Richard Rogers

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content

1. theory 1.1 city and context 1.2 public domain 1.3 legibility 1.4 flexibility 1.5 energy

2. practice 2.1 profile 2.2 model shop

3. work 3.1 Antwerp Law Courts 3.2 Bordeaux Law Courts 3.3 Lloyd’s of London

1. theory 1.1 city and context Cities are the physical framework of our society, the generator of civil values, the

engine of our economy and the heart of our culture. In England, one of the three most

densely populated countries in the world, 90% of the population live in cities, but many of

our urban centres are not sustainable. Large areas of dereliction, poverty and empty

quarters, destroy the sense of community and vitality, urban sprawl erodes our

countryside.

Today, with the increase in life expectancy, the decrease in birth rate, increase in divorce

rate and the potential for less pollution in our post-industrial society, the city has once

more become man's natural habitat. Compact polycentric cities are the only sustainable

form of development and should be designed to attract people. If we don't get urban

regeneration right then all our work on cities - buildings and public spaces, education,

health, employment, social inclusion and economic growth - will be undermined.

Sustainable urban development is dependent on three factors; the quality of architecture,

social well-being and environmental responsibility. The compact sustainable city is

multi-cultural with a hierarchy of density, has a mix of uses and tenures, is well

connected with a coherent public transport, walking and cycling infrastructure, is well

designed both in terms of public spaces and building, and is environmentally responsive.

The Richard Rogers Partnership has an extensive track record in sustainable urban

regeneration - examples include masterplans for the East River Waterfront in

Manhattan, a large mixed use development in Seoul, Korea, Convoys Wharf on the

banks of the River Thames, the urban context for the new stadium at Wembley in West

London, the regeneration of former docklands at Almada, Lisbon, ongoing schemes in

Granada, Mallorca and Rome, as well as competition designs for Potsdamer Platz in

Berlin, Piana di Castello near Florence and the Pudong Peninsula in Shanghai.

1.2 public domain Public space between buildings influences both the built form and the civic quality of the

city, be they streets, squares or parks. A balance between the public and private domain

is central to the practice's design approach. Buildings and their surrounding spaces

should interrelate and define one another, with external spaces functioning as rooms

without roofs.It is the celebration of public space, and the encouragement of public

activities that drives the form of the practice's buildings. It is the building's scale and

relationship with the street or square that helps to encourage public activity and create

a people-friendly environment.

The public domain, in this case, extends from the square up the facade of the building in

the form of 'a street in the air' , a great diagonal escalator crossing the facade to connect

all the floors. The Pompidou Centre, including its piazza has become the most visited

building in Europe with spontaneous street theatre and other events in the piazzas

complimenting the activities within the building.

The concern for public space continues to be firmly embedded in the vision for the

practice's work. In a recent project located in the City of London, for a high-rise office

building at 122 Leadenhall Street, seven of its 48 storeys are dedicated to cafés,

restaurants and other public facilities within a large south-facing volume connected to

an existing plaza which flows through the building uninterrupted at ground level.

The enormous scale of this space is unprecedented in London, and will become the focal

point for the project as well as a major new meeting space contributing to the vibrant

life of the City. The project is a fine example of how private and public domain can

combine to contribute to the quality of our cities.

1.3 legibility Work, leisure and domestic activities are becoming interchangeable, leading to the

creation of open-ended, flexible structures such as the Pompidou Centre, the

Wimbledon House, 88 Wood Street, and Barajas Airport in Madrid. These buildings,

with their legible facades and logical form, relate directly to both the user and

passers-by. Buildings such as these make legible the historic forces of the time: how

they are constructed, their relationship with their context, and what they are used for,

and in doing so, bring a new dimension to the way people interact with the built

environment.

The structure of buildings set the scale, form and rhythm of the architectural

environment, within which change and improvisation can take place. Scale is given as

much by the design of the details as the building as a whole. Lightness of structure,

transparency and layering are dominant design factors in the work of the practice.

Colour is used for a variety of reasons, including to affect the mood of the building, and

to humanise and change the apparent nature of materials.

Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners are searching for a more subtle world between solid

and transparent, a sequence of spaces where the eye is lead through overlapping strata,

where light and shadow enhance the impression of transparency, for example in works

such as the Bordeaux Law Courts, the Antwerp Law Courts, Lloyd's Register in London,

Madrid Airport and Hesperia Hotel in Barcelona.

The practice endeavours to employ technologies that sustain rather than pollute, that

are durable rather than replaceable, and that add value over time rather than falling prey

to short term economies. Structure and the conservation of energy play a major role in

giving form to our buildings. Speed, cost and energy efficiency often contribute a

lightness of structure, transparency and clarity of design. Many projects have been

developed that explore to a very high degree the use of alternative sustainable energy

solutions.

1.4 flexibility Today's buildings are more like evolving landscapes than classical temples in which

nothing can be added and nothing can be removed. Open ended, adaptable frameworks

with large, well-serviced and well-lit floors, on the other hand, offer the possibility for a

long life span for the building and a variety of possible uses. Office occupiers require

flexible spaces in order to respond to contingencies in business life; they need to be able

to extend and adapt buildings. A concept that incorporates a high level of standardised

design will facilitate change.

For functional reasons we always create clear zoning between servant and served

spaces within a building. We often separate and juxtapose the services with the mass

of the building; in practical terms the part of the building which is inhabited has a long life,

whereas the technical services have a short life and therefore need to be accessible for

change and maintenance. By separating the mechanical services, lifts, electrics, fluids

and air-conditioning from the rest of the building, inevitable technical developments can

be incorporated where they are most needed to extend the life of usable core space. The

articulation of the services and core building creates a clear three-dimensional language,

a dialogue between served and servant spaces and a means of creating flexible floor

space. Standardised large floor-plates with services placed on the perimeter have been

successful in commercial buildings such as 88 Wood Street and Lloyd's Register, and

allow for flexible tenancies that respond to the changing demands of the office market.

The masterplans are defined by an holistic approach allowing for enough flexibility to

accommodate changes over the lifespan of a city, in order to meet market demands. The

practicalities and concept of a public place should be inherently flexible in order to

respond to changes such as transport and density.

The masterplans are predominantly not derived from form alone but are concerned with

facilitating the movement of people between places, creating a critical mass for

successful people spaces and the potential for land to accommodate different uses over

time.

1.5 energy Over the last thirty years, it has become clear that the risk associated with climate

change will pose serious challenges to society. Architects are constantly presented with

the challenge of creating durable buildings that respond to a changing environment.

Architects have a major role to play, given the fact that 75 per cent of global energy

consumption is produced by buildings and transportation. Buildings, neighbourhoods and

cities should be designed to minimise pollution and carbon emissions. This implies not

only using renewable energy sources (including wind, sun and water), but designing

energy efficient buildings and masterplans that encourage vegetation and biodiversity.

New urban developments need to be designed with the ultimate aim of achieving carbon

dioxide neutral environments. Working with clients and the public to increase

awareness of the benefits of environmental design can help form the basis for a brief,

and result in buildings that contribute positively to the city.

Structure and the conservation of energy play a major role in giving form to our buildings.

Speed, cost and energy efficiency often contribute a lightness of structure, transparency

and clarity of design. Many projects have been developed that explore to a very high

degree the use of alternative sustainable energy solutions.

2. practice 2.1 profile

RSHP is an international architectural practice based in London, currently working on a

range of high profile projects including; two office buildings in Washington DC; an

extension to the British Museum in London; One Hyde Park, a luxury residential

development in Knightsbridge; a major mixed-use development in Scandicci, Italy;

and a wide range of major

masterplans in cities across

three continents.

The practice is currently

participating in the Greater

Paris project, which looks at

the future of the city as a

more integrated

metropolitan region as it

faces the social and

environmental challenges of

the 21st century.

2.2 model shop The custom designed in-house

modelshop facility at RSHP has

been established since 1990 and

forms an integral part of the

design process. Models

communicate on many levels,

encapsulating the design intent

as a whole as well as being

persuasive, beautiful objects in

their own right. The department comprises a core of five permanent full-time

modelmakers supplemented by freelancers. The workshop has three areas, a large

flexible workroom with CAD workstations, an extracted machine space with a separate

paint spray room and a photography studio which enables us to produce high quality

digital images of models in a short space of time.

As well as using traditional cutting, shaping and vacuum forming machines our

modelmakers can work from sketch ideas to produce CAD drawings - these are then

used to laser cut a kit of parts in order to construct a high quality model in a time frame

that would not have been possible without this technology. There is no house style -

every model is designed as a unique response to a specific need within the design

process. Particular attention is given to the scaling effects of colour, grain and

proportion to avoid a 'toytown' look.

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3.2 Bordeaux Law Courts

Richard Rogers's reputation rests on structures, such as Llyod's of

London and the Pompidou Centre with Renzo Piano, that display their

inner workings on the building's exterior. So in these works their

appearance is a residue of the buildings interior. The elevations tend to

work on a micro level, though, with well thought-out details and unique

structural solutions. On the macro level the buildings are a cacophony of

parts, grouped together according to their corresponding functions.

Therefore this design process is limiting, though instantly recognizable.

Recent work by Richard Rogers Partnership has incorporated more

arbitrary formal elements and shifted the focus of structure and detailing

from primary considerations to design devices.

The form of the building reflects the

environmental research that informed the

whole design process. The design team were

committed to embracing a passive energy

strategy, without conventional

air-conditioning, which would none-the-less

provide comfortable working spaces and low

running costs. The orientation of the building

on the site shields the vulnerable glazed

spaces from the hot summer sun, while

maximising natural day light. At the same

time, the placement of the office wing along

�the Cours d Albert filters noise and pollution

from the busy road.

The pool acts as a heat-sink and air passes

through a heat-exchanger, extracting air from

the offices. The cycle is completed as supply

air from the atrium is drawn into the offices

through hollow ribs in the concrete slab,

making maximum use of the thermal mass of

the concrete to provide cooling and heating,

depending on the season. On the facades,

opening windows and manually operated

aluminium louvres provide shade and limit the

ingress of unwanted solar gain to the office

spaces.

The courts themselves are ventilated by the

stack effect of warm air rising and exiting at

roof level, a process that is assisted by the

conical forms, with fresh air introduced

mechanically at very low velocity at floor level.

In addition, the textured timber surfaces of

the concave-walled interiors provide

speech-perfect acoustical conditions

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The Room is housed on the lower four levels and all vertical movement

within The Room is by a central escalator system, providing easy and

open access to the first four levels.