46 PROJECT FOCUS - CHIPS Inside one of the apartments, which have full-height glazing wherever possible
The brightly coloured folding screens are made from door blanks
The three ‘chips’, each three storeys high giving nine storeys in total, have been pushed out of alignment longitudinally with each other, and each is clad in a different colour, breaking up what is actually a very large building at 100m by 14m, and avoiding the depressing monolithic look of some of its neighbours. In addition, this deliberate misalignment creates sheltered outdoor spaces, as well as a couple of fabulous balconies, and the sixth-floor open space. And like the best chips, the building, although basically three long straight blocks
There is full-height glazing for a waterfront restaurant beneath the cantilever
Photo courtesy of Adam Coupe
stacked vertically, does not have perfectly straight sides either.
The background colour of the lowest block is a deep tan, the middle one is dark brown, and the top one a light tan. On the main end, facing the water, it is the central block that projects forward most, providing a sheltered space to a triple-height restaurant with a glazed facade, which occupies the end of the lowest block. ‘Will is very interested in the sculptural form of buildings,’ said Norman. ‘Having the darkest, and what appears to be
the heaviest, element in the middle of the sandwich is an exciting idea.’ The cantilevers are impressive, with the longest measuring 13m, and presented a challenge to the structural engineer, Martin Stockley Associates, particularly because the building is in reinforced concrete.
Norman sees this as the simplest choice. ‘If you use a steel frame with slim composite floors,’ he said, ‘you have a lot of following trades. You have to insulate and line it to get good ratings between compartments. There are a lot of nasty and complex details and interfaces to make sure it’s solid and working.’ In contrast, he believes, ‘Reinforced concrete does it all for you.’ And, he says, once you take all the follow-on work into account, the cost is about the same.
The building leaves exposed concrete as the ceilings of the apartments, and also on some columns and walls. Norman is relaxed about the quality of the finished concrete. ‘The thing about concrete,’ he says, ‘is that unless you are Tadao Ando and have a hell of a lot of money, you get what you are given.’ In this case, there was a fair degree of control, but ironically the best concrete, because the formwork was newest, is in the basement – where the cars park. ‘It does look like a Tadao Ando down there.’
The cladding uses Trespa’s Meteon panels, inert panels that are available in a wide range of colours. The three main colours are all from the wood colours range, but there are insets to balconies in vivid pinks and greens. Trespa’s panels are available in any RAL colour, so the architect’s imagination was unfettered.
Norman said that they did consider other materials, including a wood veneer panel such as Prodema, but that the Trespa panels gave the greatest stability and affordability. And, he said, ‘It works well, it’s very sharp. When you want to cut holes, you just slice through. ’
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