Sunderland Craft Centre wins; an Oxford College extension and two Bristol entrances highly commended

Citation

(1999), "Sunderland Craft Centre wins; an Oxford College extension and two Bristol entrances highly commended", Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials, Vol. 46 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/acmm.1999.12846eab.024

Sunderland Craft Centre wins; an Oxford College extension and two Bristol entrances highly commended

Keywords Galvanizing, Hot dip, Awards, Architecture

The new National Glass Centre in Sunderland was the outright winner at the seventh annual Hot Dip Galvanizing Awards ceremony held in London recently. Highly commended awards were given to an extension to St John's College, Oxford, the futuristic archway and canopy over the entrance to the Cribbs Causeway leisure complex and the highly individual gates of Knowle West Health Park, both Bristol.

The judges were Chris Wilkinson of Chris Wilkinson Architects, Dr Derek Tordoff, director of the British Constructional Steel Association and Murray Cook, director of Galvanizers Association.

Gollifer Associates Architects of London took the top award of »1,000 for their imaginative use of galvanized steel in the new National Glass Centre beside the river Wear in Sunderland. Galvanizing was chosen, not only because of the economic advantages, but also because it gave a natural look to the steelwork (Plate 5).

Plate 5 1999 Hot Dip Galvanizing Awards - winner: The National Glass Centre, Sunderland; Architects: Gollifer Associates

"This is is a major new public building which exploits the use of steel and glass to give a light appearance", said Chris Wilkinson. "All the external stairs, ramps, walkways and canopies, which are a fundamental part of the architecture, are constructed of galvanized steel".

Highly commened awards of £250 were made to:

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  Oxford architects Berman Guedes Stretton for St John's College, Oxford.

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  Architen of Bristol for the entrance arch to Cribbs Causeway Leisure Centre, Bristol.

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  Quattro Design Architects for the gates to Knowle West Health Park, Bristol.

Creating new space in the middle of an Oxford college requires considerable ingenuity. The job is harder still when there is only wheelbarrow access to the site. Architects Berman Guedes Stretton used galvanized steel because it was light enough to be handled by two men yet strong enough to span squash courts beneath. "A visually exciting light weight structure which uses a galvanized steel and timber truss to support the fabric canopy. It's fun!" said Chris Wilkinson.

The Bristol designers Architen created a stunning arch spanning the entrance to the Cribbs Causeway on the outskirts of Bristol. The arch, made from wood and galvanised steel, supports a fabric canopy that forms the focal point to the leisure centre. Dr Tordoff commented that it is "A novel use of galvanized steel opening up new opportunities for combination with other materials".

Quattro Design Architects of Bristol took the views of local people into account when designing the gates to the new Knowle West Health Park (Plate 6). As a result, the gates contain a myriad of messages - both written and visual. Chris Wilkinson commented: "These dramatic new gates deliver strong messages, such as 'don't take drugs', as well as fulfilling their normal security function, The use of galvanized steel is appropriately robust and maintenance free".

Plate 6 1999 Hot Dip Galvanizing Awards - highly commended (1): main entrance gates, Knowle West Health Park; Architects: Quattro Design