Project Title: Avenham Park Pavilion
Location: Preston, Lancashire
Wood Species Used: GLULAM BEANS, SPRUCE PLYWOOD, DOUGLAS FIR
Project Description:
In February 2005 McChesney Architects won an RIBA competition to design a new pavilion for Avenham Park in Preston. The project forms the centrepiece in a Heritage Lottery Funded scheme to restore the landscape, buildings and artefacts in two adjacent parks, namely Avenham and Miller Parks.
Edward Milner, the noted English landscape gardener, originally designed the two parks in the 1860’s and these are thought to be the best surviving examples of his work today. The building comprises a classroom, café, toilet facilities, ranger’s base and small intimate performance space to the outside.
The building is located at the southwest corner of Avenham Park at the foot of a natural amphitheatre. The shape of the building when looking from above is a tapering crescent or horn shape. It has a sculptural roof made up of an array of large sloping plate forms. The north elevation is fully glazed and the south elevation is less transparent, with the overhang of the roof providing shade to a proposed external café area. The building is raised up on a new earth plinth to protect it from flooding. The new plinth is shaped to form an amphitheatre and performance space to the north.
The roof structure is constructed entirely of timber. Each of the large roof plates uses a stressed skin principle, whereby plywood skins ether side of timber joists act together to form a strong composite structure.
The roof comprises the following key timber products:
Glulam beams at the main downstand positions Steico I joists set between the glulam beams
Spruce plywood skins fixed above and below the steico I joists Kerto ply fascias
The main glazed wall to the north also utilises a timber structure.
A standard aluminium glazing section has been fixed to mullions formed of kerto ply which again would match the spruce of the soffits.
External doors and windows are all constructed from Douglas Fir.
Finally internal joinery items have been constructed from birch ply to match the selection of chairs and tables.
BUILDING: PRESTON CITY COUNCIL
ARCHITECT: MCCHESNEY ARCHITECTS
BUILDER/MAIN CONTRACTOR: JOHN TURNER & SONS
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS: ATELIER ONE
JOINERY: JTS JOINERY
WOOD SUPPLIER: CAREVALUE (ROOF STRUCTURE)
