Three Mills Playcentre, Stratford, London

A children's welfare centre for the London Borough of Newham. The roof structure comprises a steel profiled metal deck spanning between a diagonal grid of glulam timber tied arches, which in turn are supported on steel columns. The timber arch members are reduced in size by joints using cast aluminium components which are resin bonded into slots sawn into the ends of the timber.
One of a number of children's welfare centres created for the Borough of Newham. The earlier buildings had used a 'signature' arched timber frame.

However in this instance, because of architectural constraints, this had to be integrated with a lightweight steel 'balloon frame' for the walls. This reduced the building envelope thickness and significantly maximised usable space. Also the roof utilised a 7.5 metre span profiled metal deck, fixed directly to the primary structure without purlins. The steel deck was also used to provide lateral stability to the building by acting as a shear stiff diaphragm, without using the more conventional cross bracing.

Architect Hawkins Brown and Architects