St Albans Hypocaust

A new pavilion to house an in situ Roman hypocaust and mosaic, located in a municipal park. The building was designed to make apparent the relationships between the remains of the invisible city beneath the grass, the current activities in the park and the contemporary town of St Albans. The material construction of the facade used oyster shell aggregate to reintroduce Roman building materials; the tilted mirror soffit gives glimpsed views both from outside and inside the building and the planted roof relates the structure to the surrounding park. Taking into account the sensitive nature of the site, by using mini piles, the foundations were kept extremely discreet to the satisfaction of English Heritage.

Architect: MUF, Client: St Albans City & District Council, Completed: 2004