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PROJECT REPORT: COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS


There are a number of buildings on the site, including a Victorian former warehouse, as well as buildings from the 30s and 60s – all of which were able to be kept and updated


building, The Studio retains its industrial character, with original concrete columns and beams restored and displayed proudly. The second phase is a more ‘transformative’ project, extending the existing Old Gramophone Works building outwards and upwards to six storeys. With the result labelled The Dock, this phase displays contrasting natures, deftly blending the retained concrete structure and the new timber extensions, so that each complements the other.


The new and refurbished parts have been designed in a way that their construction is clearly expressed inside and out, with structure and services left exposed, which also provides a “blank canvas” for the commercial spaces. “We left it as raw as


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we could,” says Foster. “Where we’ve used timber, we wanted it to be expressed as timber, and where there’s concrete, we wanted to display it as such.” “That was our philosophy throughout the buildings,” he continues, “as well as adding character, it helped create a sense of volume and light, highlighting the buildings’ historic uses.”


As well as open spaces and meeting rooms internally, every floor of The Dock offers external spaces – which Foster notes the team were “ahead of the game on,” being specified before the pandemic and the rising desire for prioritising wellness that followed in its wake. According to Foster, the realised designs seek to “finally fulfil” the ambitions


ADF NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023


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