SubscribeRubber floorcovering catches the public's eye On 23 July 2002, Queen Elisabeth II inaugurated London's City Hall, designed by the architects Foster and Partners to house the capital's revamped administration. Since then, on the south bank of the Thames, Londoners have been able to access a building, which has given tangible shape to the idea of democratic transparency in a modern-day metropolis.
Keen attention to detail, using high-quality, eco-friendly building materials like the nora® rubber floorings from Freudenberg, has translated the architects’ vision into aesthetic reality.
The preliminaries
Back in 2000, thanks to Prime Minister Tony Blair, London once again received a city administration of its own, called the Greater London Authority (GLA), following 14 years in which the capital had no democratically elected city council and no mayor (the somewhat differently structured previous institution had been abolished by Blair’s predecessor Margaret Thatcher). In 1998, initial ideas for the City Hall and its location led to a short-list of seven designs, with the Londoners, too, being asked for their verdicts. The responsible ministry in London opted for the plans submitted by the globally operating, London-based architect Lord Norman Foster. The client involved was More London Development Ltd, from whom the GLA subsequently rented the building.
Urban planning considerations
Though the City Hall has illustrious neighbours, being opposite the Tower and quite near Tower Bridge, it is located in what was originally a built-up, socially deprived area facing away from the water, now designated the “More London” urban regeneration area. The new building represents a vital contribution by Foster and Partners to a comprehensive upgrading of the Thames’ south bank.
The Greater London Authority
The City Hall forms the workplace for the Mayor and the 25 elected members of the GLA, and accommodates the offices of the authority’s more than 500 staff.
The principle of sustainability
The architecture and engineering of the building, with its concrete core, have been designed to save energy. This consideration dictated the alignment and circular shape of the building, which reduces the area of the façade. The assembly chamber’s glass façade is aligned northwards, so as to minimise the amount of direct sunlight. The structure leans backwards, storey by storey, to the south, thus achieving natural shade for the story below in each case. A sophisticated monitoring system, natural ventilation of the office areas, and a cooling system utilising ground water, all contribute towards ensuring that the energy consumption is only about a quarter of that needed by a conventionally air-conditioned design. The building was completed in 30 months, on budget and on time.
Accountable accessibility, both figurative and literal
Foster’s idea of creating an open forum for London’s citizens, who can quite literally enjoy an approachable democracy in action, governs the entire access concept for the building, situated as it is directly on the present-day embankment: visitors enter it either at ground-floor level or via a sunken piazza with an adjoining public café. Here, too, there’s an ellipsoidal exhibition space, above which is the variable-size assembly chamber, the central location for London’s political world, with seats for 250 citizens and journalists. From the exhibition area, an ellipsoidal ramp about half a kilometre long leads through all ten storeys to the top of the building, offering a succession of views over the city and into the offices of the staff, the city councillors and the Mayor himself.
The ramp in the assembly chamber
On the first two levels, the ramp surrounds the ellipsoidal chamber as a solid access area. In the chamber itself, the ramp recommences, and twists in a free-flowing, lightweight, ever-decreasing spiral – held by a mere 12 tie-rods – over the heads of the politicians through the air up to the building’s roof. This public area, known as “London’s Living Room”, includes an outside terrace with magnificent views, and is used for events and celebrations.
The flooring
Not only for the building’s architecture and construction, but for the materials used as well, Norman Foster and his team attached equal importance to aesthetics, function and sustainability. So for the ramp and the public roof area, they opted for a nora® rubber flooring from Freudenberg Building Systems, headquartered in Weinheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The installation work was handled by the English company Rees Flooring from Watford, who worked closely together with the English branch of the world’s leading producer of rubber floorings. The plain-coloured, discreetly grey, slightly structured hammerblow surface, appears uniformly smooth, and in some lights almost reflective, with the 2500 m² of rubber flooring fitting in well amidst the predominant materials of steel and glass, and the room’s dominant façade.
The architects’ decision
The architect Max Neal, co-responsible in the City Hall project team, explains why the architects opted for the square tiles of the norament system: “In contrast to the first two levels, where we laid ceramic tiles, the ramp in the assembly chamber is in a stair configuration. That’s why here we used a material which was not only attractively priced but can also be cut precisely to size at the steps, and seamlessly installed. We also attached high importance to minimising noise levels from pedestrian traffic. And the flooring has a lot of other technical advantages as well.“ Further characteristics are: eco-compatibility, exceptional wear-resistance and a high level of walking comfort thanks to permanent resilience. The rubber flooring chosen also meets special fire protection requirements and thanks to its UV-resistant mixture will not become brittle. For Foster’s team, continues Max Neal, there was another significant factor as well: “We wanted it simply because it looks good.” – And it is confidently expected to keep on looking immaculate.
Statement from the Mayor’s office
The Greater London Authority’s staffs are enthusiastic about their new workplace. “We like working here, and the building makes it easier for us to communicate with each other”, explains Duncan Jeffery, press spokesperson for London’s Mayor Ken Livingstone. He recalls the Reichstag Building in Berlin, rebuilt by Foster a few years previously, with its glass dome and a spiral ramp. Foster developed this theme at the City Hall. To quote Jeffery: “The ramp is not only one of the building’s most prominent features; it also embodies the transparency and accessibility of London’s regional administration in its dealing with its citizens.”
London’s City Hall was designed by the team of architects at Foster and Partners as a symbol for democracy and sustainability. The theme of a stepped ramp outside is continued in the interior, up to the public roof area; photo: Nigel Young / Foster and Partners
The 250-meter-long ramp is fitted with a nora® rubber floorcovering from the German company Freudenberg Building Systems, Weinheim. The floor is exceptionally wear-resistant, and eco-compatible, thus meeting Lord Foster’s wish for sustainability in the choice of construction materials as well. The rubber flooring contributes towards ensuring good acoustics; photo: Andreas Förg / Freudenberg Building Systems
Maximally high-precision craftsmanship: achieved for the glass panels of the façade by computer-aided laser-cutting, for the rubber flooring by a truly professional firm of English specialists trained by the German manufacturer. Each tread of the 130 steps is unique, with differing side radii and sizes; photo: Andreas Förg / Freudenberg Building Systems
For further information on Freudenberg’s nora® rubber floorcoverings, please contact:
John Pean
Key Account Manager
Freudenberg Building Systems UK Ltd.
Tel: +44 (0) 7836 337 608
Email: John.pean@freudenberg.com