Fit
out specialists commercial refurbishment
Surface Architects’ complex
designs for the new Centre for Research in Film and
Visual Media at Birkbeck College, University of
London, were a challenge that few fit out companies
would even aspire to. In what has been described as
one of the most demanding projects ever achieved in
the sector, fit out specialists Vivid Interiors
successfully transformed the designers’ bold
projections into reality to create a stunning,
inspirational environment for Birkbeck’s
internationally-renowned School of History of Art,
Film and Visual Media.
The extensive programme of works involved the
refurbishment of existing meeting and seminar rooms
within the basement and ground floor of the Grade II
listed Georgian terraced building in Gordon Square,
Bloomsbury, central London, and the internal fit out
of a double-height rear extension including the
creation of a mezzanine floor and break-out space.
The £1 million-plus project also involved the fit
out of a 70-seat state-of-the-art cinema and
multimedia auditorium housing a 4.5m x 2.7m screen.
“By far the biggest challenge of the refurbishment
was communicating the design’s complex drawings to
the subcontractors working on the extension,” says
Sean Wells, project manager for Vivid Interiors.
“Every member of the team had to understand how the
design fitted together, and how their work related
to other areas of the scheme. The job required
absolute attention to detail and there was no margin
for error.”
From flat plan to 3D reality
“The complex design for the extension is in effect,
an interlocking series of coloured zones,” says
Sean. The key to the design is a single point in the
building’s basement with all angles for walls,
floors and ceilings in the extension deriving from
this original setting out point. To break this down
for the subcontractor workforce, Sean took the
overall design and mapped it on to a grid system in
order to create clearer visuals for specific areas.
These were given to each trade to work on. Sean and
his site manager also set out where the walls and
end points should be with lengths of string. This
allowed the trade contractors to understand how the
measurements and fixtures for each room emanated
from a single point and visualise how they all
fitted together. He also created a three-dimensional
model showing how each section interlocked.
“There were no fixed heights to any of the ceilings
and every room had its own unique shape, so even the
most straightforward jobs were a real challenge,”
says Sean. “The building didn’t have any of the
conventional straight lines which delineate new
builds. The walls meet at acute/obtuse angles and
feature fabric-covered panels which protrude from
ceilings and walls to form acute points and
three-dimensional features.” Because of the complex
shapes involved, the frames of the different
‘spaces’ which make up the extension were
pre-fabricated off site then craned in through the
roof of the building. Solid 80mm structural timber
panels were then attached followed by plasterboard
and fabric covered panels.
Custom made
All the windows for the project also had to be
custom made because of their unconventional shape.
One of the most challenging to install was the
tilted picture window that fronts the break out
space and overlooks Gordon Square. Weighing half a
tonne, the 4m x 3m trapezium-shaped window had to be
craned into position and was structurally bonded
into the wall, without the use of beading or a
frame.
Another stand-out feature is the 20m long polished
stainless steel handrail which reaches from the
basement lobby to the breakout space on the ground
floor beside the cinema. As it winds round the
building and crosses two floors and the mezzanine
level, the handrail is recessed into walls rather
than being fixed flush. Instead of ending at a fixed
point, it simply ‘disappears’ into a wall.
Email:
ceri.hayzer@vividinteriors.com
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Editor's Note: Vivid Interiors provide:-
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Vivid Interiors - VIVID delivers inspirational 3D fit out for Birkbeck College
Arundel Jones Associates Ltd News Categories : Fit out specialists commercial refurbishment |