[Y/N] Studio . photos: © French and Tye
Can you reinvent an existing community asset without compromising its best attributes?
Bradbury Works in Gillett Square, Dalston, has recently re-opened its doors to new and returning tenants. The new building includes the refurbishment of 600m2 of existing affordable workspace, the replacement of ten mini retail units, and the provision of almost 500m2 of extra workspace in a two-storey extension. Bradbury Works is the next step in the evolving story of one of the most unique and community focused public spaces in the capital.
Background
The project will offer affordable business premises operated by Hackney Co-operative Developments CIC, a not-for-profit Community Interest Company, founded in 1982 as a local community economic development agency. HCD works within the local community to explore ideas and opportunities to create a sustainable environment for Hackney’s communities to flourish. In addition to providing affordable workspace across the borough, HCD also lead on the animation of Gillett Square where their programming of community and cultural events plays a key role in the socially cohesive regeneration of Dalston, and at the same time works to retain its diversity and showcase its creativity.
Gillett Square
Gillett Square was formed almost 20 years ago after a long process orchestrated by HCD with input from various architects and designers including Hawkins\Brown, MUF and J&L Gibbons. Formerly a carpark behind disused warehouses and Victorian terraces, the works to the square were predated by a series of notable projects including the conversion of the Bradbury Street terrace into deck-access workspaces in 1998, the award-winning market pod kiosks in 1999, and the Dalston Culture House in 2004, all by Hawkins\Brown. Following the completion of the public realm works a few years later, the square has developed into a vibrant community asset and a vital piece of public space in one of London’s most deprived boroughs. In 2017 HCD was awarded over £1 million by the Greater London Authority to make necessary improvements to the existing workspace building and create new workspaces for emerging Hackney enterprises.
Bradbury Works
The new scheme, which is now called Bradbury Works, looks to retain the best attributes of the existing building while providing additional flexible spaces to suit a variety of business. Facing into the square, new 10m2 retail pods are provided with fully openable glazed frontages which are further protected by profiled metal gates which provide security and privacy when closed but can be transformed with vibrant tenant signage when open.
The original masonry structure of the existing Victorian terrace has been retained, refurbished and renovated, providing small and medium 10- 36m2 workspace units while retaining existing shops, bars and restaurants facing onto Bradbury Street. Between the new retail pods and the third-floor workspaces, a covered double height external terrace space is provided. Here, the existing circulation decks of the previous scheme have been reimagined as usable terraces and breakout spaces, increasing interaction with the square. Picnic tables, evergreen ferns, and climbing plants are provided to encourage tenants to come together in all seasons.
At third floor new accommodation is provided including new 40-65m2 workspaces with private mezzanine levels. They are provided in a simple pitched roof form which ensures overshadowing of the square is kept to a minimum and the new extension is largely unseen from the Bradbury Street side which falls in a conservation area. A south facing access deck behind the existing brick parapet provides the opportunity for natural cross ventilation to the new workspaces and panoramic views of London. In addition to private workspaces, a large flexible meeting and event space can be hired by tenants as well as the wider community.
Finally, the upper levels are wrapped in a new homogenous polycarbonate façade. The lightweight and reflective skin creates the appearance of a singular form, however on closer inspection the translucent character of the material allows the original terrace to remain visible. A memory of the past behind a new iconic focal point in the square. At ground floor level, profiled mill finish aluminium was chosen for its reflective and hard-wearing characteristics, providing a robust backdrop to the varied activities taking place in front.
Interiors
Access to the new building is via the existing entrance which has been retained and improved by providing a new fully glazed entrance, reception desk and post-boxes. Branding and wayfinding signage for the building was designed by [Y/N] Studio to provide clear direction for those unfamiliar with the layout. The existing stairwell and entrance have been repainted with the colours Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key (black) making reference to the ‘CMYK’ printing colour range where four simple and contrasting colours combined can be used to create any artwork. This mirrors the ambition for the building to become a melting pot of cultures and disciplines which are greater than the sum of their parts.
In all other areas of the building, a simple colour palette of muted grey flooring and white painted walls allows tenants the agency to customise their space to suit their requirements and personalities. Internally, new and refurbished toilets and kitchenettes are provided throughout the building and the introduction of ramps in the first and second floor terraces provide step free access to the entry level of all units.
Quote from the Architect Alex Smith, Director of [Y/N] Studio.
“Bradbury Works is a unique new workspace in the heart of Dalston, offering affordable space to businesses and charities that need them most. The entire team have worked closely with HCD and their tenants to retain and enhance the best attributes of the existing building and its relationship to both Gillett Square and Bradbury Street, while providing much needed improvement to its facilities. The pitched roof form creates a large new floor plate offering workspaces with mezzanines while ensuring the building does not overshadow the square or detract from the traditional masonry of the Bradbury Street façade. The existing circulation decks have been transformed into usable terraces, increasing interaction with the square. This is further enhanced by the use of translucent polycarbonate which will allow the existing building to remain visible from Gillett Square. Now complete, we are confident that the scheme will prove a success for HCD and retain the unique qualities that make Gillett Square so special.
Protecting Local Businesses
HCD offer workspace and retail space to a wide and diverse range of local businesses.
Customer facing businesses have been supported with cost effective rents in a prominent location. These include a tailor, a barber shop, a Jamaican jerk chicken shop, a coffee shop, and a computer repair shop. The building also contains three jazz clubs, a record shop, a vintage clothes shop, and more. The unappointed custodian of the square is Yared Markos who runs his Ethiopian coffee shop, Kaffa Coffee, supplying coffee to Hackney made from coffee beans which are imported directly from his family’s farm.
Above ground floor HCD offer space to charities and businesses which engage in wellbeing activities including yoga and art therapy workshops alongside other traditional desk-based activities. Amongst the most successful tenants is NTS Radio, which was founded by Femi Adeyemi in a tiny retail pod in 2011. Since then, NTS have now grown to become a brand that is recognised worldwide, and who continue to operate from and champion Gillett Square and Dalston.
HCD are a community focused business. As such, engaging with and catering for the existing tenants was a priority from the outset. All existing tenants were either allowed to remain in the building during construction or were offered a temporary alternative space for the entire construction period in buildings nearby operated by HCD. [Y/N] Studio consulted with many of the existing tenants to understand how to best improve the previous building while retaining what makes it unique.
New tenants will be joining old as the building opens its doors. This will include The Mentoring Lab, which was founded in 2017 to provide long-term mentoring and youth engagement solutions to young people from black and marginalised communities, a card and stationary design business, and a host of local designers, makers and artists including [Y/N] Studio.
Anthonia Onigbode, CEO of Hackney Co-operative Developments CIC said:
“We are delighted to be opening Bradbury Works to returning and new tenants. HCD have a track record in undertaking projects of this nature; demonstrating how development can be community focused and sustainable. We are thrilled with the work that [Y/N] Studio, Vortex Interiors and the wider team have done, and feel that the scheme finds the perfect balance between retaining the positive elements of the character and appearance of the old building, and proposing a high quality and sustainable design that will benefit HCD and the local community.”
Materials and detailing
The materials were chosen in reference to the previous incarnations of the building which features a palette of industrial profiled metal, polycarbonate and painted brick.
The new extension is constructed from a prefabricated steel frame, which aligns with the existing party walls and is supported by new piled foundations on the square side. Internal floors and infill walls are formed in timber with mineral wool fibre insulation between joists. At the roof level the insulation is positioned above the structure, allowing the timber joists to be exposed internally to provide character and rhythm to the spaces beneath. On the third and fourth floors, non-loadbearing partitions are designed to allow the space to be opened up if required later. This flexibility has already benefitted one of the tenants who have let two adjacent units and combined them into one.
The façade is a combination of lightweight, insulative multiwall polycarbonate, and profiled mill finish aluminium sheets at the base. The material chosen makes reference to the blue-green cladding on the nearby Culture House but is colourless and more translucent. This allows plenty of light through to the workspaces and terrace behind, retaining and reinforcing the connection between the building and the square.
The cladding reflects the colour of the sky and surroundings during the daytime and glows at night, unifying the form of the building as it wraps around the covered terrace, stair core and workspaces. The façade is fixed to a galvanised steel secondary structure. Both vertical and horizontal rails are provided to allow for metal rainwater pipes to be concealed behind the cladding and giving the structure a sense of lightness.
The polycarbonate cladding is installed in three storey high, 500mm wide panels, which click together forming a weather-tight seal. Multiwall Polycarbonate is formed of multiple thin layers of durable high Impact thermoplastic meaning it is light weight and easy to Install. The product improves the thermal performance of the building, is fully recyclable and has good fire resistance qualities.
Mill finish aluminium was chosen as a robust, cost effective panelised cladding system for both the pitched roof and ground floor. It is a through colour material meaning that at ground floor inevitable scratches/marks will add a patina over time and its wavy profile disperses the light enhancing its reflectivity. Similarly the roof catches the light in the mornings but will dull over time.
The northern roof pitch is punctuated with a chequerboard arrangement of openable skylights, providing natural light to the spaces and allowing tenants to control their own internal environment in the summer. The majority of windows and glazed doors are double glazed composite timber and aluminium with a mill finish aluminium exterior. They are finished with mill finish aluminium sills and surrounds which enclose the cladding. On the Bradbury Street façade new double glazed sash windows have been installed.
In the covered terrace the steel structure is expressed and painted with mid-grey intumescent paint. Industrial galvanised steel plank walkways allow dappled light to filter through from the second floor, while long-lasting heat-treated timber is used to form a bench and deck on the first floor.
Balustrades and Juliettes are formed from simple polyester powder coated steel tubular sections which are wrapped with a tensioned stainless steel wire mesh. This allows plenty of light and ventilation to flow through the façade and provides a framework for evergreen climbing plants on the covered terrace.
Repairs to the existing building were undertaken throughout construction. Where possible, brick elements have been retained, repaired and painted, leaving their textural qualities intact. Insulated plasterboard lines the inside of the external walls to improve their thermal performance. The existing rendered drum structure adjacent to the main entrance has been repaired and repainted in a mid-grey hue.
Quote from the Structural Engineer, Kath Hannigan, Project Engineer at Engenuiti
To provide additional floor space, the existing masonry structure was stripped back to allow a new floor and mezzanine to be built above. In order not to overload the existing building, Engenuiti designed a steel frame that wraps up and over the existing structure and is propped by the masonry party walls. This frame forms the new walkways and meeting areas.
At each end, Engenuiti dealt with the challenges of extending an existing building by cantilevering the western end and designing a grillage that allowed for careful load sharing onto to the existing eastern ‘Drum’ building.
The external walkways and aesthetic quality of the new building was a key driver in design. The industrial style steelwork of the first and second floors was exposed, which required thoughtful consideration of the elements, connections and interfaces with secondary and existing structure in order to develop an elegant structural solution.
Sustainability
The building makes a series of changes to improve its environmental performance and reduce carbon emissions. There were four main principles used to develop the energy strategy: reduce demand, meet demand efficiently, supply from low carbon sources and where possible, supply from renewables. Some of the features included at Bradbury Works include.
Improving Thermal Performance – Improvements were made to the existing building fabric thermal performance in 2 ways. Firstly, the existing single glazed windows were replaced with double glazing on both sides. Secondly, insulated plasterboard was added to the inside of the external walls of the existing masonry building, reducing the u- value from 1.6 W.m-2.K-1 to 0.33 W.m-2.K-1. This design philosophy has reduced carbon emissions of the Bradbury Street development by 20%.
Air Tightness – The overall airtightness of the building has been Improved by using vapour control layers and foil backed insulation. 10m3 hr-1 k-1 was targeted bringing the old building in line with current building regulations.
Electric Heating – The proposed space heating services are provided by 100% efficient electric panel heaters with individual room temperature sensors and time controls. The improved thermal properties lower the heating demand of the existing and new extension areas, significantly reducing the carbon emissions.
Lighting – The new extension development will utilise low energy LED lighting. In addition, in suitable areas the electric lighting will be controlled using presence detection infra-red PIR control.
Hot water – An all-electric instantaneous hot water system only heats hot water which is to be used locally near to kitchenettes.
Renewable Energy – The building has provision for photovoltaic panels on the southern roof pitch. They are planned for the south side of the building and funding applications are being prepared by HCD. This will help reduce the running costs of the building and service charge for tenants.
EPC – The building achieved an EPC asset rating of C and therefore is a low carbon development, which will exceed the government’s MEES minimum EPC target of an E which has been in place since 2018.
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Bradbury Works
Location: Dalston, London
Type: Workspace, Commercial, Refurbishment
Size: 1578m2
Client: Hackney Co-operative Developments CIC
Status: Completed
Date: 2017 – 2022
Team:
Architect: [Y/N] Studio
Main Contractor: Vortex Interiors
Project Management: Helios Project Management
Structural engineer: Engenuiti
M&E consultant: Thornley and Lumb
Quantity surveyor: Beacon Project Services
Planning Consultant: JMS Planning and Development
Collaborating Architect: Hawkins\Brown – initial stages only.
Interior Design / Signage: [Y/N] Studio
Heritage Consultant: KM Heritage
Daylight and Sunlight: Schroeders Begg
Additional Funding: Greater London Authority (under The Local Enterprise Partnership for London), Unity Trust Bank, Hackney Council,
Photography is by French and Tye.
Key Dates
Start on site date: July 2020
Completion date: December 2022
Contract duration: 18 months
Form of contract and/or procurement: Traditional with cdps.
Total cost £3.1m
Other Information
Existing GIA: 1036m2
Additional GIA: 542m2
Total GIA: 1578m2
Existing Lettable Workspace: 604m2
New lettable Workspace: 495m2
Total Lettable Workspace: 1099m2.
[Y/N] Studio Project Team: Alex Smith, Maegan Icke, Elena Gruber, Roxani Tseranidou, Margherita Zompa, Carolina Borgatti, Ezmira Peraj, Ainhoa Valle
