From doing the research into the different topics (listed above) we found that they overlapped so often, it would make more sense to talk about the materiality, construction and structure, of each of the components of the Hackney Hothouse altogether, so the relation between all three aspects and how they influence each other becomes more apparent, for example how a certain material dictates the structural capability and so forth.
"Bricky Brick Brick..."
... as described by a child in the playground there are a lot of bricks! The facade of the building is consists of a brick called 'Ibstock Olde English Buff Brick'. The bricks are joined using lime sand mortar. The cement is Portland cement which is one of the most common used worldwide. The mortar was mixed on site. The architects wanted it to seem like one whole rather than seeing the obvious individual bricks the architects aimed to create a 'monolithic' affect, by using flush pointing. This juxtaposes against the feel they were creating with the soft shapes. Though all the materials are 'hard' their forms have been manipulated to create gentle curves. The vines which were purposely planted are called Victoria Creepers, this helps to create a bridge between the hard materials of the Hothouse against the original natural structures- the trees.
Here a rubber seal has been used instead of pointing, which continues all along the building. Although visually it is aesthetically pleasing, there is a structural purpose, it prevents the bricks cracking when the begin to expand and contract, which will inevitably happen after time. The gap behind the seal, allows movement. Below are drawings showing the different structural techniques used to create the brick facade.
Amoeba Windows
The windows at hothouse are created from galvanized steel these allow a range of forms to be create in a vast scale. we can also see that they allow forms to take the sweeping curve into an organic interests. they allow an open relationship with the forms in the park and help the building relax into its park environment.
These forms were cast at a local forge in hackney called Old Southern Forge. this was part of the planning application, and partly due to tight budgeting and schedules. Each window was individually designed , they consist of two slight variations of the amoeba shape, and then simply rotated along the wall. They were individually formed by hand to mm however the designer has allowed there to discrepancy but filling in the remaining caps with a plastic filler.
Steel was used to allow the original form to be extruded and then applying large amounts of heat bend around the forms which were pre-fabricated. They took approximately 4 weeks to finish.
Process of making and installing the windows courtesy of AshSakula Architects.
The materials sits well outside and inside of the buildings with very aesthetically pleasing. It allows privacy and security on the lower floor where grids have been applied to the ground level windows due to the relationship of the building with the child's play park.
Interior Halls
Looking at the Staircase
The ambiance of the staircase, is very soft and inviting, which encourages people to take the stairs rather than the lift. The soft carpeting and warmth of the wood supports this.
What was really interesting about the staircase, was the detail of the nosing, Ash Sakula, were aware of laws and legislations when it comes to public stairways, for example how there must be a clear definition where the step ends, and a good grip. Although a small detail, the architects wanted to express some playfulness in the design, as opposed to the boring conventional used in the majority of buildings.
Detailing of the 'random' design of the screws to hold down the nosing
Hothouse was originally constructed as just a ground floor with the mild steel hothouse sign extending upwards as it is today. It was built this way with means to continue building floors on top. It consists of gallery spaces, office spaces and a glass gallery and rooftop terrace space at the top. The gallery spaces allow for work spaces to be double the height creating a really nice open light work environment.
Courtesy of AshSakula Architects
The building is constructed using a brick suspension system with contrasting windows starting at the ground floor with the amoeba shaped windows moving up a floor to standard rectangular windows and then up again to the amoeba shaped windows then on the top the glass gallery. .
The materials came from various places, some local such as the iron for the windows sourced from local iron mongers and tiles from Reed Harris in London to places such as Germany for carpets.
The construction is very effective because the previously derelict site is tucked tightly between the park and railway. The building was constructed into a boomerang shape which allowed it to fit whilst still maintaining lots of space by building upwards. The old railway arches are also used for various businesses within the same site. The boomerang shape also allows the building to naturally curve round the park and with the amoeba shaped windows, subtle bricks and trees allowing the construction to fit in its environment.
The images below show a section and three plans which highlight the different layers.
Hot Ride
The lift was designed to move very slowly to encourge people to use the stairs. Its unique design allows a sense of movement through the space where people can see the floors as they move up/down. The lift is a single moving platform without walls or a ceiling. Because the building was built in two stages the use of a non convential lift meant it was easy to construct it in stages corresponding to the method of construction instead of having to install a normal lift shaft. The lift allowed people with dissabilities to use the building over the x amount of years it took to construct.
Hot Roof
The roof terrace consists of a glass walkway, which has a roof made up of photovoltaics, which help to reduce the carbon footprint of the building. Asthetically they are also quite attractive, creating intersting shadows when the sun comes out.
On the roof on top of the outside glass gallery there are 12.3 kw Photovoltaic energy generating panels. These are solar panels made up of many cells made from photovoltaic material which converts the suns energy to electricity. Opposite the main entrance the amount of energy generated is displayed. This saves 4 tons of carbon dioxide a year.
Windows are all double glazed using low E glass. This type of glass absorbs and emits heat energy in response to internal and external temperatures which therefore allows the building to retain heat in winter and stay cool in summer and is therefore is very energy efficient.
On a tour of the building, from Hazel, the charity worker.
The roof consists of sheltered and exposed area's. Below are signs of weathering on the decking.
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