丨英国伦敦丨Henley Halebrown

architects Henley Halebrown

The Yard, University of Roehampton, London, 2011–2012

The Yard is an experimental brick court and is the first built phase of our masterplan for the University. It replaces a former trades yard and workshops. The existing Digby Stuart College chapel, and a café and shop open onto this new public space.

‘Beyond the initial sense of unity and coherence lie a variety of details that carefully articulate and suggest how the space may be used.’ Hugh Strange, 2013

The Yard gives a clear physical indication of the approach and philosophy informing the wider masterplan, making sense of the incremental and piecemeal additions that have been made to the campus over the years

The Yard refers to the type of working yard often found nearby the stable blocks of grand houses

The scheme incorporates the garden wall of James Wyatt’s grade II listed Grove House and historic garden

The new works have been completed almost entirely in brick, lending a consistent material expression to the space and presenting an essay in the use of brickwork

The historic garden wall was reduced in height, repointed and limewashed and then stabilised with new brick buttresses

The perimeter of the Yard incorporates various elements that invite a use, here a niche bench built into the wall

A new external link cut through the Newman Building links Froebel and Digby Stuart Colleges

Here, looking south to the Yard from the Newman Link

Water struck, these unusual bricks are 210mm x 48mm x 70mm, and when fired turn purple, silver, brown and red. The sheer weight of the masonry is revealed by the load-bearing Flemish-bond bench walls

Technical

Appointment: 2017

Construction start: 2011

Completion: 2012

Area: 5186m2

Budget: £1.1m

Form of contract: Traditional

Client: University of Roehampton

Contractor: Exel

Services Engineer: Michael Popper Associates

Structural Engineer: Techniker

Quantity Surveyor: Hother Associates

Lighting Consultant: CSG

Bibliography

Brick 14 (Callwey, May 2014), pp.242–245

‘Courtyard Design in London’, in: Detail - Materials & Finshes, English Edition (January 2014), pp.21–23

Hinge (Hong Kong) Jan 14 (January 2014), pp.76–81

‘Courtyard Design in London’, in: Detail - Materials & Finshes (November 2013), pp.31–33

‘First Person’, in: Brick Bulletin, Summer 2013 (2013), pp.4–5

New London 2013-2014 (July 2013), p.84

Hugh Strange, ‘Technical Flooring’, in: Building Design (10 May 2013), pp.18–199

World Architecture (China) (January 2013), pp.78–81

‘Brick Awards’, in: Brick Bulletin, Winter 2012 (2012), pp.8–9

‘Planning: Competitive Edge’, in: Architecture Today (October 2012), pp.48–49

Topos: The World of Landscape Architecture (October 2012), p.10

Awards

New London Awards, Public Space Category, (Shortlisted) 2013

Brick Award, Best Outdoor Space, 2012