The Lookout

The Team. Client - The Royal Parks Foundation - Hyde Park. Architect - David Morely Architects. Project Engineer - Price Myers. Main Contractor - Fairhurst Ward Abbott. Timber Structure Specialists - The Green Oak Carpentry Company Ltd.

Three pairs of primary roof beams 22 metres long are supported off tree assemblies and tie across within the roof structure to prevent spread.

The project was a negotiated contract with The Green Oak Carpentry Company heavily involved in the detailed design with David Morley Architects in the early stages. The external walls are timber stud with paired columns, connected via steel plates as shown here, and bolted together through the wall to minimise cold bridging.

Steel pins not bolts are used for the connection of the flitch plates to the column heads and spars. Our 3D model omits the tying of the paired roof beams though an essential components, as this was carried out by the builder after completion of our assembly.

These images from Andrew Holloway's book 'Green Oak in Construction' show the effects of shrinkage on green oak columns. In Sample A the radial fissuring occurs mostly in the face closest to the heart. Sample B shows how this can be controlled with a single radial saw cut. Samples C, D and E show how boring out the heart of the beam mitigates shrinkage and fissuring of the column with a 50mm diameter hole being the optimum in a 200-250mm diameter section. Boring out the column centres was carried out on all The Lookout's columns.

The Counter Bladed Scarf, face halved with 6 face pegs. Probably the best choice of scarf joint where the requirement is maximum strength of the beam in bending. Here it is used as the extending joint for two sections of the roof beam to achieve a continuous 22 metre length. Timber was selected for its natural curve to ensure continuity of grain and stability.

The building is situated in the centre of Hyde Park on the site of the old Hyde Park police station and within sight of Speaker's Corner, hence the name 'The Lookout'. It seems entirely appropriate and fun that, as an ecological educational centre for inner city schools, the walls should be decorated with plant and insect motifs.

The building has an intensive green roof and many other eco features in order to achieve the highest 'eco credentials', in line with the aspiration of The Royal Parks Foundation. Beneath the building are large water cisterns which gravity feed the fountains of St James’s Park.

We think that this building sits really well within the landscape and is a great success. A little known fact: the whole of Hyde Park has been built up by 1 metre with rubble from buildings damaged or destroyed in WWII bombing.