Crash Pad Apartments Design Statement
High Logan Architects
'Crash Pad' Apartments Development
ST GEORGE'S STREET, DOUGLAS DESIGN STATEMENT
The brief for this project was to design a notable, modern building for a corner site in Central Douglas to accommodate small 'crash pad' style apartments along with a bar/restaurant facility and other commercial space. In general it is anticipated that these apartments will be used by business people employed in commerce and the finance industry that do not live permanently in the Isle of Man. The site is located on the eastern corner of the junction of St George's Street and Hope Street. The proposed development takes the same general form and mass as that approved under PA 02/00939/B which was for a development of 22 apartments and associated car parking.
Within the building the apartments are arranged to be either forward and west facing over St George's Street, or rear and east facing towards St George's churchyard. On the top three storeys there are six forward facing and four rear facing apartments. The main apartments entrance is located on Hope Street. To the side of the entrance is a stair and lift which serve all storeys including the lower ground floor. A fire escape stair serving all levels is located at the south-eastern end of the building discharging onto St George's Street.
The bar/restaurant is located at the ground floor level with it's entrance on the corner accessed on the level from Hope Street and by some steps up from St George's Street. A car park to accommodate ten parking spaces is located at the ground floor level with it's entrance from St George's Street alongside a small commercial unit.
The proposed building is four storeys in height over a partly concealed basement. The transition to the adjoining four storey building on St George's Street is achieved by stepping the building down half a storey over the fire escape stairs at that juncture. The top storey is set back and clad in light blue cladding panels. On the St George's street elevation the first and second floors are expressed as an off-white smooth rendered box floating over a fully glazed ground floor. Beneath the glazing the basement storey is expressed in dark brown cladding within which the car park entrance and ventilation grilles are set. The framing to all windows is dark grey to give emphasis to the whole opening rather than the subdivisions within the window.
The building is set back from St George's Street on its corner with Hope Street. The ground floor glazing is returned back across the restaurant entrance to give further emphasis to the floating box effect. The Hope Street elevation is characterised by a pair of mid-brown painted towers flanking the main entrance to the apartments. The tops of the towers are clad in white and sloped in to give further emphasis and to hide the lift overrun and ventilation plant. Between the towers the building is clad in light stained cedar boarding surmounted by a metal guard rail.
The remainder of the Hope Street elevation and the whole of the rear elevation is clad in smooth off-white render beneath the set back to the top storey. A mid-brown recessed render panel is aligned with cedar clad doors to the electricity substation. The adjoining refuse store is surrounded by an off-white rendered wall with cedar clad gates. The rear elevation is stepped back in three places reflecting the shape of the site and providing added interest. The lowest two storeys of this elevation will be hidden by the churchyard wall. The top three storeys will be viewed through a screen of existing trees within the churchyard itself.
December 2006
Hugh Logan Architects Bridge Court 10 Bridge Street Castletown Isle of Man
