Across the North Sea in the United Kingdom, Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council commissioned a new civic office building. The idea was to relocate the staff who worked in 33 different buildings scattered around the city into one office centre. Architects FaulknerBrowns were selected to design the new building.
Accentuating surfaces, controlling sound
Part office space, part library and part community services, the building is designed to display transparent governance. There was a strong desire to not compartmentalise the building, but at the same time the design had to provide structure and visual cues to the different kinds of users. The ceiling plays an important role in this task. It helps to delimit spaces and add grandeur to the open and transparent design, while at the same time contributing to controlling the acoustics. Like vast ribbons, the ceilings help weave the floors and spaces together into an understandable ensemble. Here again, the monolithic Mono Acoustic TE ceiling not only accentuates the use of raw surfaces elsewhere in the building, but also helps guide the eye through the building and create acoustic comfort
Rochdale Borough Council
Number One Riverside
Smith Street
Rochdale OL16 1XU
