New Herbarium and Library Wing, RBG Botanical Gardens, Kew
1 / Introduction
The Herbarium at Kew Gardens is the world’s leading centre for the study of plant diversity. The new wing brings long awaited additional space to house Kew’s priceless collection of botanical specimens, providing an expertly environmentally tailored home to a vital slice of natural history and future research.
Compensating for the sheer weight of such a vast compendium whilst preserving its viability and providing offices, reading room space and linking the building seamlessly to the existing Kew complex placed a substantial task before our team.
Such a huge volume of research, specimens, rare books and illustrations requires an extraordinary storage system. Our multi-disciplinary team assessed the stress the weight of such a system would place on the building and collaborated with Edward Cullinan Architects to produce a multi-faceted solution. Archeologically sensitive foundation investigations of the site and the surrounding buildings led our ground engineering experts to design a raft foundation which would resist the weight of the archives and control the pressure placed on the surrounding buildings.
In tandem with the foundation solutions, our structural engineers conceived a reinforced concrete frame topped with steel arches supporting a curved roof slab that was formed on site. This solution works alongside the raft foundations to deflect the huge weight stress produced by the roller racking storage systems in the archives. Simultaneously, the ‘thermal mass’ of the concrete ensures the stability of the collection by helping to neutralise temperature changes outside.
From the BREEAM Excellent rating to the exposed fair face and subtle strength of the concrete frame, the new Kew Herbarium and Library Wing offers a beautiful example of the quality of joined-up, multi-disciplinary engineering solutions.
Key facts
- Archeologically sensitive investigations
- Reinforced concrete frame
- Rated BREEAM Excellent
Related Disciplines
The Project Details
Client: Royal Botanic Gardens
Architect: Edward Cullinan Architects
Buro Happold services: Ground Engineering, Infrastructure, Facades and Structural Engineering