Digital Studio at Oxford Brookes School of Architecture, Oxford

This design studio occupies the top ﬂoor of a 1960s concrete framed building. It is a big room – 30 m long with a 3.6 m ﬂoor to ceiling height. The concrete surfaces were causing sound to reverberate around making private conversation impossible. To counteract the resonance of the hard surfaces a series of proﬁled Melatech foam sound absorbing bafﬂes have been suspended on isolating hangers from the ceiling.

Photo credit: Nicholas Kane

Four cable trays running the length of the studio contain ﬂuorescent batten light ﬁ ttings. Power and data cables are threaded through wire eyelet guides and dropped down to new workstations below in bright yellow air-line conduits. Purpose-made wire coat hangers hook over the cable tray.

The workstations themselves have a steel carcass. A plinth is formed from 50 x 25 mm box sections electro-resistance welded to minimise distortion and mounted on a 10 mm thick base plate. The plinth is clad in 1.2 mm gauge folded steel with a lockable door where a computer can be stored. The desktop is designed to take the weight of a person standing on the end of the 800 mm cantilever. The fabricator worked hard to reduce the thickness to only 41 mm. An 18 mm MDF top is stiffened by a framework of paired 20 x 10 mm steel box sections welded to very tight tolerances. The outer faces are clad with steel panels.

Photo credit: Nicholas Kane

Architect: Niall McLaughlin Architects

Desk Fabricator: Isis Concepts Ltd

Two-thirds of the desktop is an opening lid on concealed Soss hinges with two 700 Newton gas struts to aid movement. The lid conceals a cable and storage tray. The inner desk surface is ﬁnished with laminate and the inside of the lid has a steel panel where drawings can be magnetically pinned up. The lid is formed from welded 20 x 10 mm box sections with rigid polystyrene inﬁll to reduce local deformation. All the steel panels are nylon powder coated (NPC), which is eight to ten times more durable than polyester powder coating.

1. Ceiling

Existing concrete sofﬁt made good and painted with matt emulsion.

2. Acoustic bafﬂes

1200 x 600 x 75 mm bafﬂe custom cut from Melatech foam.Class 1 ﬁre rated wire-isolating hangers ﬁxed into concrete sofﬁt with expanding anchor bolts.

3. Cable tray

300 mm wide perforated galvanised steel cable tray.Galvanised hanger rods ﬁxed to concrete sofﬁt with expanding anchor bolts.Paired 1500 mm long ﬂ uorescent battens with cool white lamps mounted so that only lamps are visible from below.Single 1200 mm long ﬂ uorescent battens with ultra-violet lamps to up-light sofﬁt.Galvanised steel bent 4 mm rod with mounting plate ﬁxed inside cable tray to guide cables from desks.Power and data sockets mounted inside cable tray.

Section through workstation

Floor plan, scale 1:400

Typical bay plan with reﬂected ceiling services, scale 1:100

4. Desk lid

2.0 mm gauge nylon powder coated (NPC) steel casing.20 x 10 mm paired steel box section frame electro-resistance welded.20 mm thick extruded polystyrene inﬁll between box sections.1.2 mm gauge nylon powder coated steel inner panel.

5. Opening mechanism

Two 700 Newton gas struts bolted through steel panels back to frame.Five Soss hinges screwed to metal brackets welded to steel box section frames.

6. Inner desktop

1.6 mm laminate surface.Inset folded nylon powder coated steel storage tray with cable outlet.18 mm MDF base.20 x 10 mm paired steel box section frame electro-resistance welded.1.5 mm gauge nylon powder coated steel under-panel.

Section through ceiling

7. Plinth

1.2 mm gauge nylon powder coated steel outer cladding panels.Lockable door formed from 1.2 mm gauge nylon powder coated steel sheet.Shelf for computer formed from 1.2 mm gauge nylon powder coated steel sheet.Structure formed from electro-resistance welded 50 x 25 mm steel box section.

8. Base

800 x 800 x 10 mm thick nylon powder coated steel base plate on rubber feet.

9. Floor

2.5 mm linoleum glued to prepared concrete slab.