Category: Public / Cultural

Three main phases of development have brought about the Galeri Caernarfon, from its original conception as the Creative Enterprise Centre to the multi-use performing and visual arts, education and business hub that it is today. They could not have been possible without the vision and commitment of the client body, Galeri Caernarfon Cyf Development Trust, and in particular their chief executive, and their ongoing vision that “anything is possible…through creative thought and sustainable action”.

To realise this vision, Galeri selected a design team of outstanding calibre, capable of producing a building which would be both appropriate to both its historic setting on the Victoria Doc quayside, overlooking the Menai Strait, and inspirational in its external and internal design so that it would aid the economic resurgence of the town. The success of the relationship between client and architect was such that they have now worked together on all three phases of the project to date, gaining widespread recognition and many awards, for the project and its impact.

Key Sustainability Points
The principal aims of The Energy Conservation & Management Strategy for the Building were to exceed current environmental legislation and approved codes of practice in line with the client’s aspirations for the building, thereby minimising raw energy consumption as far as is practicable and commercially viable.

Quotes:
Client testimonial
The original vision for Galeri was of a centre that would be alive with professional and community activities put together through creative partnerships with a range of organisations and individuals. It was to be a theatre but also, in order to ensure financial and creative sustainability, a hub for the arts and the creative industries in northwest Wales. Rentable studio and meeting spaces were additional in-built revenue generators as was the cafe and bar areas. The latter also being a vital element in the perception of Galeri as an informal social space open to all.
Since the original building opened in 2005, we have employed Richard Murphy Architects to successfully extend our theatre space in 2010 and we returned to them again in 2014 to design an extension to Galeri which now contains two new film theatres with seating capacities of 119 and 65 respectively at first floor level, above a new public entrance to the whole building a reception and new office and meeting space together with a shop and more creative and meeting spaces. This enables Galeri to release the existing 396 seat theatre for more mainstream events whilst at the same time enabling us to programme the latest cinema offerings on the date of release.
The extension was officially opened by the actor Rhys Ifans in September 2018 to unanimous popular acclaim. The extension has completed the Centre and, although a period of 15 years separates the original building from the extension, the design makes it feel seamless both externally and internally.
Whilst the new cinema and other spaces serve more than one artistic and commercial purpose its main effect has been in transforming the whole feeling or “vibe” in Galeri and in raising the perception of the Centre as a place where there is always something happening.
As always, working in a constricted physical space with a requirement to maintain full access to a functioning, publicly accessible building had its challenges. Working with a familiar and trusted architect enabled ourselves, as clients, and the whole team to meet those challenges successfully and to deliver another new quality addition to the built environment of the historic town of Caernarfon.

Gweithdy celebrates the culture, heritage and skills of Welsh craft in a new gallery, workshop and visitor hub for St Fagans National Museum of History in Cardiff.
Translating from the Welsh as ‘workshop’ or ‘made by hand’, Gweithdy provides flexible gallery, workshop and demonstration spaces for a huge range of craft, science and archaeology activities and a hands-on exhibitions and learning activities. The exhibition highlights objects and materials from the National Museum of Wales collections that have become synonymous with Wales, its cultural richness, arts craft and making traditions.
Sensitive to its context Gweithdy is designed with environmental responsibility to the fore, drawing upon the collections in its form and materiality so that it is fully integrated into the renewed Edwardian woodland landscape setting at St Fagans.
Gweithdy is designed to be a hands-on, skill sharing experience where visitors experience the thrill of making for themselves, inspired by the skills of the past.
The educational programme puts learning at the heart of the building, not just the fit-out. The brief for the building was developed in line with the vision of the National Museum of Wales as an inclusive, participatory place for people.
The new building is located in the wooded landscape, deep in heart of this open air museum adding to the sense of discovery and delight.

Planning and Design Process
Among the client’s needs set out in the brief for Gweithdy are:

• A unique setting for learning, combining archaeology, history, oral testimony and intangible heritage in an open-air museum
• Engaging hitherto unrepresented communities and excluded audiences through a programme of co-curation, participation and collaboration
• More widely engaging with people in communities throughout Wales through digital and collaborative programmes
• Enabling people worldwide to participate in the Museum’s programmes and contribute to its work through digital media.
• Using the project to drive organisational and cultural change across Amgueddfa Cymru
• Being an exemplar of environmental sustainability in all its activities
• Contributing to the social, economic and environmental sustainability of Wales
• Encouraging visitors to take part, invent, design, experiment and build.

Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios developed their design approach based around the client’s brief, focusing on three main spaces within the new building and a number of areas required to service these. The major spaces within the building are:

Main Activity Space: The activity space, the largest space within the building at 480m2 is the main public exhibition space. The exhibition contains a variety of hands-on exhibits mixed with case-based artefacts from the museum collection. The space also contains an integrated group activity area large enough to house larger groups and a class of children.

The theme of the gallery is ‘Making History by Hand’ celebrating the skills of makers and encouraging visitors to learn these skills themselves. It is a hands-on, brains-on space which celebrates the creativity of our users, allowing them to draw inspiration from the products of past craftspeople and use it to make artefacts that reflect their own lives and experience.

Wet Activity Room
The Wet Activity Room provides a physical space for museum staff, artists and craftspeople to share their expertise with users. The activities within reflect and drive the Museum’s aim to provide opportunities for collaborative working, skill sharing and inspiring creativity.

Providing a physical connection between the space, the collections and the outdoor environment is key. The range and breadth of public programmes and collaborations are visible for all who visit the new building. Work produced within the space can be displayed in the external display settings. The space contains workshop facilities and also a kiln. This space can be used for both school groups and for paid courses or private functions. It has a direct access to the outdoor classroom and the event space.

Café Foyer
The cafe space is adjacent to the entrance and is important to the building both as a revenue generator and as a draw to get people into the building and the activity spaces. The cafe seats around 50 people with a provision for further outdoor seating during good weather.

The building also contains a reception area, toilet provision (including an accessible WC, a family WC and a changing place) and showers which can be used for those staying overnight in the experimental archaeology areas.

The Design
The outline of the building follows the line of the former Edwardian landscaped ‘rides’ on the south elevation and the west elevation. The triangular form of the building is cut off at the south end in response to the existing circular clearing. A bridge link across the medieval way follows the line and width of the minor ride whilst also providing an entrance to the building.

Gweithdy is wrapped in a skin which changes in reflectivity, transparency and opacity across the facade. The sharp lines of the glazing contrast with the organic nature of the site whilst the reflectivity breaks down the mass of the building by reflecting back its surroundings. The building skin is softened by using vertical timber battens which blur the edges between the light and dark reflective areas.

Split into two volumes, the higher element of the building, over the main activity space, requires a 5m floor to ceiling height, and is clad in wholly mirrored and fritted glazing above the continuous skin, to help blur the distinction between sky, building and trees.

The building is intended to sit lightly in the landscape and be enveloped by the natural vegetation which surrounds it over time. The proposals create relationships with a number of the rides and clearings from the 1908 landscape plan. The most important of these relationships is with the major clearing to the north west of the building which will become a flexible space which can be used as a performance venue.

A Conservation Landscape Management Plan produced for the Gweithdy development covered the future management for protected features and management of new lowland woodland planting and the existing forest habitats.

The roof structure over the main activity space is a semi-gridshell roof constructed from glu-laminated (GluLam) timber boxes and painted primary steelwork. The GluLam boxes act structurally to support the span of the roof and are ‘stitched’ together via a series of stainless steel dowels. These boxes are seen as an expression of the philosophy of the building, and their making is celebrated via box jointed corners, a jointing technique deliberately borrowed from the furniture industry. This is a deliberate attempt to create a synergy between the architecture and the exhibits on display in the gallery and as such a celebration of the making process involved in the building. They are filled with demountable acoustic panels which house electrical services such as smoke detectors, ambient background lighting and CCTV cameras.

Key Sustainability Points
The building targeted BREEAM Excellent against a bespoke set of BREEAM 2008 New Construction criteria to evidence its sustainability credentials. The forest location inspired a sustainable design and building form to tie in with the surroundings while the internal environment needed to be suitable for the museum pieces.

The building design and services strategy can deliver thermal comfort levels in accordance with CIBSE Guide A Environmental Design.

In line with best practice and adaption to climate change, the car park includes SUDS in the form of infiltration trenches and stormwater cells, designed to store the stormwater within the cellular units, allowing the stormwater to infiltrate to ground with an overflow pipe which discharges overland to the wooded area to the south of the car park. This allows a 1 in 100 year storm event plus a 20% allowance for climate change.

Gweithdy embraced the fabric first approach and significantly improved on the u-values required by building regulations. The building includes a sophisticated building management system with extensive energy metering to allow the Museum and facilities staff to ensure the building operates at optimum performance and identify where performance can be improved.

The building includes an air source heat pump which provides its renewables contribution and with the decarbonisation of the electricity grid will enable the building to continue to lower its carbon emissions.

The building includes a 12,000l/12m3 rainwater harvesting tank which meets 63% of the total predicted flushing demand for building for the best practice defined period of collection. To educate staff and visitors, the system is linked to the BMS to update and inform users of the savings made using the rainwater system.

In line with this, Gweithdy has been fitted with low flow sanitaryware including sensor taps, dual flush WCs and waterless urinals as well as shut off systems to the toilet areas when not occupied to reduce water consumption in use.

A Conservation Landscape Management Plan produced for the Gweithdy development covered the future management for protected features and management of new lowland woodland planting and the existing forest habitats.

Quotes:

“We appointed Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios to lead on the work of designing a new gallery building ‘Y Gweithdy’ within the Pettigrew designed listed landscape of St Fagans National Museum of History’ as part of the £30m Creu Hanes Making History project – one of the most ambitious projects undertaken by Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales.
FCBStudios succeeded in designing a delightful building which has been very well received by Museum visitors. It sits comfortably within the wooded landscape of the open air museum and acts as a portal for visitors to discover the new experimental archaeology recreated buildings on site. The design of the Building achieves a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating and successfully maintains stable environmental conditions through passive design for the display of museum collections. The attention to detail by FCBStudios successfully supports the collections and interpretation in the gallery and workshop studio in celebrating craftsmanship.
We now have facilities which consolidates St Fagans National History Museum’s position as one of Europe’s leading open air museums.”
Elfyn Hughes, Head of Buildings, Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales

‘Gweithdy’ is the Welsh word for ‘workshop’ – and this pavilion, set within the 19th Century woodland landscape of St Fagans open air museum, acts as a focal point for visitors and draws more people further into the museum park, in its location at a key crossing-point of paths on the site.
The building celebrates the culture, heritage, and skills of Welsh craft in a new gallery, workshop, and visitor hub; including a new coffee shop and visitor toilets.
It provides flexible workshop and demonstration spaces for over 500 items from the craft and archaeology collections of the National Museum of History, with a real focus on the tangible and ‘hands-on’ exhibition opportunities, both inside and outside.
A built-in forge under cover of the building canopy is used for metalwork demonstrations and other heavy crafts activities. The generous layout and provision of spaces internally, coupled with large clear span openings, serve the building users and visitors well.
The building is eloquently and calmly set out through a very simple triangular plan and longitudinal form. The client’s wishes were to avoid a Design & Build Contract, so that the details could be fully controlled on site. The use of repetitive patterns and timber signatures to help screen and camouflage the glazing, the provisions of a subdued palette, and use of natural materials, all help integrate the building in its woodland setting with great sophistication.
Internally, the main exhibition space includes large open spans and big structural openings, and the visible glulam structure contrasts with the hands-on, highly carved, and tactile displays on the floor directly below. The judging panel thought hard about whether this roof structure may have been better with a more hands-on, hand-made approach; but agreed ultimately that the clear spans and clear contrast in material use better complemented the current use of the building.
. The building has been designed to be a simple, but environmentally responsive form, and it does not fail to deliver this ambition in its calm, simple, and sustainable execution.
RSAW Awards Judges

References:
https://museum.wales/stfagans/gweithdy/
https://fcbstudios.com/work/view/Gweithdy-St-Fagans-National-Museum-of-History
https://www.arup.com/

Situated on the north coast of Yny Môn, Anglesey, Amlwch is home to one of the most historic ports in Wales and includes several Scheduled and Listed Monuments in its waterside Conservation Area.

Menter Môn and Amlwch Industrial Heritage Trust wished to provide a centrepiece to the port, and a recognisable image to create a destination which was consciously identifiable with Amlwch and its natural and built setting. Following the earlier Heritage Lottery Funded development plan for the port, Donald Insall Associates were commissioned to design this new visitor centre.

The main features of the centre were designed through carrying out innovative interpretations of the site and its context, offering a uniquely authentic building. The client consulted the Archaeological Trust so as to fully understand the site’s features, focusing on delivering key analogies of the historic relics of Amlwch Port within the new forms, materials and circulation, in order to provide visitors with a creative understanding of the built and natural environment and rich industrial heritage of Amlwch.

Design and Planning Process
The relics of six copper bins stood on the quay side. The project team decided that the last remaining roofed bin would form the core of the visitor centre. The new extension is within the floor plan of the existing copper bin and masonry, but the new form is delicately distinguished from the existing fabric by a linear composition of copper wraps around the elevations with new windows forming a seamless part of the design.

An excavated rock face ran along the rear of the copper bins, completely covered in ivy. In the existing roofed bin, a concrete block wall had been erected that obscured the rock face from view.

The exposed rock face was a key element in understanding the site and telling its story. Copper ore was once tipped down the rock face to the quay side, and beneath the ivy was evidence of historic mechanical fixings and copper ore staining.

Pulling the concrete block wall down to reveal and expose the rock face beyond would help illustrate the context of the site and amplify the setting of Parys Mountain, while providing an indoor visitor experience. Revealing the rock face was not an insignificant decision and proved the most demanding design and detailing challenge of the whole project.

Key Sustainability Points
In this context sustainability embraces three main areas. First is the notion of stewardship of the historic environment for the benefit of future generations. Secondly, the aim of minimising the use of non-renewable resources and reducing impact on the climate or other aspects of ecosystems. Finally, it addresses the financial and technical realities of carrying out conservation and alteration now and for the foreseeable future.

The project demonstrates careful conservation of a Grade II-listed historic monument to strict conservation standards, juxtaposed with a rich and tactile palette of new and natural materials. The decision not to re-point and clean the rock face of staining and archaeological leftovers internally was of equal importance to the painstaking conservation of pointing. Accepting the bins as industrial sheds, crude in form, wet, and imperfect – was absolutely integral to the Amlwch Industrial Heritage Trust’s vison and philosophy in delivering a truly authentic interpretation of the copper industry.

Quotes:

“We believe the design of the copper bins utilises some strong interpretative analogies: the timber chutes, the use of copper cladding, and exposing the rock face as a central idea behind the design thinking. The concept appears to have realised the challenge of combining a functional space with architectural concepts that relate to the heritage we are interpreting based on the copper mining industry of Amlwch.” Neil Johnstone, Heritage Manager, Menter Môn

References:

Copper Kingdom Visitor Centre

Planning and Design Process

The Brief

The client brief asked for a new arts venue with three traditional gallery spaces separate from the existing market stalls. Early consultation with market traders and the wider community indicated concerns that the two activities might not sit well together. Recognising that there were potential benefits that the two could bring to each other, the architects, Featherstone Young, suggested the brief be revisited and they proposed only one dedicated gallery space with a series of looser, less defined spaces that both the market and art centre could share.

‘Baggy space’ concept

Featherstone Young refers to this as the ‘baggy space’ concept, where designers create a light-touch framework which enables others to fill the gaps. This ‘baggy space’ concept went on to be adopted by Jo Marsh, Creative Director of Tŷ Pawb, in the arts programming, building in looser space around the fixed touring exhibitions for shorter, more immediate exhibitions that respond to pressing local issues, now known as the ‘Urgencies’ programme.

Mix of uses

The main art gallery and looser exhibition/event spaces are supported by a range of other facilities including a performance space, learning centre, art shop (Siop/Shop), cafes and studios. These sit within and around the main market hall which is spatially conceived as an extension of Wrexham’s streetscape, with covered squares and streets that re-establish a shortcut through the building, linking out of town to town centre. Careful choreography of the spaces ensures openness and fluidity. Large cuts in the building’s floors and walls, open up spaces and put all activities on view. Sqwr y Bobl (People’s Square) is at the heart of Tŷ Pawb, and its transformative transparent curtains allow people to use this space for a range of different events.

Interactive wall

Wal Pawb (Everyone’s Wall) changes what could have been a large dividing wall between the market and main gallery into an interactive element featuring built-in seats, windows and large billboard with changing public art selected by a panel including the market traders and local community. The first commission by Katie Cuddon has proved to be a vibrant backdrop within Tŷ Pawb, often featuring in visitors’ social media posts.

Flexibility

Furniture within the building designed by Tim Denton and local community groups also borrows from the same streetscape language, and like the Sqwr y Bobl curtains, people can transform spaces by moving pieces around to suit different events.

Key Sustainability Points

Reuse

The project’s central brief and themes of re-use and the creation of shared space are in themselves intrinsically sustainable, this therefore being hard-wired into every stage of the design. The project has avoided waste production and unnecessary energy use of new-build by re-using and repurposing an existing building. The existing building fabric is re-used and uprated with additional insulation.

Thermal mass

The existing concrete structure – specifically the fine pre-cast concrete floor units – has been exposed internally to provide thermal mass which helps dampen daily temperature fluctuations and therefore unnecessary energy heating/cooling at different times of the day. This has also reduced the use and potential future waste of gypsum based building products, and their metal support framing, both high embodied energy products. Large areas of fairfaced block walls were used, which add to the exposed internal thermal mass as well as being extremely rugged, long-lasting and avoiding unnecessary use of finishing materials.

Materiality

Timber waste products (e.g. plywood) were used as finishing materials rather than high embodied energy gypsum and metal frame products.

Sustainable technologies

New, efficient mechanical and electrical plant has been installed throughout along with new, high-efficiency lighting.

Location

The new arts centre is embedded in the city centre, making use of current transport infrastructure and limiting additional journeys created by the use of the new facility.

 

“It (Tŷ Pawb) is welcoming, animated, open, unpretentious and multifarious, while also calm and dignified. If this can’t bring art and everyday life together, I don’t know what will.”

Rowan Moore, architecture critic, The Observer

 

Links

Home

Home

http://timdenton.info/

Planning and Design Process

Rural context

The location within a National Park required the architecture to reflect the rural landscape. The extension needed to sit lower than the existing building, as not to dominate or detract from the main visitor centre. This was achieved by partially sinking the extension into the landscape to accommodate two floors, and topping it with a flat brown grass roof, camouflaging it into the surrounding woodland. The new entrance extension acts like a limpet, hugging the existing building and protruding from below its eaves. Its shape follows the curve of the external wall of the existing building.

Sympathetic materials

The choice of home-grown timber and sympathetic material specification places the building humbly into the breath-taking landscape. Over time the materials have weathered naturally, and the building has become ever more unassuming in situ. The building is the first Brettstapel constructed building in the UK to be made from from domestically grown and manufactured softwood.

Key Sustainability Points

Passive principles

Whilst embracing innovative technology, for which the building is celebrated, the design also intends to eliminate unnecessary technology and reduce complexity. Architype has employed ‘passive principles’ to ensure good and robust performance that depends on the integrity of the building as a whole before turning to add-on renewables. The design orientates the building for optimised natural daylighting, with solar shading for the summer months. Triple glazed windows and the elimination of thermal bridging prevents heat loss, as well as rigorous insulation made from recycled newspaper which forms an important ‘duvet layer’attributing to the building’s outstanding airtightness, ((0.93a.c.h@50pa). Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR), is the highest performance heat recovery system (in excess of 90%) and severely reduces the need for additional heating during occupation.

Sustainable materials

We ensured that all of the timber used on the Coed-Y-Brenin project came from sustainable, FSC certified sources. We were in the unique position to specify much of the timber from the clients own Welsh woodland, including Western Red Cedar for the balcony and Larch, felled on site for the external cladding. We chose timbers that needed little or no treatment, both to reduce the environmental impact, and help the new building fit harmoniously in the woodland landscape. With all of these timbers locally sourced and processed, the overall carbon footprint was dramatically reduced avoiding excessive shipping distances of heavy materials, which would have otherwise been incurred.

Sustainable technologies

The scheme has been designed to BREEAM Excellent and is on course to achieve this rating. Measures to achieve this have included a sedum roof, specified by a conservation team, sustainable waste drainage, a woodchip boiler, which alone incurs an operational cost of approximately half of the conventional energy price.

Quote

“The new visitor centre at Coed-y-Brenin is not only architecturally pleasing, it’s also a fantastic example of how local timber can be used to excellent effect.”

Rob Penn, British Writer, Photographer and Broadcaster

Planning and Design Process

Concept

Richard Rogers Partnership employed the idea of openness and transparency as the driving factors in the design for the National Assembly for Wales. Instead of being an insular, closed edifice, the building would be a transparent envelope, looking outwards to Cardiff Bay and beyond; making visible the inner workings of the Assembly and encouraging public participation in the democratic process.

Openness

The idea of openness is exemplified by the organization of the building, with public spaces elevated on a slate clad plinth stepping up from the water and cut away to allow daylight to penetrate the administrative spaces below, therefore enabling a visual connection between the electorate and elected. A lightweight, gently undulating roof shelters both internal and external spaces, extending downwards to encapsulate the chamber. The roof is pierced by the wind coil that rises above the debating chamber at the centre of the building.

Electorate representation

The Main Hall and the Debating Chamber form the internal, spatial representation of the electorate and the elected respectively and have been of key focus during the design process. The Main Hall is arranged on two levels with the lower entrance level housing the public reception and information facilities. To one side of the large slate and glass reception desk, a flight of stairs leads to the upper level, which accommodates a café and exhibition area with a glass floor allowing glimpses down into the Debating Chamber and impressive views in all directions.

Heart of the building

The Debating Chamber, a large circular space at the heart of the building, is crowned by a dramatic bell form expressed in the roof plane. The interior of the bell is finished in concentric, satin-finished aluminium rings. Surmounting these, a glazed lantern allows diffused daylight into the chamber. The lower portion of the bell is glazed, offering views into the chamber from the public viewing gallery above.

Landscape

The exterior areas around the National Assembly form a cohesive new open public space that sits between well established areas of differing character and quality. Hard landscape extends from the plinth to the adjoining buildings completing the development in this part of Cardiff Bay. Low slate terrace walls define a series of terraces falling away from the front of the building and onto the existing harbour wall.

Key Sustainability Points

BREEAM

The National Assembly for Wales exemplifies high environmental standards and has been awarded a BREEAM rating of Excellent.

Passive sustainability

Virtually all areas of the building are naturally ventilated. A conical mirror suspended under the wind cowl has been installed to reflect daylight from low altitude winter sun in the chamber. Roof lights and customized roof ventilators serving the committee rooms/offices reflect low-level winter daylight into the space, assisting daylight penetration

Green technology

A biomass boiler – processing both wood chips and pellets – provides high grade heating to heat emitters. Water usage is minimised through the application of appropriate fixtures and fittings and the utilization of rainwater harvesting to minimise the consumption of potable mains water. The ground source heat pump system provides cooling for mixed mode spaces and technical computer suites and low grade heat, which is required for the under floor heating system.

Planning and Design Process

The Brief

In 2005 Carmarthenshire County Council (CCC) commissioned a study which confirmed a need for facilities to serve the catchment area of approx. 260,000 population and recommended a new theatre:

• Seating 500 including a forestage/orchestra pit and fly tower.
• A smaller scale flexible theatre space seating approx. 100 to meet the needs of local groups and encourage local creativity.
• This arrangement being practical for the Welsh theatre circuit.

The intention was to enable local residents to achieve easier access to arts and entertainment, make the shopping centre more attractive and boost tourism and life to town centre at night. All in line with the CCC Unitary Development Plan.

Site selection

These findings were not site specific but became the basis of the brief on the old Stepney Hotel site in Llanelli town centre. However the site selection was made when CCC began a joint venture with a private developer to rejuvenate the adjacent area for retail, hotel and cinema facilities. The new cultural quarter, “East Gate”. In addition, adjacent to the Stepney hotel site was the Zion Chapel and Sunday school which the Trustees offered the Council in exchange for smaller facilities in the same location. These buildings are Grade 2 star Listed.

Key design issues

• Preserve the architectural integrity/history of the Chapel buildings.
• Develop continuity between the new and old to create a recognisable identity.
• Accommodate practical constraints -retaining Water Street as a service route,  pedestrian traffic only, flood consequence considerations.
• Linking the development design with the Councils streetscape design guides.
• Considerations for possible public art.
• Incorporating local highway design requirements e.g. taxis.
• Complete accessibility for disabled people.

Concept

For 200 years the chimneys of steel, copper and tin works dominated the town skyline. Llanelli is nicknamed ‘Tinopolis’ and ‘Sospan’ (saucepans were one of the town’s major exports).  The cauldron of energy, heat, and social drama created by this industry is the inspiration for the Design theme of Y Ffwrness  (The Furnace)Theatre.  The predominantly metal external skin of the building is the casing of the Furnace. The main auditorium, its centre, has “random” red, yellow, and orange coloured seating reflecting the “fire” within the furnace itself. Passing through the foyer spaces these colours continue in a more subdued setting. Together with wood and stainless steel surfaces they create a unique character to the theatre. It is a modern reflection of the towns past, creating a suitable setting for art and drama in a regenerated, vibrant town centre. The public will enter the foyer as a space which educates, stimulates and encourages participation. It will reflect the passion of the artwork displayed, and the drama created on stage.

Restoration and re use

Both Listed buildings received major refurbishment of their fabric. Existing features retained where ever possible and matched with suitable modern elements. The ground floor of the Sunday school provided the space for a new place of worship for the congregation, whilst a new floor was installed to facilitate a flexible studio theatre, The Stepney Theatre, for 100 people. By returning many features to their original format around modern technology an environment has been created that is conducive to innovation and experiment.  The rear of both the chapel and Sunday school buildings house new changing rooms.  Chapel buildings are linked at first floor to the new build theatre. This link, which crosses the old Water Street, contains a multipurpose performance space. The geometry of this link ensures that the Chapel buildings retain their own space and historic identity.

New Theatre

The angularity and solidity of the Chapel buildings is contrasted by the rounded flowing form of the new building. Clad in multi coloured metal tiles (a link to Llanelli’s past). The façade is intended to attract audiences to a vibrant and dramatic building. The 500 seat theatre is an innovative ‘21st Century facility’, the stage and auditorium being on the same level gives an adaptable solution to staging, orchestra pit, seating and function flexibility. Scenery is moved by means of ‘mechanical flying’ as opposed to manual operated scene lifting . All main areas are DDA accessible including the lighting rig area. The foyer space is adequate but limited due to the site area constraints. There is a small café at ground floor level, but no restaurant. This is accepted by the client as they have a wish to coordinate and respect existing and new adjacent catering facilities. All changing rooms and administrative areas are at the rear of the building. Glazing to the elevation to the ‘town square’ with a clearly identified main entrance, provides glimpses of foyer activity, offering an “inclusive” approach to passers-by. The curved form of the elevation defines an area in front of the entrance for theatre-goers and a venue for street theatre. The external space below the first floor link has been named the “Tunnel Theatre” and is used by youth groups for street performance.

Programme

The project started on site in November 2010 with a contract period of 96 weeks. It became operational in January 2013.

Key Sustainability Points

Green technologies

The main sustainable technologies used on the ffwrnes were; a 10kW solar array to provide 8412kwh free electricity per annum, 10m2 solar panels to heat the hot water to the building, 55kW heat / 33kW electric CHP to heat the building and provide free electricity, rainwater harvesting to provide water for flushing toilets, and LED lighting to all front of house areas and main auditorium. All centrally controlled via scene setter panel.

Construction

The majority of the materials specified were Green Guide A-rated. The main contractor targeted the order of material that was responsibly sourced and focussed on minimizing waste on site. The main contactor targeted a reduction in minimizing site impacts through monitoring pollution, reducing CO2 and operating an Environmental Management System on site.

Performance

The brief dictated that the scheme was to achieve a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating.  This was both a client aspiration along with funding criteria set by the Welsh Government. All of these contribute to minimise the energy demand of the building.   As a result of the sustainable technologies, the EPC score for the Ffwrnes improved from 37 to 30 giving a 20% improvement on the building emissions.

Community regeneration

Retaining the existing Chapel and Sunday School Buildings meant sustaining the heritage of 2 buildings of major significance within the town centre.  The scheme provides an attraction to help to rejuvenate one of many struggling town centres, sustaining visitor numbers and supporting local business.

Quote

“As a key member of the project team Lawray Architects delivered an insightful interpretation of the clients objectives and design aspirations. The brief required that the architects deliver a highly versatile and vibrant building, drawing reference from the physical character of Llanelli town centre buildings and inspiration from local history, whilst asserting its own identity as a major public building and at the same time complimenting, not overpowering, the listed buildings. I am pleased to say that, in my opinion, the building does just that. The completed venue inspires and sparks debate and has successfully accommodated sell out audiences since it opened in January 2013. The blend of build quality, functionality and impact is just right delivering a design quality indicator at the higher end of the scale.” Ian Jones, Pennaeth Hamdden / Head of Leisure Carmarthenshire County Council

Links

Carmarthenshire theatres

Lawray Architects

Mott Macdonald

NJP Partnership 

McCann and Partners

ACT Consultancy Services

Hunter Acoustics

TRJ 

 

Planning and Design Process 

Brief

Wishing to improve public accessibility to their facilities, Dwr Cymru Welsh Water developed a brief identifying that two distinct facilities were required at Llandegfedd Reservoir, its largest water body in close proximity to the main population centres of South Wales.  A 550m² visitor centre needed to cater for reservoir management, park rangers, fishermen and members of the public wishing to enjoy the tranquil setting. Additionally, a 320m² watersports centre was sought to replace the inadequate modular accommodation that served a long-established watersports school and sailing club.  The retention of an existing public car park was essential to delivering the overall project within a budget of £2m, including external works. Following an invited two-stage design competition, Hall + Bednarczyk was chosen by Welsh Water and appointed to lead a team of consultants up to full detail design.

Visitor Centre

Given the relatively modest scale of building called for in the brief, the visitor centre seeks to establish an expansive and welcoming environment, capturing its setting in a manner that expresses its public purpose. The key visitor spaces – a café and explanatory display area – are accessed directly at first floor level, establishing panoramic balcony views over the reservoir. Approached from the car park above, the pathway descent to the lakeside building presents the fluid zinc roof form as a fifth elevation that resembles a scooped-out rectangular gulp of the water beyond.

Four sculptural corner columns in fair-faced concrete, referencing the muscular civil engineering of the reservoir’s valve tower, support a gently curving timber ceiling soffit that glides over 18m long spans of frameless glazing. Sliding glass walls on the lakeside elevation open out onto a generous public balcony. A linear arrangement of service spaces (kitchen, WCs, stairwell) on the rear elevation establishes clarity in the building plan while ensuring maximum open plan flexibility for the lake-facing public spaces.

On the ground floor, Welsh Water’s rangers occupy offices that can closely monitor the comings and goings of the reservoir’s users. Back of house spaces are arranged along the rear of the plan where the building hunkers into the banked hillside of the site.

Watersports Centre

Designed in close consultation with its users, the watersports centre evolved as a flexible and refined form of boatshed placed alongside the water’s edge. Rescue craft, equipment storage and changing room facilities take up the ground floor while a large multifunction clubhouse room on the first floor spills out on to a generous balcony and captures fine views of racing.  The building employs a cost-effective steel frame that offers the flexibility of large spans and can straightforwardly cater for future adaptation of the building’s internal plan without compromising overall structural stiffness. The building envelope (including the roof) is clad in cedar that is intended to weather down to a low-key silver finish very much at home in its picturesque landscape setting. Carefully considered detailing, particularly evident in the gables and eaves, is intended to ensure that this timber building appears crisp in its execution rather than rustic. The steel frame is revealed in expressed external columns which define the bays of the ground floor and provide structural rigidity to the balcony.

Project Delivery

Public consultation was undertaken through community presentations and the contemporary designs established support as a valid response to the site’s sensitive landscape context. The project was delivered through a Traditional JCT Contract with Hall + Bednarczyk’s oversight of the two buildings alongside DCWW’s in-house capital infrastructure team.  A local building contractor based in Abergavenny delivered the buildings to a high standard over the course of a 15 month project timetable.

Success

The paired buildings have provided a considerable social catalyst for public engagement with the reservoir both on and off the water, exceeding Welsh Water’s already ambitious plans for greatly increased visitor numbers. A site of considerable beauty, both natural and man-made, has become a tangibly welcoming place where Welsh Water’s community-led ethos is in clear evidence.

Key Sustainability Points

Social Sustainability

Dwr Cymru Welsh Water operates to a charter that extends beyond providing clean water and sewerage for its 3 million customers by reinvesting any financial surplus to benefit the community in Wales.  A 550m² visitor centre caters for members of the public wishing to enjoy the tranquil setting, as well as providing accommodation for reservoir management, park rangers and fishermen. Additionally, a 300m² watersports centre replaces the inadequate modular accommodation that served a long-established watersports school and sailing club.  The project provides a considerable social catalyst for public engagement with the reservoir both on and off the water and the popularity of the buildings helps to ensure that the site can sustain its future as a cherished social amenity for a broad range of users.

Increasing sustainable travel

The retention of an existing public car park was essential to delivering the overall project within a budget of £2m, including external works. Cycling to the site has been successfully encouraged, and parking provision for coaches and minibuses markedly increased.

Energy Performance

Tailored approaches to sustainable design were applied to the two new buildings reflecting their markedly different internal energy requirements and distinct external envelopes. Offsetting the adverse BREEAM scoring implications of Llandegfedd’s isolated rural location, where electricity is the only available mains-supplied utility and public transport links are limited, pragmatic decisions were taken to enhance sustainability. The project’s EPC Rating of Band B (scoring close to an A Rating) reflects the effort applied to creating thermally efficient building envelopes.

Orientation

Fundamental decisions regarding the positioning of both buildings enable their window orientation to benefit from passive solar heat gain as well as the most desirable views of the site. Each incorporates a user-controlled flexibility that avoids the need for air conditioning. Opening windows at high level enable background through-ventilation whilst large sliding glass doors permit purge ventilation on the hottest of days, when the lake cools the natural breezes. Horizontally fixed louvres shade the SW windows of the watersports centre.  Generous overhangs on the Visitor Centre’s roof protect against excessive solar heat gain on the substantially glazed SW elevation.

Sustainable technology

Due to Welsh Water’s ongoing operational need to adjust the depth of the reservoir, intentions to integrate a lake source heat pump were adapted to a 12kW air source heat pump capable of meeting all of the 550m² visitor centre’s space heating requirements. Complimenting this, both buildings employ underfloor heating to distribute heat to the occupants of large rooms – an approach that is similarly effective in drying out wet-floored changing rooms. The watersports centre presents an unusual requirement for hot water due to the sporadic surges in demand that correspond with weekend sailing events, where up to 100 hot showers may suddenly be needed in a short timeframe. Hot water demand is therefore met with instantaneous electric zip heating, which avoids heat loss through storage or pipe transfer.

Quote

“Of all the projects we visited, this was the most fully resolved architecturally from the initial idea of sitting two buildings on the shore of the reservoir through to the high standard of construction that was achieved…These exceptional buildings have settled into their surroundings and prove themselves in use. We expect them to remain fine works of architecture throughout their working life, and to be recognised as such by future generations.” Eisteddfod Gold Medal Judge and Architect Alan Francis

Links

Hall + Bednarczyk Architects

Mann Williams Structural Engineers

Holloway Partnership

Morgan Henshaw

DCWW Llandegfedd Reservoir

Image credit: James Morris Photography 

Planning and Design Process

Sensitive restoration

The philosophy adopted for restoring the Galilee Chapel was to provide a suitable space for displaying the early Christian Stones, whilst retaining the memory of the ruin, carefully retaining all existing stonework, and capping it with a dressed stone blocks to support the contemporary glazing above. This also provided a good weathering for the tops of the walls.

Accessibility

The Stones are the key focus of the project and have been positioned so that a wheelchair can get access to all the Stone’s inscriptions. The existing stone walls have been lime washed white to allow the grey stones to stand out against the background. 

Reversibility

The roof structure is simple and reflects the trusses and oak boarding found in the West Church. Dressed stone features have not been over-restored and all new work is completely reversible. Most of the new work is essentially reflected in oak. The new west window sits delicately within the ruined fragments of the original 13th century window, each new stone carefully cut around the original and bedded with a lime mortar to allow reversibility and yet maintaining adequate weathering.

Contemporary

Our thinking was clear from the outset. The new elements would form a contemporary solution rather than trying to create a pastiche of what might have been there. We toyed with the idea of roofing the small chapel with zinc, and although we wanted this to be a contemporary solution, we also wanted it to be subtle, and therefore settled on a Cornish slate to match the adjacent roof.  The use of a contemporary material like zinc would stand out too much when the church was seen from the upper levels of the surrounding village.

Key Sustainability Points

Reuse

The reuse of existing buildings is arguably a sustainable form of development by reusing existing structure and materials negating the need to extract or manufacture new materials. The design and specification has been guided by good conservation principles (the building is listed grade 1) so that new is attached to old, rather than old to new, and all new work is ‘reversible’. The surface materials reflect the materials used in the main body of the church, which is limewash and natural oak boarding and stairs.

Materials

The materials used in traditional buildings are from natural local sources and generally not harmful to their environment. What remained of the Galilee Chapel was predominantly local Lias limestone and lime mortar. Materials introduced into the new build elements of this restoration project are a limecrete floor slab upon recycled glass insulation, which also has the benefit of draining the often water logged ground; stone and lime for the walls; and softwood timber framing for the floors and roof. Glass infills are frameless. The natural slates on the roof are from the Delabole quarry in Cornwall, and match those on the adjacent roof of the West church.

Insulation

The Galilee Chapel floor and new roof construction have been insulated with recycled glass and sheep’s wool, but the walls and windows have not been insulated, simply limewashed. Adding insulation would be inappropriate for the historic character of the building. The thick stone walls provide thermal mass, which will feed back into the space during the night. As the restored west window is a single glazed leaded light, the remainder of the glazing required a ‘light touch’ so single glazing was preferred to double glazed units.

Heating

The original oil boiler in the basement was removed and replaced with two new condensing gas boilers that heat three separate zones – 1) The Galilee Chapel, 2) The West Church, and 3) The East Church. This was determined the most efficient way to heat the building based upon the frequency of demand for each space. Mains gas is in the adjacent road about twenty meters from the building. Mains gas was preferred over a heat pump as there is very little space in the graveyard and bed rock is only 450mm below the surface where space was available. Installing a heat pump proved very expensive and was soon abandoned.

Quote

“This restoration is magnificent.  It is both sensitive to this ancient site in the way it has been restored and yet surprisingly contemporary in its use of light and space.  This means it can be a place of pilgrimage and be useable in all kinds of ways by the present church community.” Barry Morgan, Archbishop of Wales

Links

Davies Sutton

Stirling Prize Winner

Chapel 

Planning and Design Process

Commission

The Cadwgan Trust commissioned Purcell in 2005 to undertake an initial condition survey and an options appraisal. Purcell led the Trust’s fundraising efforts, eventually securing £12.5m, and was subsequently commissioned to implement the proposals.

Planning Constraints

Purcell worked closely with Cadw to develop a high quality, appropriate design to compliment this complex scheduled ancient monument site. The restaurant over-sails a section of rebuilt castle wall that had collapsed in the 1980s, providing views across the river Teifi and back across the castle gardens. Ecologists, historic landscape consultants and archaeologists worked closely to preserve and enhance the rich features of the site.

Materials & labour

Local materials and labour were used wherever possible. Building apprenticeships delivered traditional building skills: slate roofs, joinery repairs, decorative plasterwork and masonry. Over 80 jobs were created during construction phase and the project provided a case study for the qualification of two architects.

Method of construction

Raking shores had propped the main southern walls since the 1970s and major structural and civil engineering works were necessary. The walls were strengthened by forming clusters of Cintec anchors to lock back the wall face and voids behind filled with semi-thixotropic grout. A local Cilgerran slate quarry was reopened to provide stone for repairs, and vast areas of wall were repointed.

Philosophy of repair

The repair and conservation of the buildings focused on creating a series of commercial spaces while sensitively restoring historic features. It was important to ensure that the buildings’ character, identity and significant features were respected with sympathetic modern interventions.

Repair techniques & conservation achievements

Services carefully weave through complex, below ground archaeology. Lime plaster finishes, decorative cornice-work, timber box guttery, carpentry and joinery elements were restored. Wallpaper dating from the 1920s, originally printed using a wet on wet drum process, has been digitally recreated in the main house. To re-roof the north tower and remove a central column, a reinforced ring beam was inserted with an additional steel structure to resist the outward thrust of the conical roof. This has created a space available for hire as a seminar/reception room.

Accessibility

The project is now fully accessible as much as is possible within the limitations of listed buildings on a sloping site. This was achieved through altering historic details to create level thresholds, sensitively inserting a lift into Castle Green House and thoughtfully integrating wayfinding around the site.

Challenges

The project did encounter some challenges. A market appraisal by the Trust after the HLF Round II grant award led to changes of use of many of the buildings at a late stage to meet an increased emphasis on commercial holiday accommodation and function hire. The HLF and other funders have proved to be enormously supportive with a second £800k HLF grant awarded to bridge the ensuing shortfall. As anticipated by the project team, additional archaeology was uncovered including medieval cellars. Works were suspended while these findings were excavated and recorded.

Key Sustainability Points

Re use

The castle is a Grade I listed scheduled ancient monument, comprising six separately listed buildings. This, and the overall budgetary constraints of a project which was 99% grant funded, provided challenges to the environmental upgrade of the buildings. Bringing these important buildings back into use, and thereby re-using the embodied energy in their construction, was an important factor in the sustainability thinking behind the project.

Ecology

Ecology across the site has been considerably enhanced by the landscape management. Many important specimen species of trees and plants from the 19^th century have been maintained. Castle Green House is a nationally important roost for greater horseshoe bats. Redevelopment involved extensive negotiation with Natural Resources Wales and local bat groups. The bat roost in the medieval cellar was maintained throughout the construction phase, and work was carefully organised to allow the bats continual access. A tunnel and shaft through the house is built into the fabric so that the bats can link to the roof space, which is also given over to bat use. Bats then enter and leave via special bat access dormers in the roof space. Barn owl nesting boxes have also been provided in the roof space. A belt of undergrowth has been maintained from the house down to the river edge where the bats feed.

Green technology

 Solar thermal panels were installed on Castle Green House to provide domestic hot water for the holiday lets, and wood burning stoves provide some renewable heat energy. LED light fittings were used throughout to reduce electricity consumption by 90% over equivalent halogen fittings. New, efficient gas condensing boilers and radiators with period style thermostatic radiator valves were installed. A building management system (BMS) was installed in the Castle Green House to improve heating control efficiency.

Insulation

The conversion of the Gardener’s Cottage (a scheduled ancient monument) was used a test bed for internal insulation; 80mm of Pavadentro woodfibre board was installed throughout (with an overall build-up U-value of 0.43 W/m²K), the floor had 80mm Kingspan Styrozone beneath the slab (with a U-value of 0.25 W/m²K) and the roof was fully insulated with 200mm of Rockwool insulation (with an overall build-up U-value of 0.22 W/m²K).

Glazing

 All the windows were installed with slimline double glazed sash windows with an outer leaf of handmade cylinder glass. All the proposals required careful negotiation with Cadw and the local authority. The Grade II listed stables complex also had slimline double-glazed units installed in all the windows and had a full 200mm depth of roof insulation.

Quotes

“The remarkable story of the saving of Cardigan Castle started over ten years ago and is a triumph of public, community drive and commitment. Without the will and passion of the local people, the castle wall and associated buildings would almost certainly have been lost. Not only have the architects Purcell created a new, valuable and beautiful destination for the town, but the project has also unlocked and opened up entry into the town.” The RIBA Awards 2016 judges

References

Purcell

Picture credits: Phil Boorman and Purcell

Planning and Design Process

Site constraints

The existing buildings – the Castle stables building and the 1970s block, housing the college – needed to be retained and kept open throughout the construction process, as the budget could not stretch to replac­ing existing functional space. The only available area for the new buildings was the narrow strip of land between the existing buildings and North Road.

Presence

The client and design team wished to create a new façade for the college giving it the civic presence it deserves and the cli­ent was concerned to achieve a clearly defined ‘front door’. The creation of a central foyer not only fulfilled this request but also delivered a publicly ac­cessible space with a cafe and stunning views west through the mature trees of Bute Park.

Performance spaces

Having designed the performance spaces from the inside out, the architect considered the best way to locate them on the site. The key was to find a way to create a new front door to the college which also embraced the view into Bute Park. The concert hall is located at the north end of the site; its elliptical form nestles into the woodland and allows the path into the park to wrap around it. The Burton theatre is located opposite the concert hall, so the two key performance spaces frame the glazed, single-volume entrance foyer, which offers spectacular views to the park beyond.

Acoustic performance

The Dora Stoutzker Hall is an acoustically excellent 450-seat recital hall, designed to accommodate a range of performance configurations, including soloists, quartets, choir and chamber orchestra, as well as for full orchestra and amplified groups. The acoustic performance drove the design of the hall. It is a classic shoebox – long narrow and tall, with the audience arranged on two levels, with seating wrapping around the platform at the upper level. Internally the room is lined with timber acoustic panelling designed to create a warm diffuse sound to match its rich golden appearance.

Construction

The individual components of the building are united under a single blade like roof. Its distinctive floating appearance is achieved by separating it from the new building using a 1m tall, glazed ‘shadow gap’ and setting the support columns back from the building perimeter where they can’t be seen. As the college building curves considerably, placing the support columns back from the perimeter required cantilevering the roof all around the building edge by between 8-10m. The southern end of the roof is supported at its midpoint by a single tapering hollow steel column. Achieving this was far from straightforward as the shape of this section of the roof tends to make the wind both lift and twist it. Mott MacDonald prevented this by installing a diamond box truss to provide torsional rigidity, enabling the roof to retain its slender dimensions.

Sustainability Outcomes

Heating and cooling

The environmental strategy aims to capitalise on the building’s inherent thermal mass to naturally heat/cool the building according to the time of year. The performance spaces are the only air-conditioned rooms – the remainder are a mixture of natural and mixed mode ventilation. The halls are both acoustically and thermally massive allowing them to be used to temper the environment of the public spaces around them. At 13m tall, the foyer and Linbury Gallery utilise their height to create thermal stack effects which ventilate them naturally. The overhanging roof shades the glass, minimising the need for cooling whilst the external vertical brise soleils shade the rehearsal and set design spaces from the direct sunshine. The sleek design of the college extends to the topside of the roof, which has been kept plant-free through the ‘bottom-up’ building services strategy.

Quotes

“These new facilities have completely transformed the College. Offering world class facilities in such a stunning location will allow us to continue to attract leading international arts practitioners to work here, and to increase national and international recognition for Cardiff as a home of world class artistic training.”

Hilary Boulding, Principal, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama

“….the project’s coup de grâce, the triple-height foyer that takes you from the bustle of the traffic-filled North Road to an immediate confrontation with the tranquil magnificence of splendid trees that fill the park. Beyond the full-height glazing, a terrace steps down to the water. This foyer is becoming one of the most popular civic spaces in Cardiff, a new agora where students, staff and the public meet and eat and talk, where extemporary and scheduled performances mingle. They all become players; all their world becomes a stage.”  

Patrick Hannay, Architecture Today

Related Links

Bogle Flanagan Lawrence Silver

Architects Journal

Dezeen 

Planning and Design Process

Collaboration

The final spatial brief and design for Oriel Mostyn emerged through a close dialogue between the building users and the designers. The design team worked intensively with the organisation in developing the project around a number of guiding principles, which were then sequentially tested and evolved through workshops with various consultation groups. The guiding principles were as follows; enhance and expand exhibition spaces, maintain and enhance the spirit of the gallery, improvement of support and education facilities and increase presence within site context of Llandudno.

Impact

The introduction of a dramatic in-situ concrete space linking the internal organisation of the gallery was intended to create an unexpected experience on entering through the Victorian threshold. The concrete stair geometry within the tube was largely generated by constraints in the plan due to over twenty party-wall situations with adjoining neighbours.

Gallery space

Three new gallery spaces were carved out of the existing building alongside a new cubic infill gallery added to the two existing lantern galleries. The new space would allow taller objects to be displayed in natural light with a more intimate space located off its entry point. A dedicated education space was located adjacent to the existing galleries to encourage a direct interaction with the exhibition programme. A café with a connected gallery space, extended shop and new art workshop and administration spaces were also part of the requirements. These later spaces occupy a new structure which forms the rear concrete and aluminium facade to the restored Victorian galleries.

Conservation

Mostyn’s geographical and cultural location informed all thinking on the project, along with an appreciation of existing listed Victorian building. The existing gallery was originally difficult to read behind the dark red terracotta facade and the crudely joined canopy (which was actually an early addition along Vaughan Street). The team worked through an involved and at times constrained process with Conservation and Planning groups, creating an improved canopy with eye catching gold anodised features as modern counterpoints to the terracotta. The pyramidal spire was clad in the same material in order to create a visual focal point above the entry.

Construction

Due to the complexity of the rear buildings, a minor works contract was used followed by a standard traditional contract. This allowed detailed survey work to be carried out following demolition at the enabling stage which could then inform the main design. During the construction stage for Mostyn, a temporary prefabricated gallery space was also designed to keep exhibitions running during the construction programme.

Sustainability Outcomes

Socio-economic

The key aspect of the project’s sustainability objectives was to deliver a vital socio-economic asset to the community in which Mostyn. The Gallery’s increased appeal and stature is significant for the regeneration of the town.

Long life, low maintenance and energy efficency

The nature of the site and budgetary demands of these challenging interventions put strain on the sustainability aspirations and options for Low and Zero Carbon (LZC) technologies. The budgetary demands were viewed as an opportunity and emphasised the need for close life cycle cost analysis of sustainable design decisions. The hierarchy of design options for delivering sustainability was always considered. This hierarchy of principles prioritised the selection of low impact materials and the implementation of energy and resource conservation measures, along with good management techniques. These were prioritised before any technological solutions were considered. To this end the treatment of the existing building fabric was to offer long life, low maintenance and energy efficiency. Double glazing and internal wall insulation were incorporated and balanced with conservation demands.

Forward planning

Whilst budgetary constraints precluded the installation of some proposed systems, facilities have been allowed for possible future installation of solar thermal heating and efficient mechanical cooling to the galleries. Space has been provided to facilitate the installation, in the future, of air-source heat pumps for tempering the supply air to the galleries.

Quotes

As the new Mostyn took shape we felt it was turning into something special. When we finally took possession we felt immediately that it was going to be a delight to work in and a delight to be in.  And so it has proved – in functional terms we cannot fault it; it works well for every individual, every department and every activity. We anticipated that it would be reasonably well received by our visitors. In fact the response has been stunning and it is hugely rewarding to be in the galleries and circulation spaces, to observe people responding to the materials and the spaces, the light and the design details. It is a wonderful building and being in it gives an enormous sense of well-being.

Martin Barlow, Director

Related links

Mostyn 

 

 

 

Planning and Design Process 

New axis

The extension is built on the Western side of the existing centre and as part of the design process a new East/West axis was established through the middle of the building, between the entrance and the existing reception area. Access to the first floor library, meeting room and turf-roofed deck is via a spiral staircase; whilst the ground floor comprises the entrance/reception, café, internet access area and information centre.

Materials

The building structure is timber-framed, whilst the roof is covered by an area of turf. The principal front wall was re-built using stone from the existing perimeter walls. The second phase of development included sculpture and glass works created from sustainable sources by sculptor Roger Moss and glass artist David Pearl. The external signage was created by Brenda Oaks.

Sustainability Outcomes

Materials

All timber was either FSC certified or taken from sustainable local sources and insulation was recycled newsprint for the walls and cork below the turf roofs. Various recycled materials were used for the interiors, including; door mats recycled from lorry tyres, reception desks incorporating recycled aluminium and glass, door fittings cast using recycled aluminium , café furniture fabricated from cable drums and circular windows fabricated from oak thinning.

Heating and cooling

The building is naturally ventilated and hot air is expelled via a solar ventilator, below which are 8 built in solar powered extractor fans. The photovoltaic cells power a battery and computer which constantly monitors temperatures. A series of solar water heating panels on the south-facing roof of the main building assist with heating water. The building has a water-based underfloor heating system. The west-facing double glazing was sand blasted in critical areas to limit solar heat gain.

Related links
Air Architecture

 

Planning and Design Process

Concept

Early in the design process it was decided that the architecture of the building should reflect the enthusiastic, creative, hands-on nature of the Small World Theatre. The physical shape and size of the building has developed simply and directly from the nature and extent of its function. Early design ideas drew heavily from the shape of a circus ‘Big Top’, which is still apparent. The building was conceived as a multi-purpose hall rising to 11m, with high levels of natural light and ventilation, permitting a retractable curtain drop, creating an indoor circular ‘mini marquee’ room within the large space, and with the ability for blackout at any time of day. 

Space

The building accommodates a variety of different uses: a studio space, a rehearsal area, activity rooms, meeting rooms, a general workshop, storage space, offices, a resource library, a green room, a meeting room with a kitchen, and an exhibition space. This is a significant achievement in a building which has a complete absence of ‘dead’ space such as corridors, or right angled corners. All of the available space of the site has been utilised and the ratio of useable to non-useable space is virtually 100%.

Flexibility

These spaces are adaptable for different user needs and are multi-functional and different groups are able to use different parts of the building without interfering with each other. The main area is surrounded by ancillary rooms of varying sizes. The high roller shutter door between the workshop and the main space can be used as a proscenium enabling the workshop to become a stage area and the main studio to be an auditorium.

Construction

The structural frame in its vertical plane consists of two rings of columns. The inner ring of 400mm Douglas Fir poles, form the vertical sides of six triangular trusses which transmit all roof and floor loadings to six points at ground level. The sloping inner members of these trusses (Douglas Fir) rise to 11m to a ring at the apex. Double sawn timber members form the hip beams of the upper roof. Double horizontal cross members form beams which project into the inner atrium and support the Oak edge beams to the galleries which encircle the inner studio space. As well as leaning together and being secured at their upper points, these triangular trusses are ‘tethered’ back to a row of outer slender steel columns, most of which are encased in the outer perimeter wall. The function of the outer columns, aside from stabilising the inner ring, is to support a circle of ply box beams at first floor level. The box beams support the outer ends of the first floor joists and also support the first floor timber wall and the roof above it. The box beams additionally support the inner edge of the lowest roof of very shallow pitch which covers the peripheral rooms on the ground floor.

Sustainability Outcomes

Heating and cooling

The building has a very high net-to-gross floor area ratio, reducing the need to maintain or to heat ‘dead’ spaces such as corridors or connecting lobbies. A space heating and cooling system uses an air source heat pump producing a ratio of up to 3.5 times heat output to power input.

Use of technology

Solar roof mounted panels assist water heating for domestic use. A rain water harvesting system recycles water to the building for toilet flush to WC’s with dual flush facility.

Recycled materials

A large percentage of the insulation is made of recycled materials such as newspaper, resulting in very low U values. Recycled slate was used for the roof; a decision made possible by the breakdown of the roof into small areas, reducing the need for precise matching of size and colour. It was also used in areas of flooring. Cardigan brick found on the demolition site was re-used.

Biodiversity

The building has a sedum roof covering to the lower areas which reduces flash flooding and encourages biodiversity in the townscape environment.

Local economy

The structural frame uses locally sourced timber rather than steel. All labour has come from the local community including additional labour from volunteers. 

Related links

Small World

Hess Kincaid Architects

 

Planning and Design Process

Wooded Context

Reluctant to dilute the wooded character of the site by superimposing a single campus-style block, the studio chose instead to set eight smaller buildings among the trees. These consist of simple timber frame sheds, split down their centre and pulled apart to provide light and ventilation and a shared entrance area.

Bespoke cladding

The studio developed a special cladding system for the buildings. As stainless steel is everlasting but expensive, the studio sourced material the thickness of a coke can. This makes it affordable, but it dents easily, providing neither rigidity nor insulation. These problems are overcome by crinkling it in a controlled manner before spraying a CFC-free insulation foam on the back of the crinkled surface. The panelling is affordable, rigid and well insulated; it accommodates details like eaves and windowsills and has a non-uniformity, which reflects the forest’s leaves and pieces of sky in its facets.

Sustainability OutcomesCommunityThe architects worked closely with both the university and the local artistic community to ensure that the design fully met the brief, therefore retaining that community in the area.

Local materials

In terms of construction, the sustainability response has been to use local timber and lightweight construction with high insulation in addition to providing natural light and ventilation.

Quotes

“We are delighted with the studios and Heatherwick’s design. The concept really has captured the imagination of arts organisations and artists in the area – we have formed a creative community here which will work closely with, and will add to the strength of, the growing creative cluster in Aberystwyth”.

Alan Hewson, Director of Aberystwyth Arts Centre

Related links
Heatherwick Studio

Planning and Design Process

Brief

The client brief was to create a sustainable landmark building on a prominent site, symbolising the values of knowledge, learning and culture.

Planning Constraints

The key planning constraints included the way in which the building related to the adjacent conservation area and facilitate the retention of key historic routes and views south towards Cardiff Bay. These constraints informed the building’s massing and the way in which the overlapping geometries were established.

Legibility

The building consists of two interlocking elements; a transparent area defining the open plan library acting as a lantern, and a solid block housing cellular accommodation. The solid area is contained in an external skin of brass cladding inspired by the random appearance of leather bound books on shelves. These two elements are unified by a four storey atrium providing passive ventilation and daylight. Staggered walkways across the space offer dramatic views over the city, with the upper floors creating a new window on the skyline. The atrium and open plan floors form an open and legible internal environment which lifts the spirits and creates an exciting experience. The circulation takes visitors on a journey to the heart of the building with all library activities branching from it, including spaces for group activity or individual contemplation.

Materials

The exposed structure employs architecturally finished in-situ concrete columns and coffered soffits. The natural finish of the concrete is offset against the warmth of a timber glulam panelled roof which spans the entire library space. Variety in layout, colour and furnishings is used to appeal to a wide cross-section of users and creates a library with a buzz and sense of life. A striking architectural feature of the building is the high performance ‘spectrally selective’ coating on the facades, coupled with screen printed panels and solar fins, which provide an expressive articulation to the external elevation.

Sustainability Outcomes

Ecology

The ecological value of the site, previously a car park, has been substantially increased through consultation with a registered ecologist and provision of an extensive green roof. The library achieved more than 90% of the BREEAM ecology credits, which is exceptional for a city centre development.

Whole Life Costing

Whole Life Costing (WLC) was a tool used by the project team to identify and compare sustainable design solutions which would deliver the greatest economic and environmental benefits over the life of the building – not simply the lowest capital cost option. For example it was determined that boreholes for pre-heating and pre-cooling air distributed through the building were the most appropriate solution. At a cost of £300,000 this was an expensive choice, but the team decided to proceed as it would provide the greatest benefit to operation of the library.

Materials

Materials have been specified to minimise the lifecycle impact of the library. Materials which are ‘A’ rated according to The Green Guide to Specification have been installed for windows that can be opened properly, roof, floor finishes and internal walls. Durable materials, fixtures and fittings have been installed in frequently used areas to reduce the need for replacement, and 100% of timber has been sustainably certified by FSC. Materials were sourced locally where possible including Welsh slate for floor finishes.

Heating and cooling

The structure employs exposed concrete soffits to help achieve a comfortable open plan space, which uses night time cooling to avoid the need for air conditioning. The underside of the roof is lined with sustainable timber panelling and glulam beams. The facades incorporate high performance ‘spectrally selective’ coating, screen printed panels and solar fins, allowing good daylight and reduced solar heat gains and glare.

Energy Management

There is a building management system for heating, lighting and airflow to maintain efficient energy usage. The system monitors and controls each floor individually, resulting in optimum comfort conditions and lower energy consumption and waste.

Water consumption

Water consumption in the library is minimised through installation of water efficient fittings, low-flush toilets, a water meter with a pulsed output and a leak detection system. The extensive green roof attenuates over 50% of rainwater run-off.

Quotes

“I worked for over 25 years at the old library in the centre of Cardiff and I’m proud to have been involved in the planning, development and building of the new library. It is an extraordinary building with so much to offer the people of Cardiff and South Wales. Its BREEAM Excellent rating means that it is a landmark building for the capital city. Its unique sustainable features make it not only a functional building but one that will attract the attention of keen environmentalists”.

Rob Boddy, Chief Librarian, Library Services, Cardiff Council

Related links
BDP

 

Planning and Design Process

Client’s vision

Create a high quality educational, cultural and leisure facility that celebrates synergy between heritage, and built and natural environments. Promote sustainable building and demonstrate renewable energy use and water management to a wide audience. The brief included residential accommodation, canteen, visitor interpretation centre, classrooms, staff facilities and sustainable energy centre.

Landscape context

The scheme takes the form of a series of small pavilions which are linked, creating a route through the site. As the ground level gradually falls away across the site, the timber pavilions are raised on piloti, positioned to preserve the natural habitat, nestling within mature trees. The metal portals frame key views in the landscape. Pavilions and portals are linked by a walkway forming a promenade through the grove of trees. The pavilions, portals and walkways define landscape courtyard.

Prefabrication

To maximise efficiency, meet the project programme and minimise environmental impact, 80% of the timber frame building was constructed off site using timber from sustainable sources. The prefabricated modules were craned into place and assembled on site.  Driving construction off site provided a high quality product and minimum impact on the site. The modules were delivered through April and May 2008, coming together in only two weeks, making this scheme the largest prefabricated modular building in Wales.

Materials

The prefabricated timber volumetric units are clad in UK grown sweet chestnut rain screen as a response to the exposed nature of the site. All claddings are untreated and will take on a silver colour as they age, blending the building into its wooded surroundings. The steel frame portal structures are copper-clad and will patina to an earthy red.

Sustainability Outcomes

Heating and cooling

A passive, sustainable design strategy was developed using the expertise and resources of the Welsh School of Architecture. To minimise heat loss and the need for mechanical services, the building has been insulated to standards in excess of Building Regulation requirements. The external walls have a design U value of 0.23W/m2K, while roofs and floors have design U values below 0.15W/m2K. Space heating is provided by a 150kW wood pellet biomass boiler. The north facing roof-lights also help to maximise penetration of natural light while minimising solar heat gain.

Ventilation

The centre is designed to be naturally ventilated via a combination of opening windows and automatic roof lights.

Water

Rainwater is stored in a below ground tank and is used for flushing WCs and urinals in the public toilets. 

Related links
Design Research Unit Wales

Loyn & Co Architects

Margam Park

 

Planning and Design Process

Restoration

The original High Street frontage was badly damaged by the installation of a 1960s panelled façade. Together with the planning authority and local groups, the design team considered whether to repair the old or build an entirely new structure. Key considerations, including the structural stability of the adjoining buildings, pointed to repairing the original brick and terracotta frontage and reinstating the integrity of the High Street which contributes to the character of the conservation area. The façade was repaired but further adapted to suit the new use. The ornate red brickwork arches were reinstated but the first floor cills to the large window openings were cut down to the floor level to provide better interconnectivity between the new upstairs café and the High Street. The café windows slide back fully behind new metal railings, allowing the café to open up to the street and to enjoy the south west aspect. The balustrade is formed in tensile stainless steel to minimise visual impact. A new glass canopy forms a modern counterpoint to the Victorian façade. There is a high level of visibility through a large glazed screen between the street and the entrance foyer which is designed to be welcoming and accessible to all users.

Construction

The auditoria are set back behind the small-scale High Street frontage and are housed in a plain, red brick rectangular shed, topped by a lightweight metal clad ‘roof box’ which houses the digital media suite. The red brick was selected to match that of the repaired frontage on the High Street. The scale of the rear ‘shed’ was dictated by the fly-tower of the previous auditorium , which had been structurally condemned and demolished in 2002. The rear elevation is contemporary in design and forms a frontage to the retail development.

The new ‘shed’ is constructed around a conventional steel frame on bottom driven piles. The steel frame was erected to prop the fragile existing building before any alterations were carried out to it, founded as it is with shallow footings on peat. Lightweight construction needed careful detailing and workmanship to provide good sound-proofing between the variety of rooms and a durable finish for heavy occupation.

Inclusivity

The process of developing the brief, evaluating design options and developing the design was inclusive. The Scala Advisory Group was established at the outset with representatives from the County and District Councils, Business Community, Friends of the Scala and members of the local community. There is a single accessible and welcoming entrance for all staff and visitors. Not only is the approach and main entrance easily identifiable, well lit and easy to use, but the internal layout of the building is legible. Way finding has been enhanced though the use of coded colours contributing to the overall interior design scheme.

Sustainability Outcomes

Regeneration

The Scala is a key piece of the town centre regeneration. While local development incorporates some parking provision, the Scala’s central location near to other town centre facilities encourages walking and car-free access. The building’s main sustainability credential is its flexibility and popularity. As a successful community building it is already into a second life and will be maintained and cared for over the long-term.

Materials

Durable materials were specified which, with minimum maintenance, will not need replacement for many years. The sixty year designed life of the building is minimum, which it is expected to exceed.

Quotes

“The Scala is a prime example of how all the agencies involved have worked together with the local community to turn around the fortunes of the building and create a facility of which local people can feel proud. The former Scala closed in 2000 due to structural problems and the local community said they wanted the building to be restored. That work began in 2007 with the building officially opened in 2009. To be awarded this special recognition in the Civic Trust Awards is a feather in the Scala’s cap and reaffirms the fact that the building is a facility for the local community.”

Councillor Rhiannon Hughes, Chair of the Scala Board of Trustees

Related links
Burrell Foley Fischer LLP

 

The visitor and environmental education centre at the wetlands is a good example of an uncomplicated design which sits well within the context of a very sensitive landscape. Approached on foot from the car park, the building arouses curiosity, enticing visitors to stop and observe the wetlands and to explore the landscape beyond.

Introduction
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) environmental education and visitor centre was built to provide access to the wetlands nature reserve established as mitigation for the loss of mudflats in Cardiff Bay. The reserve covers over 438 hectares close to Newport city centre, overlooking the Severn Estuary and is a highly sensitive site designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, Special Protection Area for birds and Special Area of Conservation.

The building is approached via a ramped boardwalk leading to an external gathering area which in turn leads to spacious information and reception areas. The building provides a range of accommodation including a large meeting room, sub-divisible classroom, office and ancillary staff accommodation, a workshop, garage and verandas for informal seating and teaching.

A simple single-storey steel and timber structure was used which was elevated above the ground on steel piles to reduce the need for excavation and allow for the possibility of flooding, and for water bodies and reed beds to run up to and around the building.
The centre aims to provide children from Newport schools with an opportunity to explore the local natural environment and to become part of a recognised network of reserve based National Curriculum Centres for Wales. The design aims to be as inclusive and accessible as possible, with full wheelchair access along the ramped walkways and I.T and audio loop systems inside the building.

Design Process
The siting of the building was determined by a number of factors such as minimising the impact on ecology and habitats for protected species, hydrology and water management, engineering stability, pollution risk from construction and use of the centre, and viewing of wildlife. The site is located on the flood plain and below the mean high water spring tidal level. Consideration was also given to providing shelter whilst allowing optimum viewing conditions and protecting the site from local sources of pollution.

The design creates a strong sense of place and identity through its relationship with the landscape and use of natural, sustainable materials which over time will age and mature, bedding the building into the landscape. The timber gives the building a natural element while the use of copper cladding and the exposed steel structure are intended to pay homage to the significance of these elements in the industrial heritage of Newport.

The existing car parking facilities were upgraded and a new entrance provided to improve visibility for vehicles leaving the site. Secure cycle storage is available and efforts continue to improve cycle access.

Sustainability Credentials
The building was designed with the reduction of energy consumption as a key consideration along with the use of materials with a low embodied energy. Selection of materials was further informed by sustainability, durability and appearance with all timber being Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certified. Sweet chestnut cladding is sourced from managed UK plantations and hardwood decking from certified sustainable sources.

Building insulation values are 10% higher than regulations required at the time and the building has high performance building systems and controls, supplemented by photovoltaic panels and solar collectors.
Reliance on artificial lighting is reduced by large windows and roof glazing to maximise daylight, while generous roof overhangs help to protect from excessive heat gain from passive solar gain. Windows were reduced and kept small on the north and west sides to reduce heat loss.

An initial archaeological assessment was undertaken as part of the ground investigation and an archaeological watching brief was included in the specification for the works. Initial habitat surveys were also undertaken and followed up with an environmental management plan developed in consultation with the council and environmental bodies.
The building achieved a ‘Very Good’ BREEAM rating.

Designers Evaluation
The design team have ensured that the building relates well to its surrounding landscape and sensitive environment in terms of design, sustainability and heritage.

In the spirit of the surrounding wetland, the building’s design has considered accessibility and inclusiveness as a key factor.

Planning and Design Process

Vision

The visitor centre was envisaged as a pavilion resting lightly on the underlying ground and “floating within the ruined elements of the White Castle”.  This approach attempts to distinguish between the old and the new, whilst also being sympathetic and subservient to the historic and natural surroundings.

Materials

The building is sheltered within the ruins of the castle gate, and timber cladding and a glazed finish provide a subtle contrast to the existing stonework.

Archaeological constraints

An archaeological appraisal carried out on the site imposed a series of constraints on the development and key details regarding the junctions between the old and new building fabric were agreed with Cadw. Although intended as a permanent structure, its design has a “reversible feel” and, if it had to be removed in the future, this could be achieved without damaging the historic fabric of the White Gates. 

Contrast

The central portion of the roof is raised above the main body of the visitor centre, allowing for better spatial definition of the existing ruin.  This idea is continued externally, reinforcing the contrasting geometries of the new and old elements of the building, particularly when viewed from the battlements of the Great Tower.

Landscape context

Timber louvres are used to screen portions of the large glazed elements that offer views to the surrounding countryside and castle.  This also shades the building, with the timber rainscreen panels providing a contrast to the ashlar stonework of the gatehouse, and echoing the use of timber elsewhere in the castle.

Sustainability Outcomes

Heating and cooling

It aims to produce a building with a very low carbon heating system and is therefore heated via a ground source heat pump, with under floor heating throughout. Energy requirements are reduced with Warmcell insulation used to highly insulate walls, and an element of the building being located in the ground. Large window openings are high performance and also serve to flood the building with natural light.

Ventilation

There is natural ventilation throughout, including   sensor operated, opening louvres to the shop that remove the build up of excessive heat in the public areas, which can quickly be filled by large groups of people.

 

Related links

CADW

 

 

Planning and Design Process

Climate context

The extreme nature of the weather and the logistical difficulties meant that the design team and client effectively developed the brief together in response to the conditions, measuring the outcomes in relation to the quality of facility achievable, capital costs, lifecycle costs, affect on Railway business and income, eligibility for funding, projected building life and sustainable development principles.

Consultation

The building sits not only at the Snowdon summit in the protected landscape of the National Park but is also located in a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). This meant there was potential for the scheme to become the focus of controversy and the client and planning authority, Snowdonia National Park considered it crucial that the design process was as inclusive as possible. The team therefore consulted with a wide range of interest groups including walkers, climbers, train passengers, the railway operators, local farmers, land owners, local communities, politicians, environmentalists and the Design Commission for Wales.

Reuse

In order to arrive at the design solution, the team carefully analysed the existing building to explore opportunities to reuse parts of it as despite its very poor condition, any potential re-use offered significant environmental benefits and a reduction in capital costs. Out of this process emerged a design solution which occupied a similar volume to the existing building and proposed the re-use of the existing slab and spine accommodation that was already partially buried in the mountain. However, detailed site investigations revealed that much of the original structure, which they originally hoped to retain, was in such poor condition that its long term performance could not be guaranteed and so reluctantly, most of it was demolished.

Site context

Due to the severity of the mountain conditions and the level of risk involved, it was necessary to appoint a contractor early in the process so that the design could evolve in parallel with the method of construction. This early collaboration helped to secure a guaranteed price for the project, within the strictly limited funds available for the scheme.

Practicalities

The foundations consist of precast concrete containers which were filled with rubble at the summit to provide ballast – concrete could neither be pumped nor mixed on the summit. The primary frame was constructed from galvanised steel sections which had to be sized to resist the significant wind speed and snow loadings, to which the building would be subject. In order to optimise the frame design special 3-D software was used to model the building and efficiently calculate load paths. This also needed to take into account the temporary stability of the frame as it was being erected in stages. The whole building was clad with an aluminium standing seam roofing system specially modelled to take account of the geometry. The roof sections were considered too unstable to erect as single sheets and therefore a prefabricated system was developed with Corus which enabled the roof and secondary support structure to be assembled in bays at sea level. These were carefully sized to fit on the narrow gauge train and once hoisted into place, zipped together to form a water tight envelope.  The internal walls were also constructed from prefabricated sandwich panels to avoid wet trades associated with conventional internal construction and to speed up installation.

Materials

The external envelope of the building was clad in local granite, selected for its durability. Each of the granite blocks was scheduled and pre-cut before being transported to the summit, in order to save time. The granite has a rough finish and has been carefully arranged in varying height bands around the entire perimeter to reflect the sedimentary nature of much of the mountain, as if the building was formed from the rock. This horizontal ‘sedimentary’ language is continued inside where Welsh Oak battens have been used to create a simple cladding system, bringing warmth to the interior.

Construction

Snowdon’s summit was only accessible for construction via the 100 year old narrow gauge railway; helicopters were ruled out on grounds of safety. The extreme weather also meant that the summit could only be reached from April to October. Given the logistical complications and relatively small construction window, it was proposed to carry out a dry run of the construction by assembling the building in a large warehouse near Shotton. This enabled the design team and contractor to test and perfect construction techniques at sea level so that there were no surprises at the summit. Despite all the preparation, two of the worst summers on record significantly delayed the construction programme meaning that the building was not completed until October 2008.

Sustainability Outcomes

Limitations

From the outset the client recognised the importance of sustainable design and made it a key consideration, however the remote location of the site brought significant challenges. Firstly the building has to operate independently as it is not connected to any services supplies; all resources and materials have to be carefully conserved as they can only be transferred to and from the mountain via the railway. Secondly, the unpredictable weather conditions make it very difficult to harness natural energy sources. Finally, the extremes of climate significantly reduce the materials’ life expectancy. The building concept was also conceived in 2001, to far less stringent CO2 emissions targets than today’s standards.  Despite all these issues, the rigorous analysis and sustainable design approach adopted by the design team in the early stages meant that the final design still achieved a BREEAM Very Good rating in 2008.

Planning and Design Process

Concept

The design concept aimed to enhance the essential characteristics of the former building, its courtyard typology and its relationship with the surrounding landscape. The courtyard is the principal communal space, creating a protected environment and an important transitional space between the interior and the surrounding town. The restaurant, education room, workshops, studios and entrance hall open directly into this landscaped space with external seating and covered areas.

Materials

The external form of the building is a complex composition of sloping rooves, which shift in plan and section and are quietly reminiscent of the Clwydian range seen above the site. Zinc panels of varying width are detailed as a wrapping over roof and wall, with alternating seam arrangement creating a weave pattern. The cast concrete walls are pigmented to give a clay-red hue which establishes a visual link with the local red sandstone found nearby on buildings such as Ruthin Castle. The walls were cast on the ground and then tilted up into place. A combination of surface pattern provides texture and emphasis to the walls.

Function

There are three gallery spaces, arranged so as to allow a variety of routes and sequence of spaces depending on the requirements of changing exhibitions. The shop is located adjacent to the principal entrance, with large windows making it visible from the outside. The restaurant is located on the northern side of the courtyard with a south-facing terrace. A high level window on the north-eastern side provides a long distance view of the Clwydian range behind. Adjacent to the restaurant, six workshop studios are arranged in a row with service entrances on the north side and ‘shop-front’ entrances on the courtyard side. The education room, two studios for artists in residence, the Tourist Information Centre and the administration areas are located on the southern side with entry and views into the courtyard. In this way, the different functions of the Centre have a close physical relationship with the daily activities visible, adding life and activity, but retaining a degree of autonomy.

Sustainability Outcomes

Natural ventilation

The building has been planned to allow as many spaces as possible to be provided with fresh air ventilation using opening windows and rooflights. Openings on opposing sides of spaces allow crossflow ventilation even in the larger, deep plan rooms. The large gallery space is also ventilated in this way, avoiding the need for energy using mechanical fans, made possible by the approach to the display of precious objects is based on the use of controlled display cases rather than air conditioning the entire gallery volume.

Thermal Mass

The walls and floor of the building have deliberately been chosen to be of heavyweight construction including materials such as concrete and heavyweight plaster finishes, rather than a lightweight construction. These materials are exposed on the inside of the rooms which allows them to absorb and release heat/energy during a typical day. The gallery rooflight design allows them to be left open during the night in the warmer summer months, whilst maintaining security and weather tightness, to allow the cooler night air to purge the building of heat which builds up during the day. The heavy structure can store cool air, helping to reduce temperatures inside the galleries the next day without resorting to air conditioning.

Glazing, daylight and insulation

The amounts of glazing in the external walls are modest so as to reduce winter heat loss and summer heat gain. Rooflights are used extensively to make sure that internal daylight levels are good, allowing less reliance on electric lighting during hours of daylight. Insulation levels in the external walls, roof and floor slab are generous, further reducing the base year round energy needs.

Orientation and elevations

The spaces to the north and south of the courtyard deliberately have larger (taller) elevations on their southern side and smaller (lower) northern elevations to take maximum benefit from useful winter sun to reduce heating energy needs. Any available solar energy is stored in the thermally massive building structure. Roof overhangs on the southern sides of these spaces are small to improve solar access. The gallery spaces which are generally more densely occupied and have heat generating display lighting have a lesser need for solar energy and so do not have any windows on their southern side and use north facing rooflights.

Planning and Design Process

Sensitive intervention

The conservation of the existing buildings has been recognised as an exemplary exercise by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) and the new link between the two parts of the school is deliberately composed as a contemporary intervention with a minimal palette of materials, including the treatment of its interface with the existing buildings which is in frameless, structural glass. The geometry of the link seeks to counter the historic formality of the original school buildings, inflecting towards the Coity Mountain carefully framing the view of Big Pit National Coal Museum.

Landscape

The scheme’s section has been carefully composed, its lower roofs sown with native grasses, and abutting the Upper School at its ground floor level to create an elevated landscape which reconnects the existing buildings with the industrial landscape.  Central to the concept was the desire to form a connection between both existing buildings and provide a fully accessible link for all. The new visitor facilities are located at the Lower School’s ground floor and are approached by a series of subtly graded landscape platforms that adjust to the site’s existing topography via a ramp and sequence of gradual steps.

Access for all

Internally, the primary circulation on this level is deliberately open with all necessary fire doors set on hold-open devices that conceal the doors within wall linings to maximise the clear circulation width for disabled users. To ensure intellectual access, the exhibition areas are provided with integrated induction loops, with all audio provided in a multi-lingual format. Access to the public meeting and lecture facilities in the Upper School level is provided by a stair and passenger lift, both located in close proximity to the visitor reception desk. The lift is fitted with tactile buttons and a fully accessible WC is provided.

Sustainability Outcomes

Re use of brownfield

The decision to locate the World Heritage Centre within the existing St Peter’s School was a conscious gesture towards the sustainable potential of brown-field development, with the centre itself offering the opportunity for renewed economic sustainability in the Blaenafon area.

Passive

The environmental response is deliberately low technology and passive. All spaces are naturally ventilated and the new link’s section contributes to stack-assisted cross ventilation. High thermal mass is provided by both exposed masonry fin walls, an extensive grass roof and secure high-level vents which maximise the potential for night-time cooling.

Biodiversity

The grass roof, which is sown with indigenous species, also serves to stimulate biodiversity and moderate the cycle of rainwater whilst maintaining the natural flight path of an existing bat colony.

Planning and Design Process

Collaboration

The brief for the new unit developed after collaboration between the architect and hospital staff, including clinicians, also patient groups and estate managers.

Site constraints

The chosen site was close to an existing, predominately glazed ward building which affected the fire strategy of the proposed building. Surrounding the site is residential development, a main road to the west, and a ward block to the east, with a variation from 2 storeys to 4 storeys. Constructed on a gently sloping site, the unit is cut into the slope; by reducing the ground level the building sits lower on the site and enables a physical link to be made to the existing ward building. In addition a stepped section was developed, which acknowledges the contrasting scales of the existing ward block and the residential properties opposite.

Materials

The building was constructed using a main steel frame, with a Structural Section Framing (SSF) system, which enabled a relatively quick build with a limited palate of materials. The strong white curved insulated rendered band which runs along the west elevation acknowledges and responds to the white rendered properties opposite along Dolgwili Road. The use of blue engineering brick reflects both the existing ward block building but also enhances the visual strength of the white band. 

Nature

The long sweeping curve also reflects the nature of the site, creating openness to the street, allowing a visual link to the crop of trees to the south west of the site and allowing a row of trees to be planted parallel to Dolgwili Road.

Legibility

The curve also creates a visual focus to the main entrance of the unit giving the unit a strong identity and making it clear to patients and visitors of where to go, which is crucial to health care buildings. The existing site infrastructure was re-configured to ensure legibility. The main entrance and drop-off area is designed with a pedestrian focus, creating a level approach from car/ambulance to paved area. A series of permanent planters have been incorporated into the design to act as a calming element prior to entering the hospital facility and can be seen once inside.

Sustainability Outcomes

Future proofing

The new facility was developed with future demand in mind, to build a suitable ‘long-term’ building which reduces the need to build additional buildings in the future at increase cost, both financially and environmentally. Studies were carried out to establish the capacity required to cope with future demand for services. The building therefore currently has over capacity. This is seen as a pragmatic approach which avoids the need for additional building in the future, which by its nature would be more environmentally damaging.

Quotes

Fresenius (the Renal Dialysis Company running the dialysis unit) have stated that the facility at Carmarthen sets a benchmark for new renal dialysis in the UK and it is used as a showcase for dialysis treatment in the UK.

Planning and Design Process

Collaboration

The principle objective of the project was to improve visitor facilities at Aberdulais Falls by replacing the existing temporary buildings with a new, purpose built, visitor centre. The design process involved working closely with the client to achieve their aspirations for the project, and included a number of design reviews by the National Trust’s own architectural panel.

Historic context

The building design for Aberdulais Falls attempts to clearly distinguish between the old and the new, whilst also being sympathetic with the historic and natural surroundings. The building responds to its wooded industrial setting, in its use of local stone, timber, steel, and a metal roof to reflect the site’s former use as a tinplate works.

Art

The close working relationship allowed the collaboration on, and inclusion of various artworks into the building.  A stacked glass installation therefore reflects the flow of water, particularly when movement is created when rising up the entrance steps, forming an immediate feature at the entrance to the building.

Sustainability Outcomes

Green technology

The building is heated via an air source heat pump, which is run from a turbine attached to the water wheel. The site sells excess electricity to the National Grid when not needed – however, this is dependent upon rainfall levels at different times of the year, to drive the water wheel. A computer screen has been installed within the shop for the public to view as an educational tool.  This enables them to monitor the amount of energy the site generates and the building uses, thus emphasising the sustainable credentials of the building to the general public in an understandable format.

Insulation

The envelope of the building is highly insulated with Warmcell insulation, composed of recycled newspaper, and locally sourced.  In addition to this, building an element of the building into the ground has provided a natural source of insulation.  The sedum roof over the Educational Resource Centre provides good insulation, whilst also replacing part of the green area removed from the site for the new building.

Planning and Design Process

Replicable simplicity

White Design developed a single storey unit using replicable and simple construction methods, to create an imaginative demonstration of environmental building techniques and systems. The walls are made from prefabricated straw bale panels and this is the first building in the world to use a barrel vaulted prefabricated roof with straw infill. The envelope provides a practical, commercially viable super insulation system which can achieve a u-value as low as 0.18w/mk. The prefabricated design of the building allows it to be de-rigged for relocation to alternative sites around the country as a travelling demonstration project.

Education

The building houses a small exhibition and seminar space, which helps to inform and educate through a range of courses, training events, seminars and exhibitions. The building demonstrates a range of cost effective sustainable building techniques, energy systems and locally manufactured environmentally sustainable or recycled materials, which have been targeted towards businesses. The whole scheme has a low environmental impact in its construction, occupation, operation and ultimately in its decommissioning.

Sustainability Outcomes

Reuse and recycle

To make way for the Eco-building, four existing old industrial units on the site were demolished. A documented audit trail was created, in collaboration with the BRE, to track the demolition materials of the previous buildings and ensure their reuse. Following demolition, 102 tonnes of bricks and concrete were diverted from landfill and used as aggregate in road construction and ground-works in Caerphilly and Rhondda Cynon Taff.  Approximately 23 tonnes of metal were also recycled from the buildings, some of which was used in the construction of the new project, which also re-uses the ground floor slab from the previous building.

Waste minimisation

The dimensions of the building are based around individual product sizes, for example the dimensions of one plywood board, in order to reduce cutting, labour costs and more importantly the production of waste. The choice of materials and detailed design allows for dismantling and decommissioning and ultimately re-use and recycling.

Renewable Energy

The location in the industrial estate has allowed for the combination of Photovoltaic panels (PV) and a 100w wind turbine to provide some of the electricity requirement for the building. Investigations into biomass supply showed that the size and demand of the building could not justify even the smallest biomass boiler so a conventional highly efficient gas boiler provides the minimal winter heating requirement. The building services terminate in the plant room in such a way that a range of energy sources can be used to power the building. This dovetails with the concept that the building is mobile. If the building was to be re-positioned where wind power was viable, it could conceivably been plugged into a turbine/windmill to generate its power requirement.

Light and ventilation

The building benefits from passive natural ventilation which uses the differences in pressure between its interior and exterior caused by the natural effects of temperature and wind, to create air-flow. High floor to ceiling height assists ventilation and ensures a light and airy environment. Roof-lights are installed for ventilation and also to provide natural daylight to the interior. There is no need for cooling and mechanical ventilation in the building which means reduced energy use. Maximising natural light and using low energy lighting systems which require minimal maintenance, also mean low running costs.

Construction material

The main construction materials of timber and straw, as plant based materials, are infinitely renewable. The inexpensive straw bale insulation, sandwiched between plywood, is used in the walls and roof, delivering excellent thermal performance and insulation. The end walls and the top of wall sections that do not have windows are insulated with a cotton (recycled denim) and wool mix. Both gable end wall sections are insulated by using recycled newspaper fibres (cellulose). The building has achieved U-Values for the walls and ceilings of 0.13w/m2/k. The prefabricated timber frame and external timber cladding is locally sourced.

Rainwater harvesting

The building benefits from a 1000L rainwater harvesting system. Its domed roof is covered in a rubber membrane, which by design is self-draining. An integral ‘upturned lip’ runs along the edge to act as a gutter which channels rainwater through a clear plastic pipe into two plastic water tanks. From the water tanks, rainwater is pumped on demand through a filter and circulated around the building for use in toilet cisterns and where drinking water is not required. This relatively simple system has a significantly reduced impact on water consumption and bills.

Glazing

All windows are double glazed and fitted with low emissivity insulating glass which increases the energy efficiency of windows by reducing the transfer of heat or cold through glass. This allows the building to remain cool in summer and warmer in winter. The south elevation has a large glazed window, with trees on the east elevation for shading from the morning sun.

Biodiversity

In the year following completion, a dry stone wall using Pennant stone was constructed alongside the building enhancing biodiversity by providing a home for insects and plants among its nooks and crannies.

Local Economy

The building has provided employment and income generation for Torfaen and generated interest from surrounding areas. All the materials and expertise were assessed for their locality to the project and where possible products and trades able to manufacture the building, were obtained from within a 50 mile radius. This is shown in many of the construction materials used. Prefabrication of the panels was undertaken in two of the existing adjacent industrial units where the business community were able to observe the construction processes as they happened. The local timber sub-contractor has continued the use of the adjacent redundant industrial units after the completion of the building.

Quotes

Feedback from people working in the building:

• This has been a fantastic project to work on and we now have an inspirational demonstration building in Torfaen.
• Lovely working environment, light and airy – an inspirational place to work.
• Nice to work in even on the hottest day. 

Quotes from users of the building:

• The physical environmental conditions were excellent and the insulation and passive ventilation really worked well on a very hot day. Garth Brookfield, Monitor, Facilities Management.
• A very nice environment to work in.

Planning and Design Process

Collaboration

At the heart of Galeri’s design was the idea of communication between the different creative people working within the building and those visiting it. The potential for interaction between members of the public and people working in the various offices was of the greatest importance.

Site Context

The design of Galeri is inspired by its location on the dock front. As such, the design team sought to create a warehouse-like structure of three parallel sheds. An inner shed containing the large volumes, requiring large span structures, flanked on either side by small or domestic scaled structural sheds of individual rooms. The inner shed contains the theatre at its north-east end and rehearsal rooms at its south-west end, with a central foyer providing circulation. This design not only carries through the concept of a series of warehouses, but also ensures that the offices on the first and second floors have direct walkway access into the atrium space. This seeks to achieve the main objective by making office activity visible to everyone entering the building.

Materials

The building exterior is formed of a steel frame and green oak boarding. The timber cladding will form a natural weathered grey patina over time and will further act as a rain screen to the building. The external walkways are  formed of galvanised steel, with lightweight perforated metal decks. The exterior wall, adjacent to the building entrance is made of board marked concrete. Window frames are aluminium and the building interior is finished in striking colours to contrast with the monochrome exterior.

Legibility

The building has two entrances, one on to the dock front to the north west and the other on the opposite side facing the parking area and the existing road, Balaclava Road. Although the building principally addresses the dock, the rear pedestrian access provides a clearly defined entrance through the use of high quality surface materials and street furniture. These furthermore dissipate the negative effect of the surface parking and give easy access for all.