YONDER II: BOULDERING GYM & CO-WORKING SPACE

This year brief asked the students to develop a proposal for a bouldering gym and co-working space for Yonder LTD, which would accommodate Client's growing needs. In essence, the design requirement was to replicate the existing facility at a larger scale and within a purpose built building, exemplifying a sustainable approach to design and construction, and exploring opportunities offered by timber as primary construction material and portal frame structure. The selected site, commonly referred to as the Bridgewater Triangle, is on the southern edge of the world-famous Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford. The design development was guided by a comprehensive site analysis and based on robust precedent studies, resulting in a proposal utilising BauBuche columns, CLT floors and walls, glulam curtain frame supporting glass panes and translucent polycarbonate cladding, all crowned by a sawtooth roof resembling mountain peaks. The co-working space and café are on mezzanine floors, oriented around central triple-height atrium, accommodating the tallest of the bouldering walls. The new building is approached from 3 directions, taking full advantage of the site layout. The proposal sets high standards for achieving access for all building users, especially people of different physical abilities.