The Alex Monroe Studio in London was presented at the AT Awards live finals on 7 November 2022 at the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health to a jury comprising, Marion Baeli, Sarah Allan, Deyan Sudjic, Roger Harrabin, Ben Derbyshire, and Chair Catherine Burd. Read about how the project has stood the test of time, below.
The building acts as a visual bookend to the original terrace. Credit: Dennis Gilbert/View
Jeweller Alex Monroe commissioned DSDHA to restore, and build on top of, an Edwardian single-storey shopfront and basement within the Bermondsey Conservation Area to create a studio and boutique.
Three new floors operate as a separate ‘container for crafts’ above the refurbished shop. The main structure, internal finish, and worktops are all constructed from prefabricated cross-laminated timber panels, sourced from sustainable forests. The use of this material has removed 27.1 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere, removed the need for internal finishes and minimised ongoing decorations and repairs.
The main structure, internal finishes and worktops are all constructed from prefabricated cross-laminated timber panels sourced from sustainable forests.
Furniture has been built-in and designed specifically for each part of the jewellery-making process, using the same sustainably sourced timber, designed ergonomically to optimise the use of the limited footprint.
The staircase creates a stack effect to enhance natural ventilation. Fire-rated windows on site boundaries are compliant yet openable to create cross ventilation. Generous glazing gives good levels of daylighting, while deep window reveals provide passive solar control, and zinc cladding elements to the larger south-facing glazed areas modulate direct south light to prevent overheating.
Section showing the staircase, which creates a stack effect to enhance natural ventilation.
A bespoke pigmented zinc façade, handmade by metalworkers on site, picks up on the reddish-brown tones and colours of the surrounding buildings, and changes in luminosity throughout the day. Vertical fins animate the façade and control views in and out of the building.
The structure acts as a visual ‘bookend’ to the original terrace and provides a range of functional, well-lit spaces comprising a basement studio for machine tooling, a boutique store, administrative floor, jewellery-making workshop and atop-floor dining/meeting room with direct access to a spectacular roof terrace with views across the city.
