Cooke Fawcett Architects’ Peckham Observatory gives lofty views over Bold Tendencies’ art exhibits and the London cityscape

Photos
Peter Landers

Bold Tendencies, a 10-year-old arts non-profit organisation, has a dual mission for its base on the upper levels of a disused Peckham multi-storey carpark: for “visitors to fully experience the works installed, and to freely enjoy public space in the city”. Its latest architectural commission does both, with an elegant economy of means. A 32m-long, 3.5m-high observation platform on the top level of the carpark provides a gathering point with views southward over leafy suburban hills and north to the increasingly mountainous skyline of central London, and also gives a “literally new perspective” on the sculptures arrayed on the deck below, says Oliver Cooke of Cooke Fawcett Architects.

Bold Tendencies likes to give emerging architects the opportunity to complete interesting projects, says founder Hannah Barry, and Cooke Fawcett – established in 2015 after its founders left Herzog & de Meuron – was first commissioned in 2016 to design an acoustic wall on a lower level of the carpark, where classical music concerts are held for audiences of 800.

The impetus to establish the ‘Peckham Observatory’ came with Southwark Council’s decision to use some of the lower levels of the structure for a mix of workshops and restaurants, which required the relocation of Bold Tendencies’ main entrance from a stair core in the middle of the building to another at its west end. “What was the forgotten end of the carpark became the point where everyone enters”, says Cooke. An events box-office was needed (the blue-painted kiosk sits under the observatory platform and also provides workspace for six interns) but “we also wanted to use the opportunity to add to people’s experience of the carpark”, says Cooke.

In commissioning architectural interventions for the hulking concrete carpark (which have included Frank’s Bar and a straw-bale auditorium, both by Practice Architecture) it is important not to obscure the inherent qualities of the site, says Barry. “You can quite easily overdo things – put too much in or adjust too much. The observatory relates to the dimensions of the space, and in a subtle way helps us to understand the width of the carpark, not just its length”.

The architect worked with engineer AKTII on the design of the steel-framed platform. High point loads are created by the combined weight of the structure and up to 350 visitors, and the columns are supported by props on the level below, which rest on spreaders. The superstructure is formed of I-section columns, with 230mm-deep steel beams edging the deck. Hardwood planks on timber joists sit flush with the top of the beam. All steelwork is painted an olive green which refers to nearby trees and mossy brickwork, and does not compete with brightly-hued installations including the hot-pink interior of the West Stair and the red awning of Frank’s Bar.

“Colour is a strong theme here”, says Francis Fawcett, “We were keen that the platform didn’t come across as overly bold – it looks like part of the infrastructure of the carpark rather than an exhibit”. Small details also communicate the designers’ care, including circular column bases and L-section handrails that prevent drink spillage.

At one end the platform cantilevers a little way beyond the line of the columns to align with the carpark wall. At the other, winding stairs form bleacher seating. From the deck, the stairs and balustrades drop out of sight to give an unobstructed – and spectacular – prospect of the city spread out below.

Additional Images

Credits