Secondary ribs generally radiate toward the perimeter of the crypt from
two circular nodes in front of the altar.
Westminster Lodge, Dorset, is one of several experimental timber
buildings at Hooke Park that explores environmental architecture. It
consists of eight single-bedrooms gathered around a central 8 m by 8 m
living space. Roundwood thinnings, not normally considered of struc-
tural value, comprise its structure. Extensive research and development
of pole-splices and other connection details confirmed the structural
adequacy of this form of pole construction. After poles were spliced,
they were bent to form a grillage of interlocking beams that span the
main space and form the shallow curved roof (Fig. 6.8). The beams con-
sist of two pole-chords spaced apart by timber blocks. Diagonal timber
sarking that bears on the upper level of the poles, carries the weight of
a turf roof.
Although exposed poles and lintels modulate the interior painted plas-
terboard walls and further express the roundwood framing system, the
roof structure has a greater aesthetic presence in the interior space.
The following factors combine to achieve a most visually satisfying roof
structure – the close 600 mm grillage module, the gentle roof curvature
that reflects the relative ease of bending small-diameter green poles, the
depth and stratification of the five horizontal layers of structural mem-
bers including the sarking, a level of structural complexity that can be
comprehended, and finally, a natural peeled and trimmed pole finish.
108 STRUCTURE AS ARCHITECTURE
▲6.7 Güell Colony Crypt, Barcelona, Spain, Antonio Gaudí, 1917. Columns support an
inner arcade ring and the textured ceiling above.
