HOK reveal design for British Embassy in Jakarta
HOK has released the first images of its dynamic design for the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office's new British Embassy building in Jakarta.
The 3,800 sq m scheme is designed over three levels and is located on a 1.5
hectare site in central Jakarta.
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The design, expressed in a spiralling form, folds around a central protected
courtyard and twists up and outwards to form the Embassy's public entrance
invoking a sense of calm assurance. Sustainability is a key design
consideration and challenge: Jakarta is in a highly seismic zone with excessive
humidity levels; rain falls for eight months a year. Currently the design has
been assessed as Excellent under the BREEAM rating. Site security has also
influenced the scheme and is the logic to the centrally located building
footprint.
The public and private functions within the building are separated with public
services located on the ground floor and private Embassy functions located
above. The public courtyard brings the tropical landscape into the heart of the
building with a contained and controlled environment, very different in
character to the lush landscape around the building.
Water recycling is important: all rain water falling on the structure will be
collected, stored and used for irrigation and grey water purposes; this will
also reduce the burden on the City's water systems. To help eliminate solar
gain, the Embassy is designed on an east-west axis.
HOK's project director, Andrew Barraclough comments: “This is a fantastic
project in a truly challenging climate. We're giving considerable thought to
the use of locally sourced materials to give an excellent life cycle. We want
the building to appear as if it's been hewn from a single piece of stone to
provide a sense of solidity and security.”
The FCO's project sponsor added: “HOK's challenge is to balance the design to
realise both security and accessibility. This is being achieved with considerable
thought being given to the environment.”
HOK is collaborating with MACE the FCO's Strategic Partner, Ramboll Whitby Bird
as structural, facade and MEP engineers; and TPS as security advisors. The project is due to complete in 2011.