Imperial College Faculty Building

The Imperial College Faculty Building brings together the College's key administrative staff for the first time under one roof. The scheme also forms part of a wider masterplan to improve the environment of Dalby Court and to rationalise circulation through the heart of the campus.

The building sits at the south side of Dalby Court, a small site bordered on all four sides by existing 1950s and 1960s college buildings. The existing deck has been extended to hide the service road, plant area and electricity sub station below. A gently rising ramp cuts diagonally through the building, creating a dramatic view of the Queens Tower and a much-needed shortcut through the campus, and negotiating the 5-metre level change.

The building houses four levels of office accommodation, a combination of open-plan spaces around the central core and cellular offices at the buildings periphery. The two basement levels provide parking spaces for 30 cars and secure storage for 600 bicycles, satisfying the requirement for the entire campus.

The cladding, consisting of a seemingly random distribution of opaque panels in three shades of vivid blue, chosen by the Danish artist Per Arnoldi, responds to the path of the sun and the buildings shading requirements. Blood-orange coloured columns, along the diagonal line of the ramp, are also visible through the blue-tinted glass vision panels, further animating the facade and enlivening Dalby Court.

Amongst the buildings green credentials is the composite of recycled timber and plastic used to surface the new deck. Much of the buildings heating demand will be supplied by waste heat from the Central Heat and Power Plant, which is housed beneath the new deck and serves the entire campus. Chilled beams mounted on the exposed concrete ceilings provide efficient cooling and are housed in a bespoke ceiling element that consolidates air distribution, lighting, motion and smoke detectors, fire alarms and acoustic absorption.

Client: Imperial College
Consultants: Buro Happold, Davis Langdon, Buro Happold, Gardiner and Theobald Management Services, HCD Building Control Ltd., Jenkins and Potter, Lerch Bates Associates, Per Arnoldi, Sandy Brown Associates, Warrington Fire Research