The building is placed in the intersection of several infrastructure lines. At this spot, the rail with the Elizabeth Line crosses with the river Roding, an elevated motorway and a proposed cycle highway, all next to a side entrance of the station of Ilford. The building is surrounded by high rises in the south, which obscures a large bit of the sun during the day, in the north the rail forms a major noise polluter. The building is a sound barrier, but also a sun catcher in one, as the complete rooftop is accessible for visitors.

Due to the high rise in the south, the design had to be optimised to the sunlight that is reaching the area. For that, a sun study was used, which is displayed here. You can see the green roof creating a sunny area even in winter.

These features were chosen during the comprehensive study of London, bicycle infrastructure, hub precedents and transit-oriented development in Ilford and precedent areas. The focus is on facilitating cyclists, by providing bike parking and a bike repair shop, as well as providing dining options, as well as facilitating the neighborhood, which will have a library and community space, neither of which can yet be found in Ilford. The currently heavily paved area will also be greened considerably.

The functions are placed in a set of gradients. With the east having more activity than the west, and the top of the building having more privacy than below. This means that the cycling parking and repair shop are placed in the east, but the restaurant and accessible green space is placed in the west. Gastronomy is put below, and the library and community spaces are put on top. The workshops are put at the back of the building, where there is already a high level of noise.

The two buildings in front have a special function, the middle (smallest) building is the bike repair and community green house, being an eye catcher from the station, attracting people with functions representing the whole. The southernmost building is the cycle garage, right at the entrance of the cycle tunnel, which runs underneath the building and the rail tracks.

The main building’s ground floor is structured in a mirrored way, following the arms of the basic form. The main entrance is placed closest to the station and the bike garage. The transportation takes place from there to the middle corridor, from which you can reach all the functions of the ground floor. In the middle of the building, the cycle tunnel runs through the building, where there is a direct visual line between the tunnel and the corridor. The south and most busy side (next to the square) has gastronomy, the workshops are placed in the north next to the rails, where there is already a lot of noise. Goods can be delivered via an outside corridor between the building and the tracks.

If we look at the building in section, we can see 3 different layers. The bottom layer was already discussed above, but we can now see that there are some entresols breaking the two-story high floor. Most workshops and gastronomy have a small entresol as well.

In yellow you can see the library, which is placed in the middle of the building. A place with a bit more silence. It is reachable via the stairs that go around the building, or of course the lifts. In the top is the community space, the place with the most privacy and the best view. Here the community can meet for all different kinds of activities, organized by a community association.

Go to Downloads and A0 Posters to see all floor plans, sections and elevations.

Not only around the building, but also on top of the building green space is introduced. This way the completely paved area is transformed to a green oasis within the middle of Ilford.

The riverside is opened up, you can now walk next to it.

The roof is completely accessible, with green going all the way to the top. This way the amount of green is increased, but there is also always a piece of green in the sun, even in winter.

The diverse and complex area lead to a complex building form. It’s the façade that makes it coherent, however this was also quite the task with the different situations on each side of the building. Most of the façade is made of prefab elements.

The south façade, next to the gastronomy is the most flexible of all. The gastronomy is prone to change, and the façade facilitates this. It is made of standardised measures, with each façade element having 3 sections. These sections can be filled in by either a window or a closed part with a unique brick bond, creating a colourful mosaic.

The north façade (next to the train tracks) is closed to insulate the sound. This façade is seen from either higher speeds or further away, therefore it is designed to make a bigger gesture, which can be seen by the 3 different colours.

The stairs that wrap around the higher part of the building are closed with a glass façade. This way the building gets as much sunlight as possible from the south. This façade is also a climate façade, acting as a buffer between the building and the outside.

As mentioned above, the facade is made of prefabricated elements. With a base frame of finnjoist with insulation and brick strip against it, to save material.

The flexible façade system at the gastronomy (south façade) is changable. You can see the process of assembly and change below.

Middle of building

Façade

The structure is made of glulam columns and beams. Glulam requires less material for the same span. It can also be made from smaller pieces of wood, so that more parts of the tree are used and less is thrown away. The connection is a sherpa connector, which allows the beams to be swapped easily.

The structure is visible from the inside, which creates a consciousness of the structure and the flexibility of the building.

The green roof not only offers green space to the visitors of the building, it also decreases the water load on the area and offers both thermal and auditory insulation for the building. The façade of the stairs acts as a second skin, creating a buffer between the high part of the building and the outside air.

The night is as important as the day for an infrastructure hub in Northern Europe. This part an extra addition to the design, to make the design work in winter as well. I designed the liveliest part of the building to be most lit, next to the main entrance and the bike garage. The more you go to the river, the darker it gets, creating a quieter area. The rooftop park is split in two parts, the lively part next to the square is well lit, as the green zone next to the railway tracks is kept dark, to really form the buffer between the trains and the public area.