Roz Barr Architects’ interventions at the Building Centre take materials out of their comfort zone

Buildings.

Photos
John MacLean 

Asked by The Building Centre to prepare a feasibility study to ‘re-imagine’ the spaces within its London headquarters, Roz Barr Architects saw an opportunity to carry out a series of improvements that would also serve to showcase different products. Conceiving the project as an ‘inhabited display case’, in contrast to the conventional displays of material samples seen elsewhere in the building, the architects contacted companies who might be interested in supplying materials as a promotional tool. While the materials were selected for their physical qualities, they are deployed in novel and surprising ways. The first phases of the project comprise three main areas – a cafe on the ground floor and a co-working space and cloakrooms below.

Ampetheatre

The co-working space includes a central shared table plus a variety of other desk settings

The flexible co-working space was formed within the existing gallery of building products on the lower ground floor, and is intended for use by both internal staff and external companies. Evoking a traditional library, the plywood enclosure is separated from the gallery space by a timber screen. The grid is configured to work with standard-sized plywood sheets; those on the ceiling are perforated and backed with felt to deaden the acoustic. Framed areas of plasterboard, set within the panels, allow for presentations or display. An inlay of carpet in the plywood floor defines a central space, suggesting a variety of work areas within the open space. To comply with regulations without undue compromise, the plywood panels were impregnated with fire retardant rather than surface finished. This allowed flexibility to modify items on site without compromising the fire rating. Specialised Panel Products, a company well-known for its use of non-toxic finishes, invested significant resources in developing this product.

Toilets share the below-ground vaulted spaces

The refurbishment of the basement-level toilets was a pressing challenge, not least because of water ingress, the extent of which was exposed only when the existing vaults beneath the pavement were stripped out. Waterproof render by Ronacrete was applied and left exposed to form the final wall and floor finish. Tiles were bedded in the floor render, a technique recalling traditional inlaid solid floors.

Coloured high-fibre board supplied by Valchromat was chosen for the joinery panels that enclose the vaults and form a walled area with public lockers on one side and storage display facing the exhibition gallery. CNC drills were used to form fluting and signage on the face of the panels.

Toto supplied energy-efficient sanitaryware, and the compact vanity and handbasin units were purpose-designed, and fabricated by the CDS Group. They incorporate a folded sheet of stainless steel with an inset polished sheet that acts as a mirror.

Concrete, waxed steel and felt linings feature in the cafe area

The architects initially intended that the cafe should occupy a more prominent position, visible from the street, but the upheaval in adapting services meant that it was kept in its existing location. Just as the architects treated the waterproofing to the vaults as an opportunity to expose a normally-hidden product, so they sought an inventive solution for the acoustic issues in the open-plan space.

A felt-lined wall was created that can be used to display books and journals, and a yellow felt curtain, gathered like a column at the foot of the adjacent stairs, closes off the cafe if required. A counter was built of concrete and waxed steel, and the kitchen lined in rectified white porcelain tiles edged with red grout.

The tables were each made from a single sheet of laminated birch ply (18mm-thick Decor-Eco Plywood by Advanced Technical Panels), and the chairs, supplied by Fuse & Co, have acoustic baffles on their undersides. Roz Barr Architects worked with metal fabricator CDS on new cafe lighting as well as an individual fitting to be used throughout the ground floor. 

The next phase of work will involve the refurbishment of all public areas on the ground and lower-ground levels, as well as a new linking staircase.  

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Credits

Architect
Roz Barr Architects
Main contractor
Oakside Construction
Tanking
Ronacrete
Joinery, timber
ECJ Joinery, Valchromat, Lathams Timber
Flooring
Ronafloor, Ronacrete, Domus Tiles
Plaster
Viero
LED lighting
Osram
Ironmongery
3V
Locks
Assa Abloy
Metal fabricator
CDS Group
Sanitaryware
Toto
Services
Dudley Industries