New library Another building presented with a RIBA National Award was the new library at the University of Roehampton Designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, the library is a successful civic building, constructed with studious effort that offers its users a number of delightful places to undertake library work. The building successfully holds a new soft water landscape to the east and creates a hard public realm to the west. Entry is naturally located to the south at the end of a boulevard on axis with the primary entrance to the site. The entrance informs the ground plane of the building, taking advantage of the sloping site
Marlborough Primary School also picked up a RIBA National Award for its clever building which transforms an urban site into a series of terraces centred around daylight and play spaces. creating a loggia to the east with the library cafe, only open to library users to the north. On entry the user is welcomed into one of two atria that define the parti along the length of the building. This atria is two stories high offering a generosity in section that leads to a cleverly designed security sequence, a shifted reception desk for both entry and exit. The second atria where the wide main stair is located offers a grand circulation experience as users move up and down the building. Light is welcomed into the heart of the plan and attention to detail is clear at the ends of the atria where glazed balustrades are used to maintain views of the books in the shelving that matches down the length of each floor plate. The building has a strong grid running through it with acoustics, services, structure and structural columns working effectively with the rhythm of book storage and its relationship with the east facade. West Court Jesus College West Court at Jesus College in Cambridge was designed by Niall McLaughlin Architects.
Design & Build
There is still plenty of glass, though, as well as the large span structures required to cover the volumes but these are simply handled and never allowed to dominate the main spaces. The many smaller rooms (for changing, teaching, offices, fitness suites) are deftly incorporated into the building’s stepped section, which is also used to good effect to open up cross views between spaces. The building’s civic role is celebrated externally by a portico flanking the pool, which marks the campus boundary and guides the visitor round to the main entrance. Within the tall entrance foyer a climbing wall immediately engages the eye, showcasing the building’s activities. In a similar way the entrance café, placed strategically on the building’s most prominent corner, looks onto the pool, so the building’s social and sporting agendas are always visibly intertwined.
This extension to Jesus College manages the difficult trick of feeling entirely old fashioned in its use of hand crafted materials like oak, elm, red clay floor tiles and a soft red brick, while remaining entirely modern in its loose geometry, use of daylight and simplicity of forms. The building facing onto Jesus Lane extends an existing structural frame (the Rank Building) by two floors, providing hotel rooms to generate income for the College. A walk through the building reveals further alterations, extensions, excavations and updates. A new lecture theatre / conference centre is sunk into the basement but is still lined in elm and is side-lit by windows to the street, the faithful replacement of a damaged gable end, reusing the reclaimed stone framing to the window and then a lightweight café / bar that provides a more relaxed social space, with a noisy bar and performance space tucked underneath. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.architecture.com
Holcombe Grammar school fitted with floating floor UFH
Situated in its current location since the 1920s, Holcombe Grammar School has undergone significant alterations and developments over the years. The school is currently going through a number of exciting developments, including the introduction of a co-educational sixth form from the 2017/18 academic year. Within these developments, the school is introducing four new classrooms. The school required an efficient, sustainable heating system and to deliver on the brief, main contractors, G A Harper, turned to underfloor heating (UFH) specialist Warmafloor for its technical expertise and full end-to-end design and installation services. Explaining the project requirements, Chris Azzopardi, consultant at G A Harper, says: “Holcombe Grammar comprises several
buildings clustered around the old Holcombe Manor. Over the years, the school has built up around this central building, and at each stage of development the highest quality finish has ensured that the facilities are futureproofed as much as possible. “For this project, the heating system needed to adhere to strict BREEAM standards. It also had to help maximise usable space, have minimal maintenance requirements and be quick and easy to install in a busy construction area. “We therefore turned to Warmafloor for its extensive UFH expertise and ability to design and install complex systems that meet exacting criteria. Warmafloor also offers a 100-year guarantee on its systems.” UFH offers a range of benefits; it keeps floor coverings warm and dry by circulating heated water beneath the surface, minimising the growth of hazardous contaminants like bacteria and supporting the general wellness of building occupants. By removing the need for clunky radiators on walls, UFH also maximises space. In addition, Warmafloor UFH solutions can be used both to heat rooms in cold weather, as well offering a cooling system in the summer months. For the Holcombe Grammar project, Warmafloor was also tasked with
designing a system that addressed some unique project requirements. Jonathan Moran, business development manager at Warmafloor, explains: “The entire project had to meet BREEAM standards, as well as deliver a long-lasting end-result that would benefit the school in the long term. “We developed a bespoke Floating Floor dry system, which offered high structural integrity with minimal down-time once installed. We also used recycled materials to meet BREEAM requirements – for example, we used 100 per cent recycled gypsum and 100 per cent recycled foam. We also provided full performance and environmental data.” Warmafloor’s Floating Floor system requires no drying time, so extension works could resume as quickly as possible. In these systems, the underfloor pipework is fitted into pre-grooved metal diffusion plates and set in polystyrene floor insulation panels, following which dry screed floorboards are laid. The final floor covering can then be installed over the system. Another key benefit of the Floating Floor system is that it offers complete access for any component repair or replacement. FURTHER INFORMATION www.warmafloor.co.uk
Volume 23.7 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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