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PROJECT REPORT: ADAPTIVE REUSE
and creates instead something which explicitly extends the building, but at the same time makes a sympathetic new statement of its own.
The new extension would replace this structure with a freestanding rectangular structure tied to the three surrounding walls, but which would not put any loads on the heritage walls. With its oak CLT structural roof supporting both glazing and roof garden above, it connects to the rear parapet wall but essentially SPPARC created an independent structure, both vertically and horizontally.” The wholly CLT roof structure is deceptively complex, a web of hexagonal frames pegged together, with a further filigree of non-structural hexagons within each, conjuring up an effect of bubbles as much as beehive, as Trevor says. The individual 1.5 metre sections that form the webbed structure were manually brought through the building and elevated into position over several weeks. The CLT roof is held together by restraint nodes and tension rods concealed in each
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of the timber lengths. Above, a separate layer of frameless glass hexagons sits on the web, forming a giant rooflight which runs around the roof garden and brings copious light to spaces beneath. The hexagonal structure is no mere design conceit, says Morriss; “It’s not just a piece of glass with decoration below, it’s a structural shape doing a job; too often you see something which is just cladding.”
The structural oak roof (and the sky) is visible throughout the new extension, helping connect the two levels and provide an unusual yet calming spatial quality for staff members to relax and socialise. The enclosure of the timber staircase leading to the roof garden visibly penetrates the spacious ground floor of the extension which contains a beautifully detailed kitchen with a large table and benches. This is backed with the existing building’s back wall and gives visual connection through to the ‘library’ while allowing meetings as well as eating and drinking. The high ceiling contrasts with the low door entering it from the listed building, with its height
ADF NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2024
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