Difficult Sites: Architecture Against the Odds
Architects often produce their most inventive work when confronted with a challenging site.
Coventry city centre (1962) by Bill ToomeyRoyal Institute of British Architects
What is a difficult site?
A difficult site could be an irregular urban plot, or a location containing existing buildings, archaeological remains, or transport infrastructure. It might be subject to flooding, lie within a protected landscape, or be subject to legal constraints.
Proposed redesign of Parliament Square, Westminster (1949) by Gordon CullenRoyal Institute of British Architects
These conditions can demand inventive solutions from architects, who navigate competing challenges to achieve a building that works for its site. Here are four 20th century examples from the UK.
The forecourt of the British Library (1998) by Photographer: Janet Hall and Architects: Colin St John Wilson & PartnersRoyal Institute of British Architects
The British Library
At the British Library, architects Colin St John Wilson and MJ Long encountered many of these issues. The site was on an awkwardly shaped plot, with complex transport infrastructure and historic buildings close by.
The British Library: early sketch for the entrance portico (1998) by Colin St John Wilson and MJ LongRoyal Institute of British Architects
Built on a former railway goods yard, a set of restrictive conditions set by Camden Council further challenged Wilson and Long. The project brief required space for 3,500 readers and 250,000 books, plus offices and exhibition spaces.
The British Library: axonometric drawing of proposed phased construction (1998) by Colin St John Wilson and MJ LongRoyal Institute of British Architects
The site was an awkward wedge shape, further complicated by the presence of two underground train lines beneath. Planning conditions set strict height limitations and required a public space at the Euston Road entrance, meaning that much of the building was set underground.
St Pancras Chambers, Hotel and Railway Station (1930) by Sir George Gilbert ScottRoyal Institute of British Architects
To the east of the site was the Midland Grand Hotel, George Gilbert Scott’s Gothic masterpiece built in 1873. Camden Council’s planning guidance required the library frontage to be set back and restricted to a height of 15m, to keep the silhouette of the hotel visible.
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When completed, the library was the largest public building built in Britain during the 20th Century. Wilson and Long’s design declined to impose a monolithic form on the surrounding area. Instead, their scheme broke down the building into a series of smaller components, making it appear much smaller.
Design for the new headquarters of the London Electric Railway Company, 55 Broadway (1927) by Adams Holden & Pearson and Sir David Muirhea BoneRoyal Institute of British Architects
55 Broadway
Decades earlier, when Charles Holden was selected to design a new headquarters for the Underground Electric Railways of London in the 1920s, he found a site similarly constrained by its dense urban context: an awkward tapering corner site that included St James's Park Station.
Design for St James's Park Underground Station (1929) by Adams Holden & PearsonRoyal Institute of British Architects
The first section of the District Line had been completed using the ‘cut and cover’ method: workers dug trenches, built tunnels and then backfilled the trenches. When work began on the new offices, large steel girders were needed to build a new tunnel to cover the railway lines just 8 metres below the surface.
Headquarters of the London Electric Railway Company (later London Underground), 55 Broadway (1929) by Adams Holden & PearsonRoyal Institute of British Architects
Holden’s design maximised daylight on the office floors by creating street facing windows for each employee. He achieved this with an unusual tapering cruciform scheme, with each wing rising to 80ft, the maximum allowed under planning regulations at the time.
Coventry Cathedral (1940)Royal Institute of British Architects
Coventry Cathedral
In November 1940, Coventry was hit by one of the most intensive bombing raids of the Second World War, leaving its medieval cathedral burnt out. After the war, Basil Spence won a competition to propose an appropriate architectural solution for this highly sensitive site.
Design for the porch of the Cathedral Church of St Michael, Coventry (1057) by Sir Basil SpenceRoyal Institute of British Architects
Spence’s scheme preserved as much of the original cathedral structure as possible, proposing that it would act as a symbolic entrance to the new building.
Coventry Cathedral: the new cathedral rising above the ruins of the medieval church (1962) by Sir Basil Spence and Photographer: Henk SnoekRoyal Institute of British Architects
The new cathedral creates a symbolic embodiment of the journey from sacrifice to the triumph of the Resurrection and was designed in a modernist style to amplify the message of renewal and hope for the future.
The National Gallery and St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square (1970) by William Wilkins and James GibbsRoyal Institute of British Architects
The National Gallery
Additions to historic institutions can lead to highly charged public debates regarding the style of the new proposals. In the early 1980s, the empty plot of land next to The National Gallery in London became the site of the most politicised battleground in modern British history.
Unexecuted proposal for the National Gallery extension project, Trafalgar Square (1984) by Ahrends Burton & Koralek and Photographer: John DonatRoyal Institute of British Architects
A proposed extension to the Gallery, a design by Ahrends Burton Koralek (ABK), was criticised by the Prince of Wales as being unsuitable, a view subsequently amplified by the press and politicians. The furore led to planning being refused and the proposal was dropped.
Model of the final revised design for the National Gallery extension, Trafalgar Square (1983) by Ahrends Burton & KoralekRoyal Institute of British Architects
ABK’s High-Tech proposal would have introduced an undoubtedly bold new architectural language to one of London’s best-known public spaces, with the glass and steel tower intended as a contemporary response to the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields on the opposite corner of Trafalgar Square.
The Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square (1991) by Venturi Scott Brown & Associates and Photographer: Martin CharlesRoyal Institute of British Architects
In 1985 a new competition was held, won by Venturi Scott Brown and Associates. At first glance, the scheme appears to follow the neo-classical language of the main gallery. On closer inspection, a series of ‘columns’ reveal themselves as entirely decorative.
The Sainsbury Wing, The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, Westminster, Greater London (2015-01-19) by Chris Redgrave, Historic EnglandHistoric England
The Sainsbury Wing case highlights how both people and place can shape the eventual design of a new building. Like the other examples, its architecture can be read as a response to both a difficult site, and to an energetic public debate about what makes a good building.
Battersea Power Station, London, under construction (1931) by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott and James Theodore HallidayRoyal Institute of British Architects
Does this make you see construction sites differently? Look closely, and you might find that there's more to a building's final form than initially meets the eye.
This story is inspired by the RIBA exhibition, 'Difficult Sites: Architecture Against the Odds'. Find out more.
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