Alejandro Zaera-Polo on the Birmingham station project鈥檚 atrium cladding

Alejandro Zaera-Polo

In response to your story 鈥溾�� (page 10, 28 February) - for the record, we have never been commissioned to develop the construction documents of the atrium cladding, despite the fact that this package was awarded to a subcontractor two-and-a-half years ago, to be developed as a design contractor鈥檚 package.

After being told last spring that the girders were to be left unclad, we were told last October to work on a solution to cover the girders partially with fabric. We declined to engage in this exercise because it was against our remit to preserve the integrity of the design concept. The concept of the atrium is to insert arches that will make the girders over the new atrium and the columns of the existing structure melt into a single whole which blurs the difference between the old and the new. We can not see how this design concept and performance specifications of the package can be met by using fabrics to clad the girders.

As the fabric can not be used on the lower level because of fire and durability constraints, the arches will have to be partially clad in fabric and partially in plasterboard or another fire-resistant material, which will destroy their tectonic integrity. The fabric is also against the 60-year lifespan performance specification that we were originally asked to design for, and will have to be re-tensioned periodically. Its aspect will become over time substantially different than the areas clad with plasterboard.

Despite the huge delay that the design of this package is carrying forward we are certain that we are still on time to deliver the original design in time and budget, with the collaboration of the project managers. We are happy to explain how, and who the subcontractors who can do it are, if somebody cares to hear.

Alejandro Zaera-Polo, AZPML

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