Architects Datafile - 02.2020

E

further avoids any sense of “feeling

compressed into a tube.”

In terms of structural engineering, the

first span creating the public promenade is

straightforwardly broken into three sections

of supports, with a pile at each junction,

and the triangular platform is fixed onto

further piles. However the gangway is

floating, like the pontoon, which has a pair

of ‘dolphin’ piles holding it place in the

river. The gangway section, despite being

longer, is a single span, a more pleasing

visual result which required “working very

closely with the engineers to work out how

we could do it in one piece, rather than cut

it up and bolt it back together on site.”

The pontoon that houses the waiting area

is a neatly designed, rhomboid in plan

structure which exploits the change in level

necessitated in the second section of the pier

by the first section being flat for the benefit

of the public. Leaving the gangway, users

arrive at the top of wide wooden stairs

which continue around the space as seating,

like a miniature amphitheatre, and are given

a “nice overview of whole space.”

Users may also descend the final metre

and a half to the floor level by a ramp,

which wraps around the rear of the seating

area; the ramp is separated from the seating

area by a semi-enclosed timber screen wall

that offers waiting commuters protection

from the wind. Dempsey explains how this

successfully addresses the level change: “We

wanted to keep it as level as possible on the

promenade, so the challenge was how do

you design that ramp in an integrated way

so it feels a natural part of the pontoon

rather than a separate mode of access stuck

in the corner.” In the evenings the ‘wrapped’

nature of the screened seating “makes for a

comfortable space that people don’t feel

intimidated to spend time in.”

The shelter’s form is “defined by its cut

and folded butterfly roof,” say the

architects, helping accentuate a feeling of

68PROJECT REPORT: TRANSPORT FACILITIES & PUBLIC REALM

WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK ADF FEBRUARY 2020

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