This visitor centre in Redbridge, England, by UK firm Sarah Wigglesworth Architects features a zig-zag roof with oversailing wooden trusses.
Situated in the heart of Ray Park, The James Leal Centre becomes a gateway to the Roding Valley and contains leisure and education facilities.
The north-facing sides of the roof have a shallow pitch and are covered in solar thermal collectors, while the south-facing sides are steeper and admit indirect natural light.
A translucent canopy covers a forecourt to the west, which can also be used as an outdoor gallery.
Photos are by Mark Hadden.
Here's a bit more from the architect:
Ray Park Visitor Centre, Redbridge, London
2006 - 2009, £1.2 million
Located on elevated ground on the site of the former 18thC Ray House, this new sustainable building acts as a gateway to the Roding Valley Corridor, providing recreation and leisure facilities.
The flexible open plan space contains a café, exhibition, internet and toilet facilities, a teaching/training space and the Greenspace Team’s office.
An external translucent canopy defines a large forecourt to the west that acts as a gathering zone and outdoor exhibition area with cycle and disabled parking facilities.
The cafe extends south over a new terrace adjacent to raised planting beds which grow edible plants for use in the café.
The brief for a sustainable building is reflected in the roof form. Multiple pitches support solar thermal collectors on shallow south faces while steeper north faces allow good roof light.
The design includes passive earth tube cooling and a biomass boiler.
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See also:
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| Cremorne Riverside Centre by Sarah Wigglesworth Architects |
Bermondsey Bike Store by Sarah Wigglesworth Architects |
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No comments? Oh no, it does not reflect anything. Oo, it's not uber shiny….
I love this building. Simple, amazing roof structure. Would have liked some floor plans, though
I wonder who first started orientating roof trusses east west for sun rather than with the grain of the floor plan below. So simple but brave.
Pretty Ugly to say the least. Why bother trying to clad the building in steel when the budget obviously isn't there. It looks cheap and the detailing will look even worse in two years time.
It looks like a public works garage or some sort of storage shed more than it does a place where one can introduce visitors to the local area.
I don't get any sense of "welcome, please come in".
regards,
G.
love it!! well done SWARCH!
"The north-facing sides of the roof have a shallow pitch and are covered in solar thermal collectors, while the south-facing sides are steeper and admit indirect natural light."
Is this actually what she's done? Surely it makes more sense to do it the other way around.
reckon that's a typo, there must be a southern hemisphere temp in the dezeen office. if you check the photos and the drawings, the steeper side is definitely the north side admitting diffuse northern light.
A hideous structure that does nothing for the fine young man to whose memory it is dedicated.
For four years James and I, together with Clare Cooper, served the same ward as members of Redbridge Council. James was a bright young man who would have had a brilliant future had he not been so cruelly cut down at such a youmg age.
May he rest in peace, and light perpetual shine upon him.