David Kohn Architects

Rooftop Pavilion . London

David Kohn Architects . photos: Will Pryce

The Skyroom is a new rooftop venue to host events programmed by the Architecture Foundation and realised by Lake Estates. Sitting above their offices on Tooley Street, the structure offers a range of rooms, both covered and open to the sky, for different occasions and uses ranging from lectures and performances to dinner parties and sun-bathing. The project opened to coincide with London Design Week on 20th September 2010.

The project features a central courtyard open to the sky, framing the rising form of The Shard being built high above London Bridge Station. A balcony cantilevered over Tooley Street offers breathtaking views through the More London development to the Thames and the Tower of London beyond.

Akin to a small theatre space, the proportions of Skyroom enable it to be occupied in a variety of different arrangements. Four niche spaces extend from the courtyard to provide an intimate setting for meeting and relaxing. On the south facade a louvred screen frames a Black Tupelo tree with purple autumnal leaves which will eventually turn an intense bright scarlet, affirming the rooftop as a new ground and a site available to be colonised by nature.

Project Details:
Client: Roger Zogolovitch, Lake Estates
Commission Consultant: The Architecture Foundation
Address: Magdalen House, 136-148 Tooley Street
London SE1 2TU
Size: 140 sq.m gross internal area
Completion date: September 2010

Project Credits:
Design Team: David Kohn, Ulla Tervo, Anna Crosby,
Olivia Fauvelle, Jamie Baxter
Landscape Architect: Jonathan Cook
Lighting consultant: David Kohn Architects
Structural Engineer: Form Structural Design
Contractor: REM Projects
Photography: © Will Pryce

Material Suppliers:
Copper Mesh Cladding: Expanded Metal Company
ETFE Roofing: Architen Landrell
Steelwork: Multisteel Construction
Inflatable Roof: Inflate
Lighting: izé