Darwin Centre Phase II, London
Client: Natural History Museum
Architect: C.F. Moller
Mechanical and electrical engineers: Fulcrum Consulting
Contractor: HBG Construction Ltd
Winner of the Institution of Structural Engineers’ Award for
Arts or Entertainment Structures, Danish architect CF Moller’s
stunning-sprayed concrete pod protects the Natural History Museum’s
20 million dry insect and plant specimens, provides a working area
for research scientists and enables the public to interact with the
scientists and the collection.
The free-form sprayed concrete shell is the perfect response to
the architectural form and environmental requirements.
The overall building comprises eight storeys planned around the
central atrium space in which the 65m long cocoon houses the
collections.
The main drive for the choice of the material and structural
form was the integrated pest management requirements.
These ensure that living pests do not damage the invaluable
collection! Temperature control and smooth surfaces are
essential.
A continuous, sprayed concrete, shell, typically 250m thick
supporting the internal flat slabs maximises the internal net area
by avoiding the need for perimeter columns. It provides thermal
mass to maintain temperature within the cocoon environment.
Appropriate software was used both to optimise the overall shape
and determine the reinforcement.
The single model file was the core of communication with the
contractor. Sloping reinforced concrete columns were used to
provide temporary support to the edge of the slabs in advance of
shell construction. They were subsequently demolished.
The cost of the 2800m2 concrete shell was on budget
at £1,900,000, which is significantly less than the costs of the
alternative solutions.
The Darwin Centre, and specifically the cocoon, is an excellent
example of the efficient delivery of an innovative, highly
functional, geometrically complex and attractive structure.