The Import Building - Heyne Tillett Steel & Studio RHE
ST Awards 2018 - WINNER - Commercial Project of the Year
The Import Building is a new destination workplace that has been created as part of the wider Republic masterplan in East India Dock, Tower Hamlets. It has been specifically designed to appeal to the world’s fastest growing and dynamic businesses and is an exceptional example of the use of cross laminated timber (CLT) and glulam.
Developer Republic
will create 650,000sq ft of high-quality, low-cost workspace with a wide range
of amenities and extensive public space. The masterplan will be realised in two
phases. Heyne Tillett Steel (HTS) completed phase one in early 2018 with the
extensive refurbishment of Anchorage House, now known as The Import Building
and has been created as part of the wider Republic masterplan in East India
Dock, Tower Hamlets.
HTS provided the structural design for the integration of an exposed timber
structure into the atrium of the existing nine storey RC framed building,
sitting over a single basement. Phase 1A of the project included partially
infilling the atrium with an exposed glulam frame with CLT slabs to soften the
aesthetic of the 1990s frame and extend the lettable area. The new structure is
connected to the existing RC frame at each level to take the additional loading
back to the original load paths with a series of bespoke structural connections
between timber and concrete. Phase 1B included infilling the existing external
arcade around the perimeter at ground floor level and adding a two-storey
pavilion into the south-east corner of the building.
To view the full article please go to Special Edition 2018.
