amanda levete architects: 10 hills place

10 hills place by AL_A
images courtesy amanda levete architects

amanda levete architects  have created an ingenious sculptural facade for a new office
building just off london’s oxford street.

the project is levete’s response when asked by her client to adapt and extend
an existing commercial building - a hybrid of an ornate and well-mannered corner piece
fronting oxford street and a less distinguished three-storey 1970s addition to the rear,
containing a retail unit on levels one and two and offices above.
the architects were shifting the emphasis from oxford street to hills place, by placing a lightweight
steel frame on the existing concrete structure, and applying a new skin to bring presence to a
previously boring building. 
at ground level a bespoke glass, mesh and dichromatic film sandwich is animated with fibre
optics to create visual depth of field and a moiré pattern on an otherwise blank facade. 
the skin continues down to the ground, enveloping the existing building.

lack of daylight in the narrow streets around this major retail artery was a key issue.
'we looked at how artist lucio fontana would slash it to create a distorted, deformed surface
from something that was initially flat.’ said levete.
'an intervention that subtly draws attention to the building by the intrigue of a sculptural
facade cut by glazed areas orientated towards the sky, maximizing the natural light
available in this narrow street’.

the facade is fabricated using curved aluminium profiles assembled on-site.
self cleaning glass and hidden gutters within the eyelids ensure the facade remains low maintenance.
the fine faceting of the aluminium strips creates beautiful and complex reflections of sky
and street, making the building highly visible from oxford street.




images courtesy amanda levete architects
the facade is fabricated using curved aluminium profiles assembled on-site.

images courtesy amanda levete architects


images courtesy amanda levete architects


images courtesy amanda levete architects

images courtesy amanda levete architects


images courtesy amanda levete architects


images courtesy amanda levete architects


images courtesy amanda levete architects

start on site february 2007
completion date september 2009

external floor area 1,321square meter
client clarendon Properties
project manager MGPM
main contractor powells group
structural engineer akera engineers
service engineer barn partnership
acoustic engineer hodgson and hodgson acoustic consultancy division
facade frener & reifer