Tekla Awards 2024

While the judges select the winners of the six main categories, the public have the power to choose this year’s Public Vote winner. Voting closes on 31st May, and all of us at BKHS would really appreciate your support.

Beech Court Pavilion at Abingdon School, Public Project Category

Beech Court Pavilion at Abingdon School is a stunning new catering and hospitality space, designed to be a new hub for school life and enhance the student experience. Developed to integrate the existing school and theatre, the Pavilion is a striking timber structure. It features a complex steel canopy frame and feature glulam diagrid roof, utilising innovative connection design and close collaboration from the detailing to the manufacturing stages to create the unique geometry of the exposed timber and structural elements.

Challenging fabrication, design and erection of the major trusses and diagrid roof required thorough planning and collaboration from start to finish. Key consideration was given to the tight site access and maintaining a live construction site during term time which was overcome through careful planning and an innovative logistics plan. The canopy was delivered on site in only 8 weeks. A key driver for the client was designing the pavilion to maintain a connection to the outside landscape, and as such exposed structural timber was an ideal solution.

The use of a feature glulam diagrid roof ensured students benefit from the biophilic qualities of the natural materials, and the pavilion has green views in all directions. The space has been designed to facilitate changing functions throughout the day, acting as a dining room, a café, a study space and even a theatre spill out area. It also includes a sedum roof, raised beds and a tree lined approach which allows the pavilion to fit sensitively into the landscape within a garden setting. Overall, the new dining pavilion at Abingdon School is a contemporary and dynamic space which exemplifies the striking contribution timber construction can bring to the education sector.

Walworth Town Hall, Commercial Category

Walworth Town Hall is a sensitive re-modernisation project, showcasing the retrofit benefits of a hybrid timber-steel solution. After being ravaged by fire in 2013, Southwark Council and the developer General Projects sought to reinvent the property for the 21st century, taking care to restore the original 1894 features of the Hall, aiming to return it to its former glory as one of London’s truly iconic civic buildings.

A hybrid solution using a structural steelwork, cross laminated timber and glulam frame was developed to create new vertical extensions and roofs, a new mezzanine floor, and a new lift core; which further modernises the building and provides improved accessibility. Utilising structural timber for the refurbishment works has not only enhanced the sustainability credentials of the project, but also takes advantage of the lightweight benefits of the materials.

However, innovative connection design and detailing work was required to integrate and honour the original features with Tekla Structures proving an extremely useful tool in coordinating a successful project outcome. The new lightweight CLT and glulam roof and structural steel mezzanine floor will return over 50,000 sq ft of derelict space into a renewed commercial building and allow the council chamber to once again become a hub of activity. When open to the public, the community hub will be a free-to-use, purpose-built community space that can host events, seminars and leisure activities - curated by the local community, for the local community.

Thank you to all our project partners, to anyone who votes and to all the team for their hard work!