Creation of an elegant undulating glazed facade with punctuating protruding balconies, on two residential blocks and one mixed use development in one of London’s most loved cultural hubs.
The 19 and 15 storey and 10 storey podium building which make up 185 Park Street sit in London’s South Bank area nestled between the Tate Modern and the Globe theatre.
Eckersley O’Callaghan joined the project at stage 3 developing and rationalising the design of the curved facade to take it to completion. Complex script was written in modelling software Grasshopper to reduce the number of different geometric balcony types from around 150 to just nine yet maintaining the integrity of the architect’s vision and meeting, already obtained, planning requirements.
Stringent thermal performance requirements dominated the design from start to finish. A thermal analysis of the facade was carried out to maximise percentage of glazing and therefore the natural light let into the apartments. The build-up of the facade was minimised to ensure maximum lettable floor area while still meeting the thermal performance targets. Critical junctions between the facade and the balconies, which often have a dramatic effect on the thermal performance, were carefully detailed to eliminate the issue.
Despite complex integration challenges between the concrete structure and the facade, the team worked with the structural engineer to come up with a pragmatic solution which allowed the structure to be kept as simple, therefore avoiding any cost or programme implications.
