Roof to Office Building, Lancaster Road, Notting Hill, London
This is our first ever project. The architectural idea for this roof in Notting Hill was expressed as being a hovering plane suspended over the building like the dot on a letter 'i'. The parameters of 'thinness' and thermal performance pushed us almost automatically in the direction of a stressed skin design to achieve optimum structural performance and lightness, and timber to achieve thermal resistance and economy. The shape was created by curved glulam beams. Then layers of birch plywood were glued and screwed to the skeletal glulam framework. The plywood skins act like flanges on an I-section, with the top skin usually in compression and the bottom skin in tension. The interstitial spaces were then filled with insulation.
The project was completed in 1991 and is still a commanding presence in this part of Notting Hill.
Architect Munkenbeck and Marshall
Client Gladdings Property PLC
Awards Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Environmental Award 1992
Royal Fine Arts Commission Commendation 1992
