Virtual Building Tour – One Fen Court by Eric Parry Architects

The 2021 series of the AIA UK Chapter’s “Virtual Building Tours” continued on 10 June with a visit to One Fen Court, designed by Eric Parry Architects (EPA) and completed in 2019. At its core, One Fen Court carries a civic aspiration by embodying an innovative human scale of design in the high-density eastern sector of London’s financial district.  Eric Parry, Founder and Principal of EPA, personally led the tour participants through a provocative tour of One Fen Court.

One Fen Court is an architectural and urban achievement that will assist in redefining the fifth façade of a building as public realm in an urban context.  The opening of the new, publicly accessible roof garden of Eric Parry Architects’ development for Generali Real Estate completes their collaboration of an overall project comprising of a 427,000 sq ft, 16 storied office and retail development that includes 10 Fenchurch Avenue, One Fen Court and 120 Fenchurch Street. This project marks a step towards putting the health and well-being of the public at a level as important as private interests.  This ethos, in fact, is becoming more and more of a necessity in city environments by “making spaces and places in urban centres for people.”

During the tour, Eric Parry discussed the history and dialogue held with planners and how those negotiations led to the civic and commercially oriented solution. The negotiated compromise resulted in a building that not only mitigates the scale within the emerging taller buildings of the eastern cluster but provides a place of respite for city workers and visitors in the area via new rooftop garden.  The building is recognisable within the cityscape of the financial district and is fast becoming a City of London landmark.

Fen Court was designed and can be visually differentiated in four distinct elements. The first is the two-storey base defined by a public passageway followed by the main body with nine storeys of offices, topped with four additional fully glazed floors featuring a restaurant at level 14. In addition the fifth façade or rooftop garden, designed by German landscape architects Latz + Partner, provides the fourth element. With a free public space at roof level, a public pedestrian route between Fenchurch Street and Fenchurch Avenue at ground level, the combination sets an example for future developments to include similar elements of public urban space and greening. 

Parry guided the participants through the development of the nearly column-free floor plates resulting from the structural columns cleverly placed within the fabric of the building.  He highlighted the building’s finely-crafted facade of glazed faience and glass.  The tour further showed participants how the introduction of coloured brise soleil not only adds to the sustainability credentials of Fen Court but combines subtle changes of colour with crisp geometries of the faience to present a sparkling appearance constantly changing as it is influenced by varied daylight and weather conditions.  

The upper four storeys elegantly top the building with folding planes of dichroic glass.  Similar to the brise soleil and faience the glass and dichroic together also reflect a changing range of colour as one moves around the building. The roof garden incorporates plantings inspired by English country gardens complete with fruit trees, a water feature and a perimeter walk that gives unique vistas of London’s skyline. The steel canopy structure is designed to give shelter to visitors whilst the Italian wisteria provides shade, shelter and a microclimate for insects and wildlife. Fen Court may become known as one of the best-crafted buildings London has seen in a while. The generosity of its public spaces, including the roof garden, has been balanced with the development of private interests resulting in an overall triumph.

The AIA UK Chapter continues to host its virtual building tour series for the 2021 season based on Winners of AIA UK 2020 Excellence in Design Awards. The series offers architects the opportunity to visit notable buildings that have particular design interests in the UK and abroad. Follow this link for further information to participate in the next tour of Carnaby Court by Rolfe Judd on 08 July 2021.

Written by Gregory Fonseca, AIA 

Business Opportunities & Sustainability Trends Amidst a Pandemic

Pictured above: ‘Opportunities and challenges in 2021’ on page 16 and 17 of the Business Opportunities & Sustainability Trends Amidst a Pandemic research report showing data findings on the challenges architects face on existing building projects & quality resources, and gaps in knowledge and available resources on the subject.

This report in collaboration with Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope was developed to give a deeper insight into the impacts of the pandemic within the industry and help firms identify new business opportunities. This report also examines the impact of the pandemic on sustainable projects and the role architects play in sustainable design. This study is part of AIA’s commitment to support our members by providing economic and market research that helps them navigate challenging times. Within the report you'll discover trends such as:

• How construction activity slowed in 2020 and how sectors were impacted differently.

• How the pandemic accelerated a shift toward existing building work and what opportunities will be available for architects.

• New challenges and support requirements that manufacturers and others can help meet.

• Increased challenges architects are facing due to the pandemic.​

• The ability to design sustainably and the impacts from the pandemic and recession.

• The role architects take in educating clients about sustainability issues.

The report is available for free. See what opportunities are available for your firm.

Get your copy >

AIA Film Challenge 2021 is open

The AIA Film Challenge 2021 invites you to share stories of architects, civic leaders, and their communities working together to achieve a zero-carbon, resilient, healthy, just, and equitable built environment. This year, we’re asking for 1:30- to 3-minute short documentary films that you can produce from any device. Your film must address at least one of the categories outlined in the prompt. Participants compete for more than $15,000 in prizes! Submissions are due August 16.
Learn more about this year’s prompt >

Call for Submissions 2021 AIA Upjohn Research Initiative

The AIA Upjohn Research Initiative supports applied research projects that enhance the value of design and professional practice knowledge. This AIA program funds up to six research grants of $15,000–$30,000 annually for projects completed in a 6-to 18-month period. The funds must be fully matched with hard dollars, with a maximum of 10% allocated for overhead. Grant recipients’ research findings and outcomes are published online by AIA. Grants are eligible to academic institutions, practice, and other research organizations.

2021 grants

Research should be relevant and applicable to practicing architects. Upjohn Research grant funding will be allocated to projects related to the priorities outlined in AIA's Climate Action Plan. These include a drive toward sustainable design that helps mitigate or adapt to climate change. More specifically, research projects must address one or more of these areas:

• distributed energy and grid-integrated buildings

• regenerative design (i.e., projects that lead to the improvement of the ecosystem, creating resilient and equitable systems)

• circular building economy (e.g., materials market)

• temporary and transitional housing models

• improving equity through adaptation of spaces/ neighborhoods

• water resilience & equity (e.g., equitable access to water systems, water system resilience, carbon impacts of water systems)

Submit an entry from this link.

Virtual Building Tour – Nyp Guesthouse by Studio Bua

©GIOVANNI DE ROIA

The latest instalment of the 2021 series of the AIA UK Chapter’s “Virtual Building Tours” was held on 13 May with a visit to the Nyp Guesthouse, in West Iceland.  Originally constructed in 1936 as a sheep farm overlooking Breiðafjörður (a nature reserve and bay between the Snæfellsnes Peninsula and the Westfjords in West Iceland), the building was deserted in the 1970s and was close to ruin before the new owners began rebuilding it in 2001.  

Mark Smyth from Studio Bua and Sigrún Sumarliðadóttir led us through an insightful tour of their Icelandic Guesthouse, a winner in the Emerging Practice - Small Project category of the AIA UK Chapter Design Awards.  

According to Sigrún Sumarliðadóttir, an Icelandic architect, the Guesthouse has become a cultural hub by hosting exhibitions, workshops and other events.  During the tour, it was explained that the project brief was to make better use of the existing facilities and allow for additional, multi-functional spaces for various cultural activities. This would involve renovating the main house along with rebuilding and enlarging an adjoining sheep-shed. The design includes a naturally lit entrance hall and link to the farmhouse - a deliberately generous connection that allows it to simultaneously function as an exhibition space. 

The main house is divided vertically into two volumes, with the original living quarters to the south and a barn for hay storage to the north. Studio Bua has cleverly inserted an additional floor into the barn, doubling the usable area, whilst creating a raised event space that captures views to the mountains and the fjord via a series of strategically placed openings. The architects described their approach ethos as focusing primarily on local turf homes and reinterpreting some of the original farmhouse historical features. The project made use of local labour, to the extent possible, whilst utilizing local techniques and materials – for example, stone-turf retaining walls and handmade tiles from locally sourced clay from the next valley.

©GIOVANNI DE ROIA

Mark Smyth discussed the external cladding of the building; how the combination of timber frame and corrugated metal cladding has become mainstream in Iceland, replacing the traditional turf house construction.  The siting and orientation of the Guesthouse subject it to strong, prevailing winds that come down the valley from the north and east. To withstand the extreme weather, the rear of the building and the new extension were overclad in corrugated aluzinc.

Whilst concrete in various forms has been used in buildings for centuries in Iceland, during the 1930's, it rapidly replaced conventional timber construction. Concrete was used extensively in the original farmhouse, even down to the window frames. The distinctive coarse concrete aggregate characteristic of the Nyp Guesthouse is the result of pebbles sourced from the local beach.  To highlight the distinctive quality of the existing concrete, the original walls have been retained and exposed, both internally and externally, as much as possible. The principal facades facing the access road and fjord have been repaired and given a thin silicate, allowing the texture of the concrete to be expressed.  The colour of the silicate render replicates the original colour of the façade.

It is hard to imagine a “sustainable” construction in such a harsh environment, however, the Nyp Guesthouse is an exemplar of sustainable design. The building itself is recycled.  The building is constructed primarily with reused building materials – for example, driftwood salvaged from a neighbouring beach, which has been used as columns to support the new floor. Components such as steel handrails, timber doors and beams were salvaged from other building sites in old town Reykjavik.

In a similar spirit, the labour force was made up of local builders and craftsmen, including the neighbouring farmer who provided a cement truck. A specialist local mason restored the unreinforced concrete walls, which were fragile due to prolonged exposure to the elements.  The whole project is a testament to the design team’s innovative spirit and its ability to convert a deserted and ruined building, poetically, into a local cultural centre for the Westfjords community in Iceland.

The AIA UK Chapter continues to host its virtual building tour series for the 2021 season based on Winners of AIA UK 2020 Excellence in Design Awards. The series offers architects and interested parties the opportunity to visit notable buildings that have particular design interests in the UK and abroad. Follow this link for further information to participate in the next tour of One Fen Court by Eric Parry on 10th June 2021.

Written by Gregory Fonseca, AIA 

ARCHITECTS AT THE ART BIENNALE?

The LONDON ART BIENNALE – claiming ‘artistic excellence from all over the world’ - will take place from 30th June to the 4th of July 2021 at the Chelsea Old Town Hall on the King’s Road.  Not sure how many artists displaying are also architects, but there will be at least one – our AIA UK Past President (2003), Elizabeth Casqueiro, AIA. 

Image Credit: Elizabeth Casqueiro

Pending travel restrictions, she will be trying to make it to London from Washington for the event and would like to see old AIA friends there. Check the Biennale’s website for further details. Check with secretary@aiauk.org for updates on Elizabeth’s attendance.  Check the AIA UK Chapter Website News section for previous articles on Elizabeth’s artwork.

Written by: Lorraine King, AIA 
This note has been written as part of the AIA Newsletter’s commitment to member news. If you are aware of UK Chapter members’ involvement in newsworthy projects, research or events, please bring them to our attention via secretary@aiauk.org and we will publish the story. We will not know what has been achieved unless someone tells us!