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BALLIOL COLLEGE, SPORTS PAVILION

NOVEMBER 2019

Balliol College, Sports Pavilion

7:45 AM, London Bridge. The train from Uckfield just entered the station and is spitting out hundreds of commuters, flowing past us. We hop on the now empty train and leave London to visit our timber sub-contractor’s workshop in East Sussex.

We are fast approaching the construction stage of our Sports Pavilion project for Balliol College in Oxford and were invited to review a mock-up of the roof structure. The pavilion roof is formed of slender sweet chestnut glulam joists; 10 layers are stacked on top of each other, each layer cantilevering further into the space, creating a coffer.

1:50 model

From outside the roof structure expresses itself as a lantern, popping up in the centre of the building. The lantern is fully glazed, allowing for rays of sunshine to enter through the stacked glulam. In the evening, the dense timber lattice will be highlighted by a subtle glow, originating from LED strips, that are recessed in the top of the glulam joists.

The mock-up in Inwood’s (timber sub-contractor) workshop

Lighting strategy detail plan and section

The mock-up was used to test the connection details between the individual layers of glulam, the construction sequence, and the integration of the LED strips and the associated wiring. Preceding the assembly of this mock-up, these details have been worked through and coordinated in many lengthy design workshops, involving the contractor, structural and electrical engineers, the timber sub-contractor, electricians and us architects. As such, it was even more enjoyable to review the mock-up with all the parties involved and to see our combined efforts bearing fruit.

The carpenters who built the mock-up and the Electrical Engineer, Design Manager, and Architect discussing the installation and accessibility of the LED strips

RIBA NATIONAL AWARD WINNERS

JULY 2019

RIBA National Award Winners

Our two projects, LAMDA and Hampshire House, have both been awarded RIBA National Awards.

The judges commented on Hampshire House “With a dignity and unmatched considered simplicity, this home is a strong reflection of the immediate landscape and a distinguished architectural achievement”. The judges commented on LAMDA “In contrast with his own Oxbridge work, Níall McLaughlin at LAMDA shows he can do gritty, hard-edged form, this project’s performance spaces being carved from a tough urban site.”