EMMA HENDERSON | TECHNICAL REVIEW
SMALL ANIMAL HOSPITAL | ARCHIAL NORR
ABSTRACT
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INTRODUCTION
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STRUCTURE
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CONSTRUCTION
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ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES
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PLANNING & BUILDING REGULATIONS
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HEALTH & SAFETY
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INCLUSIVE DESIGN
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BUDGET
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INTEGRATION STATEMENT
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BIBLIOGRAPHY & IMAGE CREDITS
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Image 1 : reception lobby Image 2 : the sloping roof Image 3 : entrance at dusk Image 4 : inside the cupola
INTRODUCTION
Small animal hospital 4,500m2 health building Bearsden, Glasgow East Dumbartonshire Council University of Glasgow October 2007 May 2009 Traditional JCT £10.7 million
PROJECT NAME PROJECT DESCRIPTION LOCATION PLANNING AUTHORITY CLIENT START ON SITE COMPLETION CONTRACT TYPE VALUE
From a new hillside formed in the Garscube Estate rises intersecting planes of render, glass, steel and stone; the Small Animal Hospital demonstrates a dramatic, ingenious, and site-sensitive architecture. It draws on the topography of the location to provide a building of spatial and formal richness, whilst meeting the demands of clinical processes. Intended to ‘set new standards in the design of buildings for veterinary medicine’ (Andrew Doolan Award citation) the purpose built hospital is ‘one of the most sophisticated in Europe’.
The key design move is topographically conceived: peel back the ground and place the building beneath it. The simplicity of the parti is enriched by a sequential journey; having first approached the slope (fig.2), you descend to the light and open entrance (fig.3), you then ascend from beneath the earth into the cupola (fig.4), reconnecting with the landscape, the point of arrival. These architectural ideas are integrated into a lucid form, about a juncture between landscape and building. Ultimately, the Small Animal Hospital is unique and full of character, much like its subject matter: the companion animals to which it provides care.
The Small Animal Hospital has won the 2009 RIAS Andrew Doolan Award for Best Building in Scotland; the 2009 GIA Supreme Award and GIA Award; 2010 RIBA Regional Award; 2010 Gold Best Public Building Roses Design Awards; 2011 Civic Trust Award; 2010 Green Roofing Awards, Best Project; 2011 New Referral Practice Innovative Design from the British Vet Hospital Association.
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Image 5 : archial photo Image 6 : Plan diagram Image 7 : Site plan Image 8 : North elevation
INTRODUCTION
Internally the building is simply organised with a clear division of public and private both vertically and horizontally. The roof allowed the accommodation to be split with two-thirds at ground level and one-third on the upper floor - matching the client’s brief. As various aspects didn’t require direct natural light, the deep plan design solution was able to meet the complex needs of the hospital.
However a funnel and glass cupola provide natural light to circulation areas and thus give the hospital and open and welcoming feel. The following chapters analyse the structure, construction, environmental services, planning conditions, health and safety, inclusive design and their role in realising the scheme.
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INTRODUCTION title
Image 9 : ground floor plan Image 10 : first floor plan
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Images 11-13: Diagrammatic Phasing Isometrics showing key structural elements
STRUCTURE The primary structural system is a steel frame as it is capable of large spans to support the green roof and of transmitting loadings down to the strip and pad foundations. V-shaped columns are employed in one corner (1) in order to create an open space with a canopy for dog runs. Vertical stability is provided by vertical steel bracing. Wind posts and wall framing are provided to the perimeter blockwork and cladding to withstand wind loading and to provide further stability. Setting the building into the slope created an issue with providing sufficient light to the central spaces.
Whilst many of the spaces do not require natural lighting, innovative strategies, made possible by the steel frame, light key central spaces; including a glazed, faceted cupola (2) and a skylight. The green roof was vital to the project, unlocking the expression of an architectural idea. The heavy gabion base, windows and green, sloping roof (all facilitated by the primary structural steel system) unify the building as intersecting planes of glass, rock and render. This aligns with the key architectural intent, to exist as part of the natural landscape.
1 Retaining walls, strip and pad foundations & concrete ground slab with primary structural steel
2 Secondary steel, precast concrete slab to roof & first floor concrete
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3 Blockwork & curtain walling; followed by gabions, cladding, soil on roof and render to the building
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Image 14 : primary steelwork Image 15 : bracing/wind posts Image 16 : y column connection Image 17 : section highlighting steel
STRUCTURE
primary steel secondary steel
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Images 18,19,20 : assembly sequence Image 21 : steel y columns Image 22 : light funnel
CONSTRUCTION The Small Animal Hospital is a meeting of several material systems with very different qualities, married together to create a building that both blends with the surroundings and stands out as a beacon to visitors.
The green roof, sensitive to the greenbelt surroundings, sits on lightweight steel construction with zed purlins. The walls consist of two layers of blockwork with 200mm timber framing, thermal insulation and is mostly clad with gabion blocks. The cupola rises out of the green roof with lightweight steelwork. These carefully considered methods of construction are all intended to fulfill the architectural ambition for an uninterrupted green landscape. The steel frame allows for an uninterrupted interior entrance and for the provision of sufficient glazing to naturally light most spaces, but, perhaps more crucially, the glazing encourages engagement with the building’s context and facilitates the building’s position as an icon within the landscape.
The sequence of construction and assembly was as follows: - initial excavation and ground work - primary and secondary steel - precast roof slab and 1st floor concrete - blockwork and glazing - interior walls - gabion walling and grey-fibre cement cladding - soil on the roof - exposed exterior blockwork rendered white
The following two pages contain selected details which illustrate the relationship between and range of techniques and materials employed during construction.
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Image 23 : base detail Images 24, 25 : construction photos Image 26 : 3D detail render
CONSTRUCTION
This detail shows the relationship between the cladding and the primary building elements. The heavy gabion stones, a naturally vented and free draining rainscreen, lends the building a deliberately solid base. This weight is heightened by the deep relief of the windows, which emphasizes the driving architectural idea of roof and ground.
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Image 27 : head detail Images 28, 29 : construction Image 30 : 3D detail render
CONSTRUCTION
This detail shows the interface between the green roof and the structural system. The uniqueness of the green roof is in line with the desire for the building to set new standards in veterinary design; it also helps to maintain the greenfield gateway into the site.
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Image 30 : environmental section Image 31 : diagrammatic plan of services and environmental strategies
ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES Where possible low energy strategies have been used to solve building environmental controls problems. The building is designed to take maximum advantage of natural ventilation and beneficial solar control through the external facades, orientation and zoning. The concrete floors, roofs and the blockwork walls and gabions establish a thermal mass in the structure, which aids the control of the building’s interior environment. These strategies created opportunities for architectural expression, for example the glazed cupola and gabion cladding; in this way the environmental services are not only seamlessly integrated into the design, but in fact are key drivers in the design.
solar shading provided by cantilever
Whilst natural ventilation and lighting are integral to the environmental strategy, due to the scale and specialist nature of the building there is also mechanical and electrical provision; heat recovery devices are incorporated into ventilation air handling plant and mechanical ventilation systems are zoned to facilitate efficient control based on activities within the building at the time and season. Air blast coolers are employed to provide free cooling during colder weather. The space between suspended ceiling and floor slab and the numerous voids running through the building provide space for service ducting and machinery required.
services integrated within ceilings and oors
thermal mass absorbing heat throughout day
use of stack effect to minimise mechanical ventilation
library
MRI
stores, changing and kitchen
treatment area
cafe and admin
consulting
Many of the internal spaces (storage, oncology, diagnostics etc) don’t require natural light, thus the design is able to meet the requirements of the hospital whilst maintaining the integrity of the location. The glass cupola and funnelled skylight let natural light into the central public areas.
daylight/natural ventilation through cupola
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periphery daylight/natural ventilation
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cafe/social plant/store/lift (services) lockers/changing teaching/meeting admin
PLANNING AND BUILDING REGULATIONS
The site cuts across the boundary of 2 councils - East Dunbartonshire and Glasgow. The process was generally more lenient in East Dunbartonshire so this was taken into account when choosing the site. In addition there was an existing green belt within the campus grounds which restricted permissible development - any interventions had to be sensitive to the ‘rural’ parkland location. The grass roof was introduced to minimise the impact of the building. The business case required the building to have a public frontage but this risked losing the attractiveness of the setting, something that planning would not accept - hence the introduction of the glass cupola.
Image 32 : diagrammatic site plan of greenbelt
Possible Future Expansion
Greenbelt
Image 33 : accessible green roof
HEALTH AND SAFETY
The building had to satisfy all criteria, ensuring protection is in place, in respect of medical treatments: x-ray, MRI, CT Scanner and Linear Accelerator. Safety criteria had to be carefully considered for the accessible roof to ensure it could take galloping horses and that the balustrade could cope with a tractor collision.
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Image 34: anti-love seat
INCLUSIVE DESIGN
Due to its function it is important that both animal and humans needs are met. All areas are accessible, with wide doors and corridors (2500mm generally) to cope with trolleys. There are hearing loops for public areas, low level counters and lighting and graphics for the visually impaired. There were also seats designed specially for dealing with troublesome dogs - ‘anti-love’ seats.
Anti-love seat
BUDGET
This breakdown is the estimated cost in the early stages of the design process (circa 2006). The final cost on completion of the project in 2009 was 10,700,000. The design didn’t change much beyond the early breakdown but the market at the time was very volatile and material costs rose.
Preliminaries Substructure Frame Upper floors Stairs/roof Walls/windows/doors Internal walls and partitions Internal doors Finishes Fixtures/fittings Services External works
£390,000 £425,000 £370,000 3120,000 £490,000 £556,0000 £200,000 £140,000 £427,000 £270,000 £2,096,000 £590,000
Total (+ risk, contingency and inflation
£6,977,000
circa 2006)
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Images 35, 36 : exterior and interior Image 37 : diagrammatic sectional perspective highlighting relationship between the key strategies discussed throughout report
INTEGRATION STATEMENT
The location and unique programme created distinct challenges, which required a highly integrative approach with regards design , construction and environmental services. The seemingly antithetical aims for the new building was that it would be an iconic beacon whilst also seamlessly integrating into the landscape. The integration of services, construction and environmental services was key in achieving this. The steel frame holds up the green roof, which hovers above the heavy gabion base; the partnership of structure and construction here allows the building to exist as part of a natural landscape. The desire for natural lighting and ventilation drove the design of the environmental services, with a cupola, light funnel and glazed frontages on all sides. These features, crucial to maintaining the correct internal conditions, also make the building a beacon in the landscape; thus the environmental services and design exist in a symbiotic relationship. Adding to this, the sloping roof and steel frame create space for service ducting/plant provision in various void spaces. Through meticulous navigation of the relationships between structure, construction and environmental services the architect created a flagship building which celebrates its status as a cutting edge veterinary hospital, but which also celebrates its surroundings.
BIBLIOGRAPHY - Archial Norr archival information - www.archialnorr.com - Olcayto, R., ‘Small Animal Hospital’, Sept 2010 www.architectsjournal.co.uk - WAN, ‘Small Animal Hospital’, Nov 2009 www.worldarchitecturenews.com
IMAGES Archial Norr : 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, 24, 25, 28, 29 Andrew Lee Photography : cover, 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 21, 22, 34, 35, 36 Drawn by Author : 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 23, 26, 27, 30, 31, 32, 33, 37
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