About the project

The new-build pavilion sits within parkland that will act as a green heart to the surrounding homes and retail spaces created as part of the regeneration of Elephant & Castle. The building embraces nature, expressing natural materials and sitting lightly within the surrounding park. The Tree House merges with the existing landscape, encircling an existing mature London Plane tree.

The structural walls and roof slab are constructed using CLT, with Accoya timber cladding, Accoya timber stairs and bamboo decking. As well as adding a warming quality, the expressed CLT structure helps to minimize carbon
consumption in comparison to a steel or concrete structural frame, which was an essential principle for the client.

The CLT construction helped to improve efficiency, reducing construction time and the number of trips to the site. The timber has been exposed and untreated allowing it to develop character and patina over time embedding the pavilion within the park. The timber is protected from extreme and uneven weathering by raising it above a concrete plinth which extends out at certain points to become an informal seating area. A metal blade also gives protection from UV and driven rain.

Key to the design was the principle that the park flows uninterrupted through the pavilion with the elevated viewing terrace ‘floating’ above. Working with the engineers the balustrade is designed as a primary structural element that enables the CLT to achieve long spans and cantilevers allowing it to reach out to the adjacent park. The simple stair solution features solid Accoya treads that span unsupported between steel stringers. A screen of vertical Accoya battens enables the roof terrace to be closed at night.