WELCOME

INITIAL IDEAS

UNLOCKING THE BUILDING'S POTENTIAL

INVOLVING PEOPLE

MAKING PLANS

TOWARDS A MASTERPLAN

IN SEPTEMBER 2008, A FIRST ATTEMPT AT A CONSOLIDATED DESIGN WAS CREATED, DRAWING ON THE CONSULTATION OF THE PREVIOUS STAGES.

In September 2008 a first attempt at a consolidated design was created, drawing on the consultation of the previous stages. The Advanced Feasibility Report was produced by Haworth Tompkins, marking the point where a preliminary scope of work and cost plan could be constructed for the whole building.

We invested heavily in the early design phases in the belief that the more time spent exploring design options, the more successful the transformation of the building will be. This innovative approach to phasing the project required a reconsideration of conventional architecture process, adopting elements of conventional process where beneficial, and where necessary, seeking new ways of working.

Making Plans SLIDER

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KEY POINTS

Design Team Meeting

This is a snapshot of the design team meetings.

Steve Tompkins

Steve Tompkins is the Director of Haworth Tompkins Architects. 

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FROM SCRATCH TO PLAYGROUNDING

At that time, the objectives were:

  • To improve the building for artists, staff and visitors
  • provide equal access and make the building compliant with current legislation
  • install 21st century technology for users of the space
  • spend time and energy developing our plans organically in partnership with artists and audiences
  • Rediscover the building as it was originally intended, celebrating the architecture to create an extraordinary found space.

The report laid out an outline design scheme which was intended to realise these objectives:

  • Home – accommodation, administration, production, hearth
  • First floor promenade of flexible spaces
  • Reinstating the central court – access, light, roof garden
  • Grand Hall and Town Hall Road
  • Permanent/Plug & Play infrastructure and fabric upgrade
  • Technical production wing

It proposed a phasing structure over five years so that:

  • the building can remain open to the public
  • so that the construction work can be programmed alongside the other Battersea Arts Centre work strands
  • so that the scope of each phase dovetails with Battersea Arts Centre’s fundraising capacity

For the full Advanced Feasibility study click here  

ENGAGING WITH THE RIBA PROCESS


Steve Tompkins

Steve Tompkins is the Director of Haworth Tompkins Architects.

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ENGAGING WITH THE RIBA PROCESS

The Playgrounding process provided a non-traditional route during development of the plans for the building allowed us a greater flexibility, it was important for long term planning, and for engaging funders to ensure that we had a masterplan that could follow the route of the RIBA process.

This is a set of guidelines outlined by the Royal Institute of British Architects that organises the process of managing and designing projects and administering contracts into a number of key work stages. At this point in our design we were at a stage C-. Later on we went on to create a stage C plan for the whole project, including Playgrounding ideas, which could be used for communicating the project more widely. We saw the main masterplan as a magnet, to which the smaller playgrounding projects run in-house by Battersea Arts Centre, were iron filings. They were freer in their approach but were always true in their principles to the masterplan.

For more information on Playgrounding in the context of the RIBA process click here.

PLAYGROUNDING CASE STUDIES

FINDING FUNDING

THE MASTER PLAN

NEWS