More than 250 people filled the lecture theatre at the Building Centre in London to hear a lecture on designing the new Rothschild Bank HQ given by architect Ellen van Loon of OMA Partners at the Building Centre in London this month.
Sponsored by Szerelmey, the Vauxhall-based specialist stonework and restoration contractors involved in the project, the presentation provided an insight into the trials and tribulations involved in the design of the building in St Swithin’s Lane.
Ellen van Loon explained the year-long process of trying to persuade the planning authorities to accept a 15-storey cutting edge building in the inner sanctum of the City, especially when the client had occupied the site since 1809.
Even once planning permission had been obtained there were the practical difficulties of building in St Swithin’s Lane, which is around 3m wide, on a site in front of the St Christopher Wren Stephen Walbrook Church. Then there were the party wall agreements going back centuries and historic ‘rights to light’.
One of Ellen van Loon’s pet hates is offices with carpet tiles, which was an area where Szerelmey was able to help. A building of this stature still needed grandeur, especially in the foyer and ground floor reception with its floor-to-ceiling glass panels.
The floor had to be natural stone but the challenge was to run all the services under it while retaining a look of solidity.
Szerelmey rose to the challenge in both practical terms and budget restrictions. Its design team not only created a raised floor but also took into account the multitude of reasons why architects and clients might wish to avoid the wet trades associated with stone. And much of the system was designed to be constructed in large panels offsite, which meant on-site fixing time was cut by 80%.
If you can have a raised stone floor with services underneath, why not a suspended stone ceiling with services above?
Again Szerelmey took the requirement in its stride and produced a lightweight stone ceiling hanging on a British Gypsum support system that allowed the vast array of services to be installed within the ceiling void and accommodated a ‘curtain track’ allowing ‘rooms’ to be produced at the flick of a switch.
The result is not only a ceiling which, literally, mirrors the polished stone floor, but also a soffit and exterior ground surface to match, blurring the edges between interior and exterior.And Szerelmey also designed, supplied and laid all the exterior paving and steps.