The Structure - Fiona Wylie
Construction of the building was heavily importance, taking sustainability and fire safety into account.
As an image for sustainability in the community, the majority of the structure is glulam post + beam with CLT floor panels, in attempts to reduce the amount of concrete used unless necessary. It’s lightweight, versatile, and provides a warm + natural aesthetic within the urban farm, reinforcing the idea of eco-industry.
Due to the tower being over 18m tall, it acts as an independent steel + concrete structure beside the timber structures, connected by an expansion joint. In case of fire the tower’s construction is non-combustible and a fire shutter can be placed in the atrium connecting the two structure types.
A weathered Corten steel facade was chosen to give the building a lightweight feel in contrast to the building’s size over the heavy historical wall, complimenting the colour of the surrounding red brick buildings in Tradeston. The metal is a nod to Tradeston’s metalwork history. The Matrix rainscreen cladding system align’s with the required A1 non-combustible facade buildup due to the height of the tower.
The Garden Approach - Fiona Wylie
The exterior view of the south side of the building, among the community gardening plots and the courtyard. Alongside the greenhouses, a secondary facade of algae growing panels are on the south side of the building to help generate renewable energy in the form of biomass, which then feeds back into an anaerobic digestor to create energy for the building.
Exploded Axonometric View of the Facade - Gertie Leong Hei Li
The facade was designed to be modular where pieces can be replaced and restored very easily. There are three different types of variation, including Solid Walls, Glass Features and Green Walls.
Green walls are to be placed facing the South and East side of the site where solid walls are featured on the North and West side of the site, designed with holes, which are to deliver a sneak peek of what's going on inside the building from the pedestrians.
