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PROJECT REPORT: HOTELS, RESTAURANTS & BARS
HORSES FOR COURSES
The new bar/restaurant in the former ‘Horse Hospital’ has a steel framed structure supported on V-shaped columns which resemble horses’ heads
been created along the top of an imposing, externally rectilinear and internally curved wall adjacent to the historic building and railway line, adding both a contrastingly light form and a vibrant complement to the area’s F&B offerings.
The majority of structures surrounding the Stables Market were built as part of Camden Goods Yard at the end of the 19th century. The market itself has seen some recent redevelopment, setting the scene for the new, dark steel canopy; In 2006 a large indoor market hall was built in a yard between the Stables and Camden Lock Markets, and the following year the rear of Stables Market was redeveloped with two new four-storey buildings housing shops, food outlets, offices, workshops and storage facilities, as well as an exhibition space and a new pedestrian route exposing 25 of the existing railway arches. These pedestrian walkways, echoing the robustness of the Horse Hospital, make the area much more walkable for shoppers and other visitors. One of the key features of the new lightweight steel and glass addition created on top of the overwhelmingly solid brick edifice (its 2 metre-thick walls necessitated by the need to cope with train movements from the adjacent railway), is a further continuation of the permeability realised up by the redevelopment of Stables Market. The bar, plus its terrace, provides a new ‘high line’ destination at the end of the quirkily attractive original cobbled slope, which was previously used to move horses
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between the two levels. The new structure, facing onto the street on one side, and into the ‘North Yard’ of the Stables on the other, was constructed by DFL and Helm X for client The Camden Market Management Company, and developer LabTech. The knowledge of the area possessed by vPPR Architects was key to answering the brief for this locally important site; they have a “very strong connection to Camden, and care deeply about the neighbourhood.”
Brief
The project was deceptively straightforward; namely adding a lightweight, partly exposed curving steel canopy to the top of a historic brick building. However in order to meet the client’s goal of attracting visitors to the market up to the higher level, and create a contrasting and yet sympathetic enclosure for a welcoming new F&B destination, a meticulous and highly distinctive approach to the structure was the order of the day. Jessica Reynolds, director at vPPR Architects, explains that the brief was for a light canopy that “responds to the rich contextual heritage of the site, and becomes a strong visual marker for this prominent urban site.” The new structure draws on the location’s heritage, with an undulating, sculptural steel pattern that subtly references its former use, and announces a new North London “hotspot.”
ADF MAY 2024
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