Arup Associates

Believe in Better Building

Believe in Better Building
© Simon Kennedy

BELIEVE IN BETTER BUILDING

Arup Associates

ARCHITECTS
Arup Associates

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS
Capita Lovejoy

CLIENT
Bskyb

MANUFACTURERS
B&k Structures, Glassolutions, Imperial Roofing, Keltbray, Lusas Fitout, Pj Careys, Taylor Made Joinery

ENGINEERING
Arup

ARCHITECTURE
Arup

COST CONSULTANT
Aecom

PROJECT MANAGER / CONTRACT ADMINISTRATOR
Capita

MAIN CONTRACTOR
Mace

PHOTOGRAPHS
Simon Kennedy

VALUE
£25m

AREA
3850 M²

YEAR
2014

LOCATION
Isleworth, United Kingdom

CATAGORY
Other Facilities

Text description provided by architect.

Conceived as a home for Sky’s Believe in Better schools outreach and academy training programmes, the Believe in Better Building has a clear social idea based around community focus, education, and super-flexibility.

Believe in Better Building
© Simon Kennedy
Believe in Better Building
© Simon Kennedy

Arup Associates took the project from inception to site in three months and the project was completed in one year. The first multi-storey timber commercial office in the UK, it demonstrates the use of offsite prefabrication and timber construction to achieve a unique workplace in half the normal time-frame.

Part of the brief was that the spaces should be adaptable over the long-term and none of the main spaces were conceived with fixed uses in mind:

Believe in Better Building
© Simon Kennedy
Believe in Better Building
© Simon Kennedy
Believe in Better Building
© Simon Kennedy

partitions slide and unfold to interconnect a shifting landscape of creative thinking rooms and party spaces alternating as venues for breakout, clusters, mingling, informal meeting and school party role playing.

A large, open-plan, column free space accommodates large meetings and gatherings, and room partitions are designed to achieve enhanced acoustic separation commensurate with the potential multi-media teaching in adjacent rooms.

An open staircase rises through the triple height atrium to the rooftop terrace and restaurant.

Believe in Better Building
© Simon Kennedy
Believe in Better Building
© Simon Kennedy
Believe in Better Building
© Simon Kennedy

At first and second floors the stair width is increased to incorporate breakout spaces, providing not only circulation, and visual communication across the floors and out to the plaza, but creates a social and interactive focus to the building.

The building is an exemplar of sustainable design, focused on creating specific, holistic, integrated conditions for optimising the health and well-being of Sky’s staff and visitors: quality day-lighting, air quality, natural material selection including the extensive use of natural wood, and a design that adapts itself to the user’s requirements.

Believe in Better Building
© Simon Kennedy
Believe in Better Building
© Simon Kennedy

This building is an inspiring place for creativity and learning, a showcase and public face to Sky as well as an inviting multi-functional amenity for the staff and visitors to Sky to use.


Believe in Better Building
Floor Plan
Believe in Better Building
Floor Plan
Believe in Better Building
Floor Plan
Believe in Better Building
Floor Plan
Believe in Better Building
Floor Plan
Believe in Better Building
Floor Plan
Believe in Better Building
Floor Plan
Believe in Better Building
Floor Plan


Believe in Better Building
Elevation
Believe in Better Building
Section


Believe in Better Building
Site Plan
Believe in Better Building
Site Plan

Arup Associates
T +44 20 76361531
Arup Associates
8 Fitzroy Street, London, London W1T 4Bq, Gb, United Kingdom