Among the key trends currently making waves in contemporary architecture and construction are building designs which are responsive and dynamic.
This concept includes how buildings interact with the wider built and natural surroundings and innovative solutions that create different environments to provide for a mixed range of uses which improve the experiences of tenants, residents, workers, visitors and the general public. At the forefront of dynamic building design are a number of buildings which involve moving elements or ingenious design features that allow the structure itself to transform and adapt to varied and ever-changing needs.
20 Fenchurch Street, designed by world-renowned architect Rafael Viñoly, has been nicknamed the ‘Walkie Talkie’ because of its distinctive shape and top-heavy form, making it one of the more visually recognisable tower buildings in London.
The unusual form allows space for a three-storey public sky garden at the top of the building with landscaped gardens, an open-air terrace, restaurants and function spaces, all with views across London. Traditional ‘big-box’ skyscrapers are usually designed as closed systems to keep the internal temperature at a comfortable level with heating and air conditioning. 20 Fenchurch Street, however, uses specially designed panels in the glass roof which make it partly retractable and allow the temperature to be naturally regulated, which is especially important for the roof gardens during the summer months.
Given the importance of the roof garden area for the visual appeal of the building and the enjoyment of residents and visitors, CoxGomyl supplied a range of different systems including three 7000 Series Building Maintenance Unit (BMU) systems on the main roof. Each of the BMUs was designed to park out of sight between the roof fins to minimise its visual impact when not in use.
One Central Park is an award-winning building and the focal point of a major mixed-use urban renewal project built around a new public park of approximately 6,500 square metres.
One Central Park itself is a 116-metre-tall vertical garden which is home to 85,000 facade plants and 1,200 square metres of green walls. Perhaps the most innovative aspect of the project is the heliostat, which delivers natural light into areas of the development where it would otherwise be restricted by the geometry of the site.
The heliostat uses 40 moving, motorised mirrors on the roof of the west tower. These mirrors track the sun and move incrementally throughout the day to consistently reflect and harness natural sunlight. The motorised mirrors reflect the sunlight up to a large cantilevered platform on the higher eastern tower, which holds a carefully arranged array of fixed mirrors. Each mirror on the cantilever corresponds to a predetermined target area and delivers natural light to ground or atrium level.
After sunset, the heliostat transforms the building once again as the cantilevered platform becomes the canvas for Yann Kersalé’s artwork Sea Mirror and is illuminated by programmable LED lights. As part of a comprehensive system of building maintenance units for this project, CoxGomyl also designed and supplied a moving roof gantry covered in reflective glass panels.
By bobarc, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
As a leading provider of facade access systems worldwide, CoxGomyl is experienced in the design, engineering and manufacture of precision mechanisms for Building Maintenance Systems that are as flexible and innovative as the designs of contemporary architects and industrial designers.
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