Creative design

A store façade that is a celebration of textiles. Three curved glass panels mimic billowing cloth. The complex design had to work structurally and aesthetically in a context of commercial environment. Bespoke adhesive glass connections were used to create a strong yet minimal finish. Glass processes were limited to reduce energy consumption. The structure can be demounted and recycled at the end of its life.

A scheme that enabled an existing structure to be retained whilst improving accessibility. Inspired by the concept of a forest canopy, the design team developed a cantilevering composite glulam and ply diagrid roof. This maximised accessibility in the new bedrooms beneath and provided fixing points for future equipment. Indoor and outdoor zones are linked with minimal structure and level access.

A campus transformation project that brought together geographically separated design teams and departments. The main headquarter building consists of a large basement and six main blocks of superstructure. They are united under a single unifying long span roof. The centre is a world class engineering environment that is used to push the boundaries of innovation.

A project that showcases how lightweight, rigid, freeform, curved structures can be built from affordable sheet materials. The entire construction process was driven by 3D model geometry. Material use was minimal and the clean and precise construction produced a gravity defying thin loop. The structure was designed and constructed in three months.

An innovative use of concrete solutions during the remediation of an 1880’s sandstone heritage cottage. The project involved excavation depths of 10m. A 5m cantilever floor plate was hung from curving off-form concrete walls acting as curved deep beams, with large voids in the back-span. The project stayed sensitive to heritage while achieving sustainability objectives.

A spiralling 45m tall diagrid viewing tower created out of weathered-steel elements. The tower uses a novel hyperboloid form to help create a stiff structure. This enhances the user experience by allowing visitors to get close to the surrounding trees. The adoption of automation workflows and strong collaboration between the architect and engineer helped deliver this ambitious project.

A project to create a circular walkway supported on three existing buildings. Structural stability was achieved by using a single vertical truss along the internal ring. This enables the walkway floor and roof to cantilever from the internal ring truss outwards without any structure along the external ring. This gives an unobstructed view for visitors.

A freestanding and demountable 6m high pavilion is designed to give the impression of transparency. As a lightweight alternative to structural glass, it uses more than 1000 acrylic fins in a special arrangement, supported by a steel frame. The mirror coating on the columns and roof beams reflects light through the pavilion using only the structural form.

A free-form canopy created using parametric design and new digital fabrication methods. A highlight is the digitally fabricated crown made of 380 timber elements. This project champions new digital planning and construction methods. It shows how they can be used to create unconventional shapes in construction projects. It also shows how they can minimise resource usage and construction waste.

A project to transform a courtyard between two previously disconnected historic university buildings. A quadruple height atrium now houses new working and social spaces. Structural ingenuity comes in the form of the atrium’s striking feature, a curved glass roof. This floods the open internal spaces with light.

A four-storey building characterised by its geometrical complexity and its integration into the landscape. Special design concepts and unconventional construction techniques enabled the geometrically challenging building shape and helped meeting high sustainability standards. The emblematic central staircase represents the five Olympic rings.

A movable bridge built across Copenhagen harbour. The project required close cooperation between all parties due to the complex nature of the structure. To maintain a slender profile in elevation, an innovative moment connection was designed to connect the moving parts together at midspan. The four bridge sections were prefabricated off site and delivered by sea.

A bridge designed to create a shared space for pedestrians and cyclists. The slender, single span, steel shallow arch features a central ‘spine beam’. This emerges progressively from below deck to above deck, creating distinct user pathways. Sustainability and constructability combined with engineering and architectural expertise to produce this elegant bridge.
 

A mega-scale mixed-use development with an overall gross floor area of 1,100,000sq.m. It includes a shopping mall and eight towers for residential, office and hotel use. In this seismic region, engineers needed to provide structurally safe, cost effective and buildable solutions. Challenges included the very slender tall towers and multi-tower sky bridges.

A major renovation to an airport terminal. High efficiency structural systems are used for the integrated structure of the roof, curtain, and canopy of the departure hall. These are based on axial stressed members. Specialised structure schemes are applied to preserve most of the original structure and to reduce demolition. Passive energy conservation measures reduce overall consumption.

A nine-span, three-tower, extradosed bridge with a single central plane of cables supporting four traffic lanes. At 887m, the bridge is considered the longest in Ireland. Its two main spans of 230m each are the longest post-tensioned extradosed concrete spans globally. This landmark was designed to complement its surroundings and environment.

A vast triangular spaceframe housing the world’s largest indoor skydive and climbing wall facility. The form of the building is crystalline and made up of triangular facets. The design follows the form and integrates the façade and main structure holistically. It does this by leveraging off the inherent structural strength of the triangular geometry.

A low carbon, original and innovative development. CLT panels are used to form a complex polyhedral form. This is reminiscent of traditional vaulted cathedrals. The 3D form is derived from sacred geometry and forms an efficient and elegant structure. Advanced FEA techniques were developed to justify the unique rib-stiffened structural shell which makes up the roof and walls.

A major renovation project including the addition of a spherical 1000 seat theatre. In-depth analysis on the theatre indicated that an unusual base-isolation system was needed. During an earthquake, base-isolators allow movement of up to 75cm in any direction. The original 1930’s building was also retrofitted and designed to limit movement. The theatre was designed by architect Renzo Piano.

An elegant and elevated woodland walkway. The design took a sensitive approach to the environment, ensuring minimal impact on the natural forest floor. To achieve this, columns are supported on tripods on steel piles and manufactured to individual bespoke dimensions. Its winding layout is designed to avoid all the trees in the forest canopy.

A complex web of high tensile cables suspending 350 brightly coloured umbrellas 10m above Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5 Arrivals Court. The lightweight, temporary structure covered an area of 2,800sq.m and comprised of 3.5km of cabling. Part of the ADHD Foundation’s ‘Umbrella Project’, the installation helped raise awareness of neurodiversity.

An example of how clear definition of the structural strategy can enable high quality architecture and achieve simplicity in form. Located on the shores of Windermere, the environment imposed many challenges for the designers including analysis of site-specific wind and wave loading, the requirement to raise levels for a 100-year flood scenario and reforming the historic lake edge.