breathing construction: archytipe

Pioneering Timber Construction

Value: £450k; client: The Horniman Museum; complete: 1995

 

 

 

 

  

 

London Wildlife Trust Education Centre & Centre for Understanding the Environment, Horniman Museum Architype’s Centre for Understanding the Environment at the Horniman Museum in South London was built as an expressive, highly visual demonstration of ecological building. The design incorporates a natural passive ventilation system routed through large section hollow prefabricated timber beams and columns, integrating structure and services. The building collects rainwater, recycles its own greywater through reed beds, generates electricity through photo-voltaic cells, heats water through solar collectors, and utilizes the reed bed water for auditorium cooling. 

 

The centre won a ‘Green Building of the Year’ award in 1997 

 

Our award winning and much loved centre for the London Wildlife Trust creates an idyllic garden within a residential street. The building itself was the first in the UK to employ a ‘breathing’ construction using recycled newspaper insulation. The orientation of the building is designed to maximise solar gain in autumn, winter and spring. In summer, natural through-ventilation is created and solar shade maximised. Non-toxic paints, stains and floor finishes are used throughout. 

 

Community Enterprise Times Environment Award, 1992; Green Building of the Year Awards Commendation, 1993

Value: £56k; client: London Wildlife Trust; complete: 1992

landscape integration: architype

Sustainable Distribution Centre

 

This unusual project is to provide a 8000m2 chilled, storage facility, which is visually sympathetic to the surrounding landscape, and designed to be as environmentally friendly as possible. Architype worked with Oakland International to develop a vision for the project which:

• is part of a wider site development project which will develop further as a ‘food park’ attracting food manufacturers and demonstrate sustainable business within a dedicated education facility
• provide a flexible facility to accommodate Oakland’s planned  growth between 2010 and 2013
• demolish the five existing buildings and replace with one sustainable depot
• create a building that can be used as a showcase

 

Our concept design integrates the building into the Worcestershire green belt by creating a ‘fold’ in the landscape, replacing the existing sub-standard agricultural sheds with a grass-roof supported by a repetitive single-span glu-lam arch and rigid insulation panels. Further smaller, satellite 'folds' are earth-bunds functioning as screens to the HGV circulation and docking bays.

 

+ info: http://www.architype.co.uk