34
Section
through tower
showing plumbing ser- vices and mechanical extraction (shaded)
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NEW METHODS
THE use of prefabricated structural plastics for a single building pro- ject of modest size is a bold step, taken by a young UK architectural firm, Farrell/Grimshaw Partnership. Cost figures (page 37) show that
the application is quite economic as well as offering physical and technical advantages.
The building consists of a bath- room tower block forming part of a contract for converting six Victorian houses in Paddington, London, into a hostel for the International Students' Club (C. of E) Ltd.
Located in a small courtyard at the rear of the hostel, the circular tower is conceived as a corn-cob with the plastic bathroom pods supported on a core of structural steelwork, enclosed by a spiral access ramp clad with continuous glazing.
There were several reasons for adopting this design solution. First, it was necessary to isolate the bath- room block and place it in the rear courtyard in order to gain floor space in the main hostel building. Isolating the bathroom block also avoided the expensive operation of threading plumbing runs through an existing 100-year old building.
A circular shape was adopted be- cause this produces the most compact plan-form possible (the tower is only
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