Inside unit 2 looking towards the (still incomplete) new inner wall of unit 5
The transformation of mezzanine unit 5, originally open and interconnected by a stairway down to unit 2 (see photo here), is well underway. The two spaces will be separated with unit 5 increasing it’s floor area slightly. The changes became necessary as a result of workshop users need for more space. It is hoped that the stepped, dense, glulam timber beams forming a new wall between the two units, combined with extra sound insulation, will substantially reduce noise levels in unit 5 from machine-work being carried out in unit 2, the large workshop space below. The use of glulam timber here reflects the material already in use on the stair treads and walkways in the atrium as well as making some reference to the dense, recyclable blocks of the original internal walls in the rest of the building (see photos here). A degree of interconnectedness between the two spaces will remain: two outward-opening horizontally-oriented slit windows, hinged from above, currently await glazing.