cost-efficient.

Process:

Intelligent City is where industry 4.0 meets renewable resources. We’ve developed a fast, de-risked, and cost-efficient process for the design and delivery of urban housing projects called Platforms for Life.

01 Consultation And Preliminary Design

02 Parametric Design

03 Manufacturing And Automated Assembly

Active Frontage Study

Helix Masterplan

Designed by FaulknerBrowns Architects

Public Spaces: Science Square

Plots 9a and 10 will provide active frontage to the square to create an appropriate sense of enclosure and consider how proposals will influence the microclimate of the square

Firebrick Square and Draymans Way Square

A second square linked to Blue Star Square and a doorstep square along Drayman’s Way have been added to the plan. These support the pedestrian priority of Drayman’s way and the Primary Pedestrian Route to Central Station. Active frontages are strongly encouraged in these spaces.

Active frontage:

Policy UC5 from the CSUCP states that “sustainable modes of travel will be promoted by giving priority where appropriate to pedestrian links and facilities to ensure an attractive, safe and betterlinked area.”

To support the Future Primary Pedestrian Route across the site, plots bordering main routes and public squares should provide active frontage to these spaces. Retail and food frontages will also be encouraged in these areas.

District energy solution

The Energy Strategy at Science Central is based on a central Energy Centre that generates low or zeroes carbon heat and power and the distribution of heat around the site.

The Science Central Low Carbon Energy Centre is designed to provide the development with heat, cooling and power to all buildings on site. The Energy Centre will be equipped with the necessary equipment to centrally generate all heat and cooling to the buildings and a proportion of the electrical demand.

Active Frontages

Cycle and Cycle Parking

Service Routes and Points

Precedent B

Wildspitze

Störmer Murphy and Partners Hamburg, Germany:

Germany’s first wooden high-rise, the “Wildspitze,” is being designed by Störmer Murphy and Partners. At 18 stories and 64 meters high, this residential tower will be one of Europe’s largest urban development projects.

Located in Elbbrücken, a peninsula neighborhood within Hamburg’s HafenCity, Wildspitze will add 189 residential units on its riverside site. Each apartment will feature a loggia behind a double glass facade.

In addition to residences, Wildspitze will house the two-level German Wild Animal Foundation exhibit space. The exhibit will be a 2,200 square meter, multi-media experience. “Augmented reality,” and a nature film cinema will help visitors understand more about German wildlife.

Sustainability is a priority. Developer, Garbe Immobilien-Projekte GmbH, will use primarily raw, renewable materials, to reduce energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions during construction. Prefabrication and short construction time will help achieve these sustainability goals.

The project presents the current state-ofthe-art timber construction - the use of the material is carried out with the latest know-how in structural engineering, sound and fire protection and a healthy interior climate is achieved. The lower and ground floors, staircases and elevator shafts will be a reinforced concrete construction, all upper floors will have solid timber floors and interior walls. With the use of timber as a building material, a high level of prefabrication reduces time and raises the quality of the construction. A second façade made of glass ensures the fire, UV und moisture protection of the timber and protects the loggias from wind and weather.

Site Analysis & Strategy

Newcastle is the most northerly city in England. It enjoys city region status and benefits from excellent transportation links. London is 2 hours 40 minutes away by train, Glasgow 2 hours 30 minutes, Edinburgh 1hour 25 minutes, Leeds 1hour 20 minutes. Newcastle International Airport is 25 minutes from the city centre.

The primary road network provides excellent access to the north and south via the A1M and the M6 is an hour away accessed from the A69.

The region is supported by the Tyne and Wear Metro, a light rail network which provides a fast and effective integrated public transport network connecting the conurbation.

Newcastle Helix is in the city’s Accelerated Development Zone, next to Newcastle United football ground, (St James Park) and to the north of Newcastle Central train station. It is bound in part by St James Boulevard to the east, Bath Lane to the northeast, Westgate Road to the south and Diana Street to the west and is visible when approaching the city from the south and west. It is within ten minutes of the commercial and leisure core, both universities and the principal metro stations.

Site Analysis & Strategy

Based to the northwest of Newcastle City centre, Plot 9B is based in the centre of the business district of Newcastle Helix. The aim of the Helix development is to become a major UK hub for scientific research and technology businesses, creating knowledge-based jobs for future generations in Newcastle and extending the Northern Powerhouse to “the North of the North”.

The Newcastle Helix Masterplan (formally known as the Science Central Masterplan) was approved by the NCC planning authority in 2011 (ref 2011 / 0110 / 01 / OUT). Each plot was designated for specific uses and has height limits with related development criteria. Plot 9b was originally designated for commercial use with a maximum 85.00 AOD.

Site Analysis:

Science Central Boundary

Site Boundary

Noise

Vehicular Route (Primary)

Vehicular Route (Secondary)

Pedestrian Route

Context

Development of Newcastle Upon Tyne:

The City of Newcastle has some new developments in the pipeline to establish a different atmosphere by 2025 and their hopes are to;

• Create a new £260m complex will include a 12,500-capacity arena, a conference and exhibition centre, and a somewhat maligned 13-storey hotel for Newcastle quayside.

• Build what is being called the ‘Whey Aye’ a 460ft observation wheel that will be the biggest in Europe.

• Additional homes/apartments, shops, restaurants, bars and hotels.

• Along with the site if Newcastle helix

Development of Newcastle Helix:

To the west of Bath Lane, the scale and density of development have created a character that is unique in the city and suggests a step change for this city quarter. The buildings are a mixture of student residential and faculty buildings for Newcastle University.

They have a similar typology of hit and miss windows ceramic or metallic panels with little relief within the façades creating smooth monolithic sculptural forms. To the southeast of the site is Citygate which provides a full stop to the end of St James Boulevard. It is a mixture of office and residential and has more textural and architectural articulation.

To the west is the edge of Westgate Road which houses a row of large imposing Georgian / early Victorian terraced houses that rise the hill. These are brick with large, punched window openings typical of the period. To the south of Westgate Road, there are more large-scale dwellings of a similar period. Other buildings of note and quality are the Prudhoe Street Mission and the Discovery Museum constructed of stone and brick.

1) Central Train Station

2) Hadrians Tower

3) Theatre Royal

Active Frontage Study

Newcastle City Centre:

As part of the hotel development scheme is to incorporate active frontage and connect the helix site to the wider Newcastle City. A study was completed on some of the most recognisable streets of Newcastle for active frontage and pedestrian, public realm.

The majority of these streets are pedestrian focused and even though some allow for cars and motorised vehicles it is discouraged. This is something that is incorporated into the design. Creating a minimum of 1 side where the public realm and active frontage are prominent and minimal elevations are used for BOH.

Another notable thing is that these streets are made up of separate businesses, along one façade, that create the active frontage, however, each business and space is slightly different from the others. The apparatuses, windows and doors create these notable differences.

With the above in mind, it is also worth noting that the active frontage for the building can be denoted by the building line. The active frontage is primarily on the ground floor (slightly taller than the above floors) while following the building line.

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

Massing

The development of the mass has included:

• Increasing the plinth size by one floor

• Increasing the height of Level 01 from FFL to a level and a half

• Adding a commercial rooftop, above the winter garden with visual connection points, with access from Level 02

• Decreasing the levels required for the pool to 2.5 level rather than 3

• Addition of rooftop terraces on both towers

• Addition of setback viewing platform on the high-level pool bridge

• Addition of enclosed spaces on the roof top terraces

• Pillars along the entrance of the plinth the define the entrance and create space between public and private

Adjacencies & Functionality

In order to ensure that active frontage is achieved, the Newcastle helix development needs to be studied. The primary, secondary and back of house (BOH) routes and how people will interact with the development when placed in the centre of Newcastle Helix.

The first diagram details the main pedestrian and through routes of the business section of Newcastle helix, Drayman’s way, along with the secondary through routes and main public squares.

The second diagram illustrates the adjacencies of how the hotel, spa and public domain will function on a vertical level, detailing where the BOH amenity will be situated in order to conform to the existing site and maximise natural lighting for the public spaces.

hotel rooms lobby spa bar coffee bar dinning private dining roof terrace co-working function room

BOH

Precedent C

The Cube Hawkins Brown London, United Kingdom:

Named The Cube, the 10-storey residential building was constructed using a hybrid structure that is primarily cross-laminated timber (CLT), but also integrates steel elements and a reinforced-concrete core.

The Cube is located beside the Wenlock Canal basin. With a total floor area of 6,750 square metres, it accommodates 50 apartments – between four and six per floor.

CLT is an engineered wood formed by glueing together several layers of lumber at right angles to each other, making it much stronger and more rigid than normal wood. Other examples of its use in architecture include OOPEAA’s Finlandia Prize-winning Puukuokka apartment block in Finland.

By combining this material with steel members, the architects were able to create a more complicated structure featuring numerous cantilevered overhangs.

The system was developed by timber and steel specialist B+K Structures. Both the CLT panels and the steel frame were manufactured offsite, and then combined during construction.

Externally the block is clad in two materials; a black brick screen wall creates a visual affinity with the neighbouring buildings of the surrounding conservation area, while other sections are covered in slatted western-red cedar.

Active Frontage

Working within the existing masterplan and landscape design from the helix site, further consideration was taken to ensure the lower levels achieved maximum active frontage.

The detail considered at this stage was to ensure that there were sufficient apertures, glazing and entryways to create interest and therefore active frontage.

The design was also used to ensure that the daylighting and sun were maximised. Creating a roof terrace ensured that there was sufficient outdoor space on the site. Making the outdoor space above ground level helped with creating outdoor space with the constraints of the site, while also allowing for additional natural light as the further from ground level these spaces are the less time they spend in the shadow created by the surrounding buildings.

Ensuring the active frontage was to the south, and the BOH was to the north also was justified by ‘right to light’ as the corrido between buildings to the north of the site is not as wide as that to the south, meaning the north wills pend more time in shadow than the south.

Precedent D

Dalston Works

Waugh Thistleton Architects London, United Kingdom:

Dalston Works was the world’s largest CLT building on completion, and a landmark project in our ambition to roll out the use of timber construction in high-density urban housing, across London and beyond.

The ten-storey, 121-unit development is made entirely of CLT, from the external, party and core walls, through to the floors and stairs, weighing a fifth of a concrete building of this size, and reducing the number of deliveries during construction by 80 per cent.

Approach

As well as tackling London’s need for high quality, high-density housing that provides a natural and healthy living environment, this groundbreaking use of timber technology has significantly reduced the carbon footprint of the building in terms of both material production and on-site time and energy consumption.

Due to its vastly reduced weight, the building is taller than was ever thought feasible on the neglected brownfield site.

Design

The distinctly modern residential community makes up a large part of the new streetscape, and responds in scale with varied roof heights, undulating between five and ten storeys, each orientated to maximise daylight to the apartments’ balconies and communal open spaces.

The building’s intricate brickwork references both the surrounding Victorian and Edwardian housing and the craftsmanshiplike detailing of the local warehouses.

Result

The project has been the subject of exciting partnerships with the London Borough of Hackney and timber-engineering specialists Ramboll, and is fast becoming the subject of international interest, attracting hundreds of site visitors, and putting Hackney firmly on the map as a world leader for timber construction.

Stucture

When considering building materials, the aim was to go down a sustainability route, building upon the suitable power they have for the helix site already, however, the buildings look and feel needed to work with the surrounding buildings given that the plot is central to the Helix Development.

Due to the building regulations in the UK of no building made from timber being able to exceed the 11m height restriction, and using this project as a case study, the core will be concrete. This is to aid in fire safety and structural stability.

Ignoring the core as this is to be concrete, for the aspect of fire safety, the single beam span that would be needed for this is approximately 6m, this is using a 220mm thick CLT structure.

The 220mm thick CLT allows for a dead load of 2.0 with an additional live load of 4.0.

Allowing for higher live loads increases the flexibility of a building, but also increases the cost. For example, historically, UK office buildings have been designed and marketed with live loadings of 3.5–4.0 kN/m2, however, this may be an over-provision. 2.5 kN/m2 for floors above the ground floor and 3.0 kN/m2 at, or below, ground floor over may be more appropriate, with 7.5 kN/m2 over 5% of the floor area to allow for future flexibility.

These numbers are based on a full MET of CLT structure

3D Sketch

When developing the façade of the building it was paramount to ensure that not only did it work with the surrounding buildings but also celebrated and expressed the timber structure. This is where a glass ‘box’ style curtain walling façade system was developed. The idea behind this was to allow the CLT structure of the build to be seen externally, while also ensuring protection from the elements.

As active frontage and public realm are a big part of the concept and scheme the lowerlevel plinth needed to be a different material to ensure that not only was there active frontage on the building use side but also architectural interest and difference to denote the 2 separate sides to the scheme, hotel amenity and public realm.

Once this was developed the idea to incorporate use diagrams as a visual representation of how these spaces would be used by the public was developed.

Precedent E

Sara Kulturhus Center White Arkitekter Skellefteå, Sweden:

The city is situated in the north of Sweden just below the Arctic Circle and has a long tradition of timber construction, which was the main source of inspiration for the competition proposal. White Arkitekter do not only create a new living room for the city’s inhabitants, but also a showcase for sustainable design.

The internationally active office White Arkitekter is dedicated to the renewable material wood and ecologically and socially sustainable architecture. In 2016, they designed a 20- storey building in Skellefteå in Sweden that will be one of the world’s tallest timber high- rise structures. Sara Kulturhus –a new cultural centre right in the core of the city combining theatre, museum, art gallery, public library, conference centre and hotel –opens this year.

The building, designed to reduce embodied as well as operational carbon emissions, is mainly made of wood grown in the regional boreal forests. Solar panels and efficient energy systems further contribute to minimising the project’s climate footprint.

The project will make use of glue-laminated timber – a strong engineered wood formed by glueing together layers of lumber. This material is not quite as strong as its sister material, cross-laminated timber, which is why the supporting steel and concrete structures will be necessary.

Retractable walls will allow for rooms to be expanded or divided to suit different functions, from exhibitions to a large congress. Glazing will allow passers-by to peek inside, while a screen of wooden slats and golden aluminium will offer sun shading.

Working With the Surrounding Conetext

To ensure that the designed building worked with the surrounding context a study of facades was taken from the core, the catalyst, and the lumen.

These buildings are the closest to plot 9B and therefore will have the most impact on the external design of the hotel.

As mentioned previously, curtain walling is to be used to match the façade systems of the catalysts and the lumen. The facade will be modular and mimic that of the catalysts, however where the catalyst has external detail to bring interest to the build, the hotel will have internal interest (CLT structure) to bring interest to the build.

The plinth and roof terraces will be clad in fibre cement panelling to match the back of the core. And although the core is not fibre cement the look and feel will be similar.

This design will tie in buildings from both sides of plot 9B.

The Catalyst

The Core Lumen

The Core

Surrounfing Elevations

Feature of structure and glazing

Linear curtain walling

Fibre Cement Panelling to match materials appearance

Façade Development

Once the modular design was confirmed the next step was to ensure that it worked within the levels and grids of the building.

Because the structure was exposed the horizontal mullions needed to be at the finished floor level to ensure that the floor to curtain walling detail was tidy and worked to the best of its ability both for acoustics and heating wise.

Another consideration for this was how the plinth and the curtain walling would interact, given the large colonnade at the base of the plinth.

Finally, in order to work towards biophilic design incorporation of natural materials and nature needed to developed, this meant in order to achieve, green roofs, roof terraces and internal winter gardens the build-up of flooring needed to be considered as the incorporation of living material would make the floor/roof build up much larger.

PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT

LANDSCAPE

Site Plan

Working with the idea of biophilic design by using green roofs and exposed timber structures to create a positive and natural environment externally.

Where the site boundary is small and the space for external use is limited the addition of roof terraces on each tower and on the plinth creates active frontage and work within the masterplan landscaping development.

The coordination of the hotel’s landscape and that of the Newcastle Helix development work in tandem to ensure that the finishes flow together without effort and planters are used to aid the flow of pedestrian traffic around plot 9B and the wider development.

The plinth and colonnade on the south façade allow covered external use, with the height ensuring maximum natural lighting for the users.

Landscaping and Movements - 3d axo and use diagram

The landscape of the building was designed to work seamlessly with the wider masterplan, allowing pedestrian focused routes, services routes, public squares and parking to be incorporated.

Primary pedestrian route

Secondary pedestrian route

Serv ces route

Parking

Public square

Appearance & Material Concept

Due to the concept and design goal of biophilic design and the lack of greenery around Newcastle helix, additional vegetation in the form of, trees, planters and greens roofs will be used, along with natural slate, stone and timber to create a variety of textures and neutral colours that will complement the colourful surrounding buildings.

Natural materials are specified to aid in the relaxation element of the design and encourage rest and calmness both incorporated in the design of the building and in the surrounding landscape.

roof terrace

natural stone and slate

natural materials and calming light

planters fibre cement panneling green space

green roof natual materials creating visual intrest

natural flooring with multiple shades

Landscaping Visual - South facing roof terrace on level 02

BUILDING

South Elevation

The southern elevation of this scheme is the most viable for active frontage, given that it will receive the most sunlight and sits along the main through the route of the site, Drayman’s way.

The lower levels, 00 – 02, have been developed to maximise the public realm, active frontage and pedestrian use while creating large openings, windows, doors and glazing, along with a colonnade and outward facing design. This will increase the active frontage and create visual interest in the scheme.

Additional massing has been used on the south façade to incorporate the roof terrace and create visual interest to denote the entrances to the existing building. The way this has been done is by creating apertures and columns at the base of the build with recessed curtain walling, ensuring the commercial units are seen as such and have a semi-internal area to shelter from the elements.

The connection bridge that spans the 2 towers has been developed to push the concept of connections, allowing the connection of both towers internally. The height of the bridge is strategically placed to allow maximum connections as it is placed halfway up the taller tower, while also ensuring maximum views to the south as it sits above the buildings directing onto the boulevard.

To develop the concept of the connection the towers have been designed to alter in height to create a ‘stepping up’ visual along the helix site. These visual leads the eye to the centre of Newcastle. Using the anglesd facade design to enhance this further.

North Elevation

The north elevation of this build faces directly onto the catalysis with approximately 10m between each building. Because of the narrow corridor This creates levels 00-02 are primarily in shadow, this is why the southern façade is mainly back of the house.

The small section of this façade, which follows the language of the curtain walling within the plinth has been used due to the fact that it sits on the corner of a secondarty through rotue from Westgate Rd, therefore will be seen more so than the rest of the façade. This was a way to create additional active frontage.

From level 3 there is sufficient natural light to achieve standards of ‘right to light’ therefore the hotel floor from this level is able to be fully glazed.

Finally, the connection bridge, spanning across the 2 towers sits a level above the tallest section of the catalyst, meaning that full glazed windows will allow for views across Newcastle, the River Tyne and into Gateshead.

The taller tower has a roof terrace/ bar that nestles in with the angled façade design. this is to allow the concept of connections, in a visual sense work as the tower is taller than the other building in the helix development there will be surrounding views, connecting the building and users to the wider context.

East Elevation

This elevation houses the smaller of the 2 towers, the design rationale behind this is because the building directly in front of the East facade is much smaller in height the smaller tower has been used to create a stepping design between the buildings. These buildings step up in height toward the city of Newcastle reiterating the idea of connections.

The site levels are lower on this façade, therefore steps have been used to access level 00, this also creates additional height to the colonnade, creating additional opportunities for natural lighting to penetrate.

This façade sits on the border of both a primary and secondary route through the site therefore the active frontage has been maximised with the use of a podium, glazing, and outward facing design to create public interest.

The smaller tower houses a roof terrace that has 360 surrounding views that allows for the visual connection to Newcastle helix and the city centre

West Elevation

This elevation is the taller tower and the closest to the city centre, reiterating the concept of the connection mentioned previously.

This façade sits on the border of both a primary and secondary route through the site therefore the active frontage has been maximised with the use of a podium, glazing, and outward facing design to create public interest.

CLT Stucture

This diagram shows the location and use of the CLT structure. After some initial research, it was found that the CLT would be 6M, however, this would need to be confirmed by a structural engineer.

Using the 6M span as a guideline the design was altered to ensure that there was ample structural stability, using structural walls for the hotel room configuration (maximum 6M apart) and adding in structural columns on the open plan areas used for public realm on the lower levels. The idea for this would be to ensure that the structural stability is considered at a maximum level and then once there had been coordination with a structural engineer, the columns could be removed and/or moved to create a more open space.

A hybrid structure comprising CLT, and a concrete core has been designed to create open spaces. With structural CLT internal partition walls and the MEP carefully coordinated to minimise the visual intrusion between internal areas of the building and the helix development to enable the connection of the building and users to the wider context.

Appearance & Material Concept

When considering materiality, a lot of thought went into the material that would be clad on the lower, public, spaces.

The material needed to be environmentally friendly, aid with the fire rating of the lower levels and work aesthetically with the CLT frame and features.

As the building is concrete core and CLT frame concrete was the first initial option, however this material is not the most sustainable. Although today there is more sustainable and environmentally friendly concrete manufactures, the use of concrete within this build is only for fire purposes due to the UK guidelines.

After some research Fibre Cement panelling was decided upon to clad the lower levels to aid the architecture to separate the public and private spaces, while also helping the building to fit into the surrounding context.

Fibre Cement looks like concrete and cement however is more environmentally friendly. The processes used to make fibre cement cladding ensure that it is eco-friendly. When making fibre cement the water used during the manufacturing process is recycled numerous times. As well as recycling the water, solid wastes are also recycled. The manufacturing process also uses sustainable raw materials.

Fibre cement requires virtually no maintenance and is extremely durable. It can withstand damage from weather, insects, water, and fire. All this combined means it can remain undamaged for up to 50 years.

transparent cladding

CLT

modular curtian wall

xx green roof fiber cement

light coloured timber plinth

and concrete

Visual in Context

External Visual

Visual taken from the southwest corner of the site, this image denotes all characteristics of the design. The inclusion of concepts that are shown in the angled façade on the taller tower, the interaction between the taller and smaller tower to create a stepping effect, the connection bridge, the modular curtain walling and visible CLT structure behind, the podium and plinth and how this works to create active frontage and the addition of green spaces and biophilic design.

The visual also shows how the building works for the public realms and the outward facing design, mass and routes combine together to create a central hub of the helix development that connects to the wider city.

External Visual - Entrance to hotel

External Visual - Active frontage

INTERIOR

Perspective Section

This section denoted the relationship between the public and private spaces. Along with how connections, both visual and physical are made through the interior of the building, such as the visual connection between reception and the pool room, or the connection walkways and duel heigh spaces and

Strip Section A

silver fir cross laminated timber wall panel, pressure impregnation chemicals with preservative properties and controlled heat treatment to tempratures over 200°Cstuctural engineer

The strip section and elevation show the plinth and colonnade interact with the modular curtain walling while also showing the connection of this to the external ground level and basement.

Acoustic Insulation beveled skirting tapping screws 150mm capping

Cement flooring tiles and acoustical membrane silver fir cross laminated timber wall panel, pressure impregnation of chemicals with preservative properties and controlled treatment to tempratures over -refer to stuctural engineer

The detailed call outs shown are to indicate the connections the curtain walling has to the internal CLT structure and the finished floor level, external ground level and basement

Cement flooring tiles and foam acoustical membrane

Fiber Cement flooring tiles and ridgid foam acoustical membrane

silver fir timber paneling situated 50mm behind glazing

PCC and double glazed curtian walling system

60 215 PPC capped mullion insualted

stainless steel angled edge trim

Mineral wool insulation refer to engineer

galvanized steel sheet

Fire Rated 120min board -refer to engineer

fixture approx 2000mm

tack nal 400mm service cavity and moisture resistant plaster and shadow gap

5 ply silver fir cross laminated timber (CLT) wall panel, pressure impregnation of chemicals with preservative properties and controlled heat treatment to tempratures over 200°C -refer to stuctural engineer

Can light fixture approx 800mm c/c

100mm service cavity and 15mm moisture resistant plaster board and ceiling hanger

Intergrated mecanical blackout blind

Strip Section B

with 2 coats of tanking slurry

Structural waterproofing render system to control water ingress

studded membrane with GEO texture layer to prevent blockage

PCC and double glazed curtian walling system

50mm screed to falls under Vapour control layer

5 ply silver fir cross laminated timber (CLT) roof panel, pressure impregnation of chemicals with preservative properties and controlled heat treatment to tempratures over 200°C -refer to stuctural engineer

100mm service cavity and 15mm moisture resistant plaster board and ceiling hanger

Fire Rated 120min board -refer to engineer

Public Use

Roof terrace and bar with visual connections to Helix and Newcastle

Spa facilities with winter garden bridge spa

Private dining and function rooms

Open plan, duel height dining

Reception and relaxation area

Coffee bar / shop

Pool room and additional spa facilities

Hotel Accomodation

Hotel accommodation and rooms use the standard hotel layout to maximise space and viability, however, the CLT structure is visible on the walls and each room has full height glazing with integrated blinds for privacy.

3D hotel room1

3D hotel room1

Elevation 1 -b

1 -b

Appearance & Material Concept

Following the exterior materiality components, the interior is to sue the same or very similar materials.

Exposing the CLT structure to create the natural and healing environment that is expected of a hotel and spa, while adding in aspects not nature with greenery and natural materials to aid with the biophilic design.

The overall interior is to be sleek and modern, complementing the exterior of the build and surrounding context while adding in elements of luxury to keep in tandem with the hotel and spa ‘Nature’

Interior Visual - Reception

Interior Visual - Spa Bridge and Winter Garden

Bibliography

Dalply. 2022. Is Fibre Cement Environmentally Friendly?. [online] Available at: <https://dalply.co.uk/ fibre-cement-cladding/is-fibre-cement-environmentally-friendly/> [Accessed 13 April 2022].

Dalton, A., 2022. 10 benefits of using timber frame building. [online] Buildersmerchantsnews. co.uk. Available at: <https://www.buildersmerchantsnews.co.uk/10-benefits-of-using-timber-framebuilding/44552#:~:text=Timber%20is%20a%20natural%20insulator,has%20naturally%20thermally%20 insulating%20properties.&text=Wood%20also%20has%20better%20insulating%20properties%20 than%20steel.> [Accessed 21 February 2022].

Gower, P., 2022. Timber towers. [online] Ww3.rics.org. Available at: <https://ww3.rics.org/uk/en/ modus/built-environment/construction/timber-towers.html#:~:text=Key%20to%20unlocking%20 MET%20as,sections%20relatively%20undamaged%20and%20intact.> [Accessed 21 February 2022].

Lowe, G., 2022. Wood, Well-being and Performance: The Human and Organizational Benefits of Wood Buildings. [online] pp.5-7. Available at: <https://www.naturallywood.com/wp-content/ uploads/2020/08/wood-well-being-and-performance_report_graham-lowe.pdf> [Accessed 15 February 2022].