By Katie Dominy / 24-06-2010

Set for completion next year, London-based drMM (de Rijke Marsh Morgan architects) has conceived 'de Ark' as a new design studio space for its growing architectural practice.

Design.nl spoke to drMM founding partner Alex de Rijke at the opening night of the exhibition which is currently being held at The Dutch Cultural Pop-Up Space. The impetus for 'de Ark' came both from the need for a larger work space, as well as a long-held ambition of the practice to make use of the city's key waterway, the River Thames.

De Rijke told us, "We bought a large Dutch barge 62 metres long by 6.6 metres wide, that had been working for 50 years, and restored it to make it ship shape. Our office will then be craned 'as a laminated timber-box' into the hold. This works with our philosophy of mobility and economy." The 'wooden cigar box' measures 30 metres long and 450m2. The office space on the middle floor will contain desks for each of the 30 staff members, created from the leftover panels cut away to form windows (pictured). The lower deck will accommodate meeting rooms, cafe and sports area. The top deck will be an open space of 5 x 30 metres - enclosed by a pneumatic (air-filled) roof - that can be used for exhibitions and events. This event space can be used for hosting cultural programmes in the UK and Northern Europe, as the barge will be capable of visiting most cities that are situated by water.

For this and other projects, drMM has made the use of cross-laminated timber one of its key policies. Whereas other materials produce serious carbon emissions in their production, timber has a positive record in this area. de Rijke explained how drMM work with timber from Austria, from small family estates who plant three to five trees for each tree they cut down. Using a mix of spruce and fir, fast-growing softwoods, the timber is developed into the laminate by specialists KLH. De Rijke has delivered lectures on the theme of 'Timber is the new concrete' in which he states that whereas brick defined the 18th century, steel frame the 19th and concrete the 20th, timber is the material for the 21st century. Furthermore, drMM has a strong ethic for an economy of use, whereby no part of the materials on a project go to waste.

A mooring in central London has been secured for the barge, which will cross from Belgium to Thamesmead this summer to be fitted with its wooden 'cargo' before taking up residence at a still-secret waterside location.

The exhibition is accompanied by a series of lectures and presentations that locate the project within the broader context of architecture and water.

drMM's 'de Ark' project continues at the Dutch Cultural Pop-Up Space until 10 July 2010, at 40/42 Riding House Street, London W1W 7ET. 

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