Select materials unify Bennetts Associates’ new headquarters for the Royal College of Pathologists

Buildings.

The Royal College of Pathologists has relocated to a new building designed by Bennetts Associates. The completion of the 4500 square metre building on Alie Street in Whitechapel, east London, marks the final step in the college’s move from a grade-one-listed building in the Nash-designed Carlton House Terrace in St James’s, to contemporary purpose-built premises. Its design is intended to address the college’s mission to advance the science and practice of pathology and to better serve its membership.

The new building is conceived to accommodate the college’s changing space requirements in the coming decades and help it meet its strategic development objectives. It provides a multitude of flexible educational, workplace and social spaces as well as meeting and working areas for visiting members. The generous event spaces are adaptable to accommodate large conferences, dinners, receptions and exhibitions, for members, guests and external clients.

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The building uses materials and artefacts to reflect the character of the Royal College, with social areas, staff offices and education spaces that reference the college’s history and look to its future. As a key feature, the building’s sixth floor steps back, creating an open-plan pavilion with panoramic views over London.

The large double-height reception space can be used for hosting public exhibitions and events while the full-height windows at ground floor level provide transparency and a sense of openness.

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Environmental efficiency plays a key role with exposed concrete coffered slabs used throughout to form part of the passive cooling strategy. By increasing the surface area of thermally active concrete, the environmental efficiency of the building is significantly improved. The large atrium brings light into the deep plan office spaces and the core, set to one side, providing optimum daylight penetration and flexibility for a building constrained by party walls on either side.

Designed to endure, the building features timeless materials. A carefully crafted concrete frame unifies the building and integrates structure, services and lighting. The brickwork cladding, also present in the grand atrium, stitches the spaces together. The structure features large spans and few columns for built-in flexibility. Board-marked concrete, coffered concrete soffits and waxed mild steel staircases are complemented by rich walnut timber panelling and perforated brick walls.

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Brick: Brickwork is used on the external faces of structural columns and walls, where the grey-brown colour tones well with the surrounding mix of red, buff and grey brick buildings on North Tenter Street. The flush mortar is black on the external walls to help unify the brick surface. Dressings and string courses are in a natural precast concrete. An identical brick is used internally to highlight the flank walls of the main double-height spaces, but here the brickwork is textured and used in an open hit-and-miss bond which conceals black acoustic foam. This helps to temper the internal reverberation of these social spaces.

Bronze anodised aluminium: The external face of the glazing features bronze anodised aluminium on sun-shading fins and to clad the attic storey which contains overnight accommodation and plant. Anodising was used to preserve the natural metallic quality of the aluminium, to provide subtle variation in colour between panels, and to harmonise tonally with the palette of raw finishes used elsewhere on the building (brick, natural concrete, waxed steel). The glazing system is designed to appear as a background element in the facade design, allowing the deep brick piers and concrete fins to dominate.

Steel: Waxed mild steel is used on the open staircases that link the floors in the three main social spaces. This treatment preserves the natural mill finish of the steel plate which has a pleasing variation in tone. Stairs are of monocoque construction, with the solid handrail continuously welded to the steel treads to achieve stiffness. The thin steel plates sit in contrast to the substantial concrete main frame of the building. Waxed mild steel is also used as the core material for open balustrading and for the nine-metre- high entrance screen where it supports vertical timber fins and glazing.

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Timber: Walnut has been used throughout the interior to achieve a consistent tone which visually harmonises with the brick and exposed concrete. Ii is used in plank form on the floors of the key spaces and as a veneer on wall panelling in the main function room and break-out space. The panelling is routed out to achieve acoustic control where required. Walnut is also used in sculpted solid form in the handrails on the steel stairs, and for the bespoke door handles of the main function space where its warmth and tactile quality contrast with the sharpness of waxed steel.

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Concrete: The exposed concrete frame, visible throughout the interior, plays an important part in defining the substantial character of the building. The coffered slabs were formed with GRP moulds and incorporate a suite of integrated fittings including lighting, acoustic panels and chilled beams which were applied as required. On vertical surfaces, such as columns, core walls and on the inside face of the external walls, the concrete is board-marked with sawn 75mm larch planks. This achieves a tactile finish which harmonises with the adjacent brickwork and timber panelling.

Printed glass panels: The access panels in the toilets have been custom designed with images which represent the work of the college. Enlarged images of pathological samples, including cancer tissue, cells and bacteria, are used across the thirty-plus cubicles in the building. The images were fused to the back of glass sheets which in turn were applied to a standard cubicle system. The playful use of these images is said to be very popular with building users.

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