Alison Brooks Architects

The Smile

The Smile

Alison Brooks Architects

The Smile
© Alison Brooks

ARCHITECT IN CHARGE
Alison Brooks

OTHER PARTICIPANTS
Arup, American Hardwood Export Council

PHOTOGRAPHS
Alison Brooks, AHEC, Guy Bell, Paul Riddle

AREA
136 m²

YEAR
2016

LOCATION
Greater London, United Kingdom

CATEGORY
Installations & Structures

The Smile
© Guy Bell

Text description provided by architect.

Alison Brooks Architects has collaborated with The American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), Arup and the London Design Festival to present a cross-laminated tulipwood structure, ‘The Smile’ at the Chelsea College of Art Rootstein Hopkins Parade Ground from 17 September until 12 October.

The Smile is one of the Festival’s Landmark Projects, which can be inhabited and explored by the public. The spectacular, curved, tubular timber structure measures 3.5m high, 4.5m wide and 34m long and is effectively a beam curving up at both ends.

The Smile
© Paul Riddle
The Smile
© Guy Bell

Showcasing the structural and spatial potential of cross-laminated American tulipwood, Alison Brooks' concept is the first ever ‘mega-tube’ made with construction-sized panels of hardwood CLT.

ABOUT CROSS LAMINATED TULIPWOOD

Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is an engineered timber that can be used to make the walls and floors of entire buildings.

The Smile
© AHEC
The Smile
© Paul Riddle

It has a layered construction with the wood fibres turned at right angles in each successive layer, creating a panel with equal strength in both directions, just like plywood.

Weight for weight, CLT is stronger than concrete and it can also be machined to incredibly high tolerances. This makes it ideal for prefabrication and rapid assembly, reducing construction times by up to 30%.

The Smile
© Paul Riddle
The Smile
© Paul Riddle

CLT is usually made of a softwood called spruce, better known as the Christmas tree. Together with Arup, AHEC has started a process of experimenting with CLT made from fast-grown North American tulipwood.

Testing has shown that the tulipwood is considerably stronger than spruce; it also has a superior appearance.

The Smile
© AHEC
The Smile
© AHEC

The Smile is the first project in the world to use large hardwood CLT panels, in fact the entire structure is made from just 12 huge tulipwood panels, each up to 14m long and 4.5m wide.

Fabricating these panels in a real CLT production plant has been an important step forward, showcasing how the material can be used for commercial projects.

The Smile
© Alison Brooks


The Smile
© Alison Brooks
The Smile
© Alison Brooks
The Smile
© AHEC
The Smile
© AHEC


The Smile
© AHEC
The Smile
© Paul Riddle
The Smile
© Paul Riddle
The Smile
© AHEC
The Smile
© Guy Bell
The Smile
© AHEC
The Smile
© AHEC
The Smile
© AHEC
The Smile
© AHEC


The Smile
© AHEC
The Smile
© Alison Brooks
The Smile
© Alison Brooks
The Smile
© Alison Brooks
The Smile
© AHEC
The Smile
© AHEC
The Smile
© Paul Riddle
The Smile
© AHEC


The Smile
Elevation
The Smile
Elevation
The Smile
Site Elevations
The Smile
Sections


The Smile
Section


The Smile
Roof Plan
The Smile
Floor Plan


The Smile
Courtesy of Alison Brooks Architects

The Smile
Site Plan

Alison Brooks Architects
T +44 20 72679777
Alison Brooks Architects
Studio 610, Highgate Studios, London NW5 1TL, United Kingdom