Chris Dyson selected to design arts centre

Chris Dyson Architects has been chosen to design a new home for Harrow Arts Centre in north London.

The practice’s winning proposal is intended to evoke the style of earlier farm buildings in the Hatch End and Pinner area, as well as referencing current neighbouring buildings which include a listed school and industrial buildings.

The brief from Harrow council requires rooms for public use and a suite of artists’ studios and workspaces.

Chris Dyson说，最初的想法包括锯齿形屋顶的布置，倾斜的高层玻璃向北对齐，这将允许对面的屋顶斜坡容纳朝南的太阳能电池板。朝北的屋顶将自然光线引入工作室空间。

An L-shaped arrangement creates a “yard” space overlooked by classrooms at ground level and studios above.

Dyson said: “Our aspiration is to design a new building with its own identity, responding to a specific programme while also sensitively complementing neighbouring heritage structures.

“Our intention is to create clear, legible and direct relationships with all external spaces.”

The site is surrounded by the Royal Commercial Travellers School, a collection of industrial buildings, a boiler house, laundry and workshops.

The new building’s external cladding is intended to respond to this architectural language, said Dyson.

Strong, slim beams and boards of laminated beech lumber made from 3 ply veneer layers will be constructed off-site and hoisted into position, reducing on-site time and improving overall construction quality.

A ground-source heat pump will be sunk close to an adjacent culvert to harness the lower temperature generated by the tunnelled river.