Vision Magazine
What structural work was required?
JB: We punched plenty of new holes to create some
radical openings. The project’s vertical components
are double-glazed for increased thermal and
acoustic performance. There’s plenty of Viridian
glass – from canopies through to the double-glazing
in the industrial type windows to the north, which is
quite extraordinary in itself.
It appears playful and yet, quite controlled.
There is an irony with the charcoal finishes that
elsewhere might suggest a rather gloomy result,
but there is such a play of natural light as to really
counter the subdued charcoal paintwork.
JB: We were always going to paint the structure
black and have grey floors, but I agree that the
interior especially, does retain a certain playful
quality. There is also a deliberate sense of theatre.
We really wanted to expose and use the existing
structure as a defining feature from a visual
point of view.
How difficult is it to imagine the possibilities
when you’re confronted with such a patchwork
of the old and cluttered?
JB: I knew that concealed behind the old walls,
false ceilings and plasterboard was this quite
incredible, industrial structure. We have free reign
with these buildings, so we really have to visualize
an end-product that will work.
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