The site is bounded to the north by the Clock Tower Shopping Centre , to the west by BOE , the south west by Portnet ’ s syncro-lift , the silo complex to the south , Cross Berth to the east and the Collier Jetty to the north east .
Brief The Client requested an open plan office building that promoted interaction , thus increasing
operational effectiveness . The architects interpreted this with the incorpora-tion of a large atrium connected with stairs and elevators . Each floor incorporates pause and / or touch down areas to allow staff to hold quick meetings without having to formally book specific remote meeting rooms . Public and staff areas are located on the podium level at the foot of the atrium to reinforce the sense of activity within the building .
At grade , the new building links the podium level ( 7.3m ) of the Clock Tower shopping centre with the ground level ( 4.3m ) of the Grain Silo buildings by means of a broad sweeping external stair to the south of the BOE building . Two levels of basement parking are accommodated below grade , which provides for an additional 650 bays .
Design The internal arrangement of the 1 Silo building consists of two parts , a west wing and east wing , with a central void containing circulation elements and access to the atriums . The central void recalls the alignment of the previous grain conveyor belt to the Collier Jetty , thus providing visual continuity from the public square to the Jetty . By keeping the cores on the outer edge of the wings and the circulation / fire escape routes to the perimeter of the floor plates , an egalitarian approach is enabled as it ensures that no matter where you sit on the floor plate , you are entitled to a view .
Challenges in creating a fully glazed façade were enormous as the climatic influence created all sorts if issues with the working environment . The resultant façade of the completed building is a ventilated double skin glass system with mechanically controlled blinds on day light sensors ,
60 No 1 Silo