Location: Market Harborough
Architect: GPAS
Description: Garden office
The Box has become the pet name for this project to create a garden office for Bowden Consulting Engineers. The brief for this contemporary office facility is to showcase the buildings structure and highlight the work of a structural engineer rather than hide it away as is the case in so many builds. In essence, The Box should ‘celebrate the space’ rather than apologise for it.
The building is formed from various materials to reflect the broad spread of works the practice gets involved in. The main structural element of The Box is a central exposed timber frame supporting a low-pitched timber roof. The timber frame forms a shallow arch with stainless steel tie beam at eaves level and all the connections are formed using stainless steel. The rear wall is from masonry with the remainder of the external wall is from structural timber stud which allowed the curved corners to be formed. The corners, along with the burnt larch cladding was central to the Architects brief as the curved surfaces ‘draw the eye’ and offer a more interesting building.
A traditional flat roof with a projected canopy on the south facing elevation was designed to limit the effects of solar glare but also provides the perfect location for solar panels. These along with the increased insulation and the air source heat pumps assist greatly towards the long-term aim of the building becoming carbon neutral.
This was an enjoyable project to be involved in and thanks go to all the local businesses and suppliers that were involved. It is a pleasure to come to work.
Testimonial: GL Grant & Sons, Builder
We have used Bowden Consulting Engineers on a number of our domestic builds and it was our pleasure to be involved in the foundations and exposed masonry wall for their new office. The ground dropped away at one end of the building and the design called for an exposed curved concrete structure. With the assistance of the in-house Structural Engineer, this was achieved by installing a curved plywood former and building the concrete up in increments. The former held and the end result satisfied all parties. Leaving aside his questionable taste in football teams, we have always enjoyed working with Gary.
