Richard Rogers
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content
1. theory 1.1 city and context 1.2 public domain 1.3 legibility 1.4 flexibility 1.5 energy
2. practice 2.1 profile 2.2 model shop
3. work 3.1 Antwerp Law Courts 3.2 Bordeaux Law Courts 3.3 Lloyd’s of London
1. theory 1.1 city and context Cities are the physical framework of our society, the generator of civil values, the
engine of our economy and the heart of our culture. In England, one of the three most
densely populated countries in the world, 90% of the population live in cities, but many of
our urban centres are not sustainable. Large areas of dereliction, poverty and empty
quarters, destroy the sense of community and vitality, urban sprawl erodes our
countryside.
Today, with the increase in life expectancy, the decrease in birth rate, increase in divorce
rate and the potential for less pollution in our post-industrial society, the city has once
more become man's natural habitat. Compact polycentric cities are the only sustainable
form of development and should be designed to attract people. If we don't get urban
regeneration right then all our work on cities - buildings and public spaces, education,
health, employment, social inclusion and economic growth - will be undermined.
Sustainable urban development is dependent on three factors; the quality of architecture,
social well-being and environmental responsibility. The compact sustainable city is
multi-cultural with a hierarchy of density, has a mix of uses and tenures, is well
connected with a coherent public transport, walking and cycling infrastructure, is well
designed both in terms of public spaces and building, and is environmentally responsive.
The Richard Rogers Partnership has an extensive track record in sustainable urban
regeneration - examples include masterplans for the East River Waterfront in
Manhattan, a large mixed use development in Seoul, Korea, Convoys Wharf on the
banks of the River Thames, the urban context for the new stadium at Wembley in West
London, the regeneration of former docklands at Almada, Lisbon, ongoing schemes in
Granada, Mallorca and Rome, as well as competition designs for Potsdamer Platz in
Berlin, Piana di Castello near Florence and the Pudong Peninsula in Shanghai.
1.2 public domain Public space between buildings influences both the built form and the civic quality of the
city, be they streets, squares or parks. A balance between the public and private domain
is central to the practice's design approach. Buildings and their surrounding spaces
should interrelate and define one another, with external spaces functioning as rooms
without roofs.It is the celebration of public space, and the encouragement of public
activities that drives the form of the practice's buildings. It is the building's scale and
relationship with the street or square that helps to encourage public activity and create
a people-friendly environment.
The public domain, in this case, extends from the square up the facade of the building in
the form of 'a street in the air' , a great diagonal escalator crossing the facade to connect
all the floors. The Pompidou Centre, including its piazza has become the most visited
building in Europe with spontaneous street theatre and other events in the piazzas
complimenting the activities within the building.
The concern for public space continues to be firmly embedded in the vision for the
practice's work. In a recent project located in the City of London, for a high-rise office
building at 122 Leadenhall Street, seven of its 48 storeys are dedicated to cafés,
restaurants and other public facilities within a large south-facing volume connected to
an existing plaza which flows through the building uninterrupted at ground level.
The enormous scale of this space is unprecedented in London, and will become the focal
point for the project as well as a major new meeting space contributing to the vibrant
life of the City. The project is a fine example of how private and public domain can
combine to contribute to the quality of our cities.
1.3 legibility Work, leisure and domestic activities are becoming interchangeable, leading to the
creation of open-ended, flexible structures such as the Pompidou Centre, the
Wimbledon House, 88 Wood Street, and Barajas Airport in Madrid. These buildings,
with their legible facades and logical form, relate directly to both the user and
passers-by. Buildings such as these make legible the historic forces of the time: how
they are constructed, their relationship with their context, and what they are used for,
and in doing so, bring a new dimension to the way people interact with the built
environment.
The structure of buildings set the scale, form and rhythm of the architectural
environment, within which change and improvisation can take place. Scale is given as
much by the design of the details as the building as a whole. Lightness of structure,
transparency and layering are dominant design factors in the work of the practice.
Colour is used for a variety of reasons, including to affect the mood of the building, and
to humanise and change the apparent nature of materials.
Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners are searching for a more subtle world between solid
and transparent, a sequence of spaces where the eye is lead through overlapping strata,
where light and shadow enhance the impression of transparency, for example in works
such as the Bordeaux Law Courts, the Antwerp Law Courts, Lloyd's Register in London,
Madrid Airport and Hesperia Hotel in Barcelona.
The practice endeavours to employ technologies that sustain rather than pollute, that
are durable rather than replaceable, and that add value over time rather than falling prey
to short term economies. Structure and the conservation of energy play a major role in
giving form to our buildings. Speed, cost and energy efficiency often contribute a
lightness of structure, transparency and clarity of design. Many projects have been
developed that explore to a very high degree the use of alternative sustainable energy
solutions.
1.4 flexibility Today's buildings are more like evolving landscapes than classical temples in which
nothing can be added and nothing can be removed. Open ended, adaptable frameworks
with large, well-serviced and well-lit floors, on the other hand, offer the possibility for a
long life span for the building and a variety of possible uses. Office occupiers require
flexible spaces in order to respond to contingencies in business life; they need to be able
to extend and adapt buildings. A concept that incorporates a high level of standardised
design will facilitate change.
For functional reasons we always create clear zoning between servant and served
spaces within a building. We often separate and juxtapose the services with the mass
of the building; in practical terms the part of the building which is inhabited has a long life,
whereas the technical services have a short life and therefore need to be accessible for
change and maintenance. By separating the mechanical services, lifts, electrics, fluids
and air-conditioning from the rest of the building, inevitable technical developments can
be incorporated where they are most needed to extend the life of usable core space. The
articulation of the services and core building creates a clear three-dimensional language,
a dialogue between served and servant spaces and a means of creating flexible floor
space. Standardised large floor-plates with services placed on the perimeter have been
successful in commercial buildings such as 88 Wood Street and Lloyd's Register, and
allow for flexible tenancies that respond to the changing demands of the office market.
The masterplans are defined by an holistic approach allowing for enough flexibility to
accommodate changes over the lifespan of a city, in order to meet market demands. The
practicalities and concept of a public place should be inherently flexible in order to
respond to changes such as transport and density.
The masterplans are predominantly not derived from form alone but are concerned with
facilitating the movement of people between places, creating a critical mass for
successful people spaces and the potential for land to accommodate different uses over
time.
1.5 energy Over the last thirty years, it has become clear that the risk associated with climate
change will pose serious challenges to society. Architects are constantly presented with
the challenge of creating durable buildings that respond to a changing environment.
Architects have a major role to play, given the fact that 75 per cent of global energy
consumption is produced by buildings and transportation. Buildings, neighbourhoods and
cities should be designed to minimise pollution and carbon emissions. This implies not
only using renewable energy sources (including wind, sun and water), but designing
energy efficient buildings and masterplans that encourage vegetation and biodiversity.
New urban developments need to be designed with the ultimate aim of achieving carbon
dioxide neutral environments. Working with clients and the public to increase
awareness of the benefits of environmental design can help form the basis for a brief,
and result in buildings that contribute positively to the city.
Structure and the conservation of energy play a major role in giving form to our buildings.
Speed, cost and energy efficiency often contribute a lightness of structure, transparency
and clarity of design. Many projects have been developed that explore to a very high
degree the use of alternative sustainable energy solutions.
2. practice 2.1 profile
RSHP is an international architectural practice based in London, currently working on a
range of high profile projects including; two office buildings in Washington DC; an
extension to the British Museum in London; One Hyde Park, a luxury residential
development in Knightsbridge; a major mixed-use development in Scandicci, Italy;
and a wide range of major
masterplans in cities across
three continents.
The practice is currently
participating in the Greater
Paris project, which looks at
the future of the city as a
more integrated
metropolitan region as it
faces the social and
environmental challenges of
the 21st century.
2.2 model shop The custom designed in-house
modelshop facility at RSHP has
been established since 1990 and
forms an integral part of the
design process. Models
communicate on many levels,
encapsulating the design intent
as a whole as well as being
persuasive, beautiful objects in
their own right. The department comprises a core of five permanent full-time
modelmakers supplemented by freelancers. The workshop has three areas, a large
flexible workroom with CAD workstations, an extracted machine space with a separate
paint spray room and a photography studio which enables us to produce high quality
digital images of models in a short space of time.
As well as using traditional cutting, shaping and vacuum forming machines our
modelmakers can work from sketch ideas to produce CAD drawings - these are then
used to laser cut a kit of parts in order to construct a high quality model in a time frame
that would not have been possible without this technology. There is no house style -
every model is designed as a unique response to a specific need within the design
process. Particular attention is given to the scaling effects of colour, grain and
proportion to avoid a 'toytown' look.
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3.2 Bordeaux Law Courts
Richard Rogers's reputation rests on structures, such as Llyod's of
London and the Pompidou Centre with Renzo Piano, that display their
inner workings on the building's exterior. So in these works their
appearance is a residue of the buildings interior. The elevations tend to
work on a micro level, though, with well thought-out details and unique
structural solutions. On the macro level the buildings are a cacophony of
parts, grouped together according to their corresponding functions.
Therefore this design process is limiting, though instantly recognizable.
Recent work by Richard Rogers Partnership has incorporated more
arbitrary formal elements and shifted the focus of structure and detailing
from primary considerations to design devices.
The form of the building reflects the
environmental research that informed the
whole design process. The design team were
committed to embracing a passive energy
strategy, without conventional
air-conditioning, which would none-the-less
provide comfortable working spaces and low
running costs. The orientation of the building
on the site shields the vulnerable glazed
spaces from the hot summer sun, while
maximising natural day light. At the same
time, the placement of the office wing along
�the Cours d Albert filters noise and pollution
from the busy road.
The pool acts as a heat-sink and air passes
through a heat-exchanger, extracting air from
the offices. The cycle is completed as supply
air from the atrium is drawn into the offices
through hollow ribs in the concrete slab,
making maximum use of the thermal mass of
the concrete to provide cooling and heating,
depending on the season. On the facades,
opening windows and manually operated
aluminium louvres provide shade and limit the
ingress of unwanted solar gain to the office
spaces.
The courts themselves are ventilated by the
stack effect of warm air rising and exiting at
roof level, a process that is assisted by the
conical forms, with fresh air introduced
mechanically at very low velocity at floor level.
In addition, the textured timber surfaces of
the concave-walled interiors provide
speech-perfect acoustical conditions
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The Room is housed on the lower four levels and all vertical movement
within The Room is by a central escalator system, providing easy and
open access to the first four levels.
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