SDA 2022 Entries

• Commercial Building - Buildings that are used for commercial purposes, and include retail, hospitality, workplaces, factories and warehouses and buildings where commercial services are provided. At least 50 percent of the buildings’ floor space will be used for commercial activities. 
• Public Building - Public Buildings used by the public for any purpose, such as assembly, education, entertainment, government, healthcare, transport or worship. This will also include civic centres, community centres, libraries, visitor centres, culture, health + wellbeing, faith, education, sports venues and stadia, transport, central + local government, entertainment and event venues

Metropolitan Workshop has completed the transformation of three historic railway sheds into a teaching space and managed workspace in an important historic location in the centre of Swindon. Located in the heart of the Railway Village Conservation Area, the two Grade II listed buildings are part of a large group of industrial sheds built at the end of the nineteenth century, for the design and construction of railway carriages.

The original buildings have been sensitively repaired and the thermal envelope upgraded. The main design intervention is the construction of free-standing mezzanine structures clad in plywood panels. Two new entrances from street level were created through opens in the brick arched vaults. These new staircases were inspired by the form of the old steam engine; form out of bent mild steel, the curved form and express fixing refer to the building’s industrial past.

The first phase of the redevelopment was the creation of the managed workspace within Units 3&5. With the addition of the new mezzanine, approximately 200 desk spaces are created in addition to meeting rooms, cellular office space and communal co-working areas. This mezzanine level is accessed via a new staircase which continues the ply panelling in the form of cross-braced, timber framed, plywood balustrade panels which are bolted together with expressed fixings. The balustrade panels have been CNC-routed with a decorative perforated pattern and backed with acoustic insulation in order to mitigate potential acoustic issues common in large open plan spaces. This phase of works was nominated for the 2018 LABC RICS Awards and shortlisted for the AJ Workspace Awards.

The second phase was the creation of a new Cultural Heritage Institute for the Royal Agricultural University in Unit 11. Within the new mezzanine structure seminar rooms, offices and ancillary space are housed and a 40-seat lecture space created in the centre of the space. The lecture space is flanked on either side by open plan work space at the mezzanine level. This phase retains the same architectural expression as the previous with plywood line walls and balustrade panels. This phase included extensive repair works to the lower ground floor vaults and supporting foundation in order to make the shed above safe for occupation. The RAU’s new academic offer in Swindon contributes to the Council’s ambition to increase the supply of higher education options available to Swindon residents.

Metropolitan Workshop are designing the fourth phase, creating new teaching space for the University of Bath’s Centre for Sustainable & Circular Technologies newly established Innovation Centre for Sustainable and Circular Technologies (iCAST) alongside a refurbishment of the of lower ground floor ‘Bike Sheds’ into Offices.

The Carriage Works is an important part of the railway landscape in the centre of the town. Since the closure of wagon works the site has been underutilised and cut off from the surrounding town. The conversion of Units 3, 5 and 11 is the first step in changing this and is a significant milestone in the continued evolution of the historic former Great Western Works in the centre of Swindon. By upgrading and repurposing these historic buildings, the Carriage Works has been preserved for the use and enjoyment of a new generation.

Units 3&5 – Completed 2019, cost £1.6 million

Unit 11 – Completed 2020, cost £1.7 million

The material selection and colour palette were chosen to help distinguish the new elements from the historic sheds whilst referencing the historic industries of the surrounding site. The Carriage work was a complete factory line processing timber logs and metal bullions at one end into fully fitted out timber framed carriages, wagons and steam engines. The design of the mezzanine’s timber cladding makes reference to these raw materials whilst using new construction techniques (CNC routing) to create additional texture and decoration. The timber wall panels are all 18mm birch faced plywood. In high contact areas such as the stair treads and balustrade tops, slid ash has been used but. At higher levels, the timber frame around the balustrade is pine. Both these materials have a similar tone to the birch faced plywood, creating a harmonious colour palette that contrasts with the bold coloured flooring and dark metal work of the glazed partitions and staircases.

The project was developed within the confines of a Grade II Listed Building. To minimise the impact of the proposal on the existing building a light touch approach has been taken, upgrading building elements wherever possible and using highly efficient equipment rather than imposing intrusive renewable technologies into the building.

By preserving and re-utilising an existing building this project has an inherent low embodied energy. Passive features such as thermal mass and natural ventilation have been preserved and, when combined with a high performing insulation within new elements of the construction, low energy air source heat pumps (VRV), heat recovery and low energy lighting, deliver a significant improvement in the building’s energy use performance.

The redevelopment of the Carriage Works builds on the Council’s commitment to finding sustainable uses for its heritage sites and their commitment to improving the higher educational offer within the town centre. This is done by bringing back into use previously vacant but locally significant building will preserved these buildings for the use and enjoyment of a new generation.

A primary hurdle to using large quantities of timber on buildings is the fire performance. In order to preserve the natural texture of the wood, a transparent, water-based Class 0 coating was applied which soaked into the wood. This form of fire protection still allows for surface applied finishes so a Osmo Polyx Oil Raw could then be applied to protect the timber finished in high contact areas and, bring out the natural grain of the wood.

Timber expands and contracts with heat and humidity. To allow for this movement, expansion gaps were designed, and all timber panels set out with 5mm gaps between them. During construction, a heated room was created onsite for the carpenters to work in and store bespoke timber elements so that they wouldn’t expand or warp before being installed within the finished space.