AFRICA HOUSE | London | pre planning

The existing space is grand, Victorian neo-classical.   It has grown tired with age and suffered from a succession of ad hoc additions and alterations.   The proposal aims to calm the space visually and reinforce its primary asset; the shallow-domed central volume. To achieve this a tall arched screen is pinned off the existing structure at the back of the volume.   This contains the entrant's view and conceals chaotic and unsightly elements behind.   The reception is placed at the centre of the volume.   Its narrow form facilitates movement through the confined space and alludes to its primary function as sentry post.   A new travertine floor is introduced over the prescriptive patterning of the existing and a lighting disc set into the uppermost concentric ring of the dome.