We recently held a series of conferences on the theme of subterranean architecture, in partnership with Architecture Today. The events illustrated the innovation and technical skill that is required to create everything from houses with a minimal footprint to buildings where their mass is sunk into the ground to reduce their visual impact or those where the unique properties of an underground space have benefits for the application.
Subterranean construction plays a vital role in overcoming challenges presented by building in the modern urban environment and ultimately delivering the buildings that are needed in the best possible locations. However, creating below ground structures presents challenges of its own and innovation, collaboration and specialist expertise is required for a successful project.
The first conference, held at the Building Centre in central London, was titled ‘Building on Building: Unlocking the Value of Awkward Sites’. The event saw guest speakers discuss how major projects utilised subterranean construction on physically constrained sites to create spaces that met the needs of the client.
John McElgunn, Partner at Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, explained how the World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre at the British Museum was created in a small area in the north-west corner of the British Museum campus, surrounded on seven sides by Grade I listed buildings.
The event also included Alice Dietsch, Director at AL_A and Alice Blair, Associate Structural Engineer at Arup discussing their approach to creating a major new exhibition space below ground at the Victoria & Albert Museum. Paul White, Director at BuckleyGrayYeoman looked at the redevelopment of 55 Wells Street in Fitzrovia where the total space was increased from 36,000 sq ft to 50,000 sq ft – including adding an extensive new basement area.
The second event, ‘How Low Can You Go: Making Distinctive and Enjoyable Spaces for Underground Living, Working and Learning’ was hosted at the Francis Crick Institute, located close to St Pancras International station. The building itself has a substantial underground area and was the subject of a talk by Wayne McKiernan of PLP Architecture and Rob Partridge of AKTII, the architects and engineers involved in the project. Following this David Tompson, Associate at Nicholas Hare Architects discussed the challenges presented by the University College London’s new Student Centre built on the university’s last undeveloped plot, located within the Bloomsbury conservation area. The speaker sessions closed with Gianni Botsford from Gianni Botsford Architects showing how underground construction was used on the House in a Garden project and the innovative approach required to bring light into the property.
Each project discussed across the two events highlighted how crucial the waterproofing strategy is to the success of any subterranean spaces. At both conferences, Alex Massingham, our UK Technical Lead discussed the importance of a robust strategy and how complex basement areas can be reliably waterproofed.
We have a series of videos giving an overview of the two events as well as discussions of the key topics by the guest speakers.
To view the videos from 'Building on Building' click here and for 'How Low Can You Go' click here.
To find out more about the projects discussed by the speakers read the articles from Architecture Today.
