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PROJECT REPORT: COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS


MASSIVE IMPRESSIVE


The interiors make full aesthetic use of the massive retained internal concrete columns, and other raw concrete elements of the structure


“We wanted to ensure the building could meet wide parameters, addressing the human factor of what people actually want from a space.” As part of this, a key tenet of the proposed design was the desire not just to renew the structure, but to “celebrate” its prominence in the community. Foster says this meant “not covering any of it up.”


Helping enable the retention of the existing “amazing” structure of the building, as well as adding the four stories above, the team was pleased to find that the original concrete frame “was still in good condition.” “That’s one of the great things about retrofit – if the structure is strong, you immediately start with a sense of character that would be very hard to recreate.” One notable retention was the circulation towers in The Dock, which the architect explains have become “something of a landmark” along the canal since they were


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constructed, bringing further character to the scheme.


Both towers are designed to seamlessly rise to the height of the extended building, each now topped by a glass ‘feature’ room for use as an office meeting space. “The team were able to design the open office spaces inside this skeleton,” says Foster, “saving time and money, and reducing the environmental impact of the project.” On the exterior of The Dock, facade design was informed through parametric analysis of thermal comfort, carbon emissions and daylight access. The south facade was modelled with and without adjacent tall properties, and windows and external shading design were sized to allow removal of external shading when adjacent property overshadows the property in the future. Additionally, the choice of timber material allowed the team to build more


ADF NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023


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