How we cracked it 14: Visa

section, German Embassy,

Belgrave Square, London
30 September 2005

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Related Files
Bernhard Blauel of Blauel Architects explains how cables of high-
tensile steel stopped applicants for German visas from throwing things
at diplomats
Step 1. Addressing security issues
The German Embassy along London’s Chesham Place is a bare-faced concrete
building designed by German architects Walter & Bea Betz in the brutalism genre.
In the wake of attacks on high-profile embassies around the world, the building (in
operation since the early 1970s) attracted the scrutiny of German security
inspectors.
The visa section inhabits a lofty double-height space in the core of the
administrative extension to the rear of the ambassador’s residence.
The design of this space came under criticism because the void not only provides
much needed airspace for the busy visa section but also connects the public area
with the offices of German officials.
This was now considered a serious problem, as employees were exposed to objects
that could be hurled from the public space through the void into the offices behind.
Step 2. The challenge
We were commissioned by the German government to find a way to separate the
public area from the internal offices.
It was suggested that the double-height volume could be enclosed with security
glazing or that a horizontal concrete slab could be inserted into the void, as in the
above illustration.
But on close inspection we found that the double-height space acted as a plenum
for the return air and that physical separation of the two spaces would necessitate
the renewal of the entire fresh air supply ducting layout.
This would have resulted in the temporary closure of the visa section and an
escalation of cost.
Step 3. The options
Since we wanted to maintain the airiness of the void, we ruled out any solid, air-
tight separation between the public areas and offices above. We produced a
number of possible solutions:
 Installing a horizontal glass membrane with perforations that would take
vertical air duct extensions from the ceiling.
 Creating an open grid that would allow the free flow of air. This seemed a
good option, but stretching synthetic materials across the large space resulted in
unacceptable sag.
 Using high-tensile steel wires that could be stretched tautly across the void.
Objects flung up into the space would be deflected by the wires. This final option
solved our dilemma.
Step 4. The inspiration
Our attention was drawn to a new high-tensile steel that had come onto the market.
This material made possible the shallow curving tension cables of the Millennium
Bridge and was used to almost imperceptibly suspend the glass bridge above the
main hall at the Science Museum.
We produced a membrane of tautly tensioned thin steel wires, similar to the cords
of a grand piano, that would separate the space.
Step 5. Installing the wires
In collaboration with engineer Whitbybird, we developed a design to adapt this
new steel wire for our needs. The newly found material overcame the problem of
sag, but the forces on the ring beam around the perimeter, to which the steel is
attached, were substantial.
The ring beam is a stainless-steel hollow tube or frame mounted to the perimeter
floor slab of the balcony which overlooks the void. A single ring beam would have
needed to be too large. So we reduced it by dividing it into two intermittently
connected stainless-steel beams. They efficiently counteract the lateral forces in
tandem and are supported by new 15mm security glass balustrades. Whitbybird
produced a schedule for the tensioning of the wires in a prescribed pattern to
prevent the whole plane from flipping under uneven tension.
We exchanged the lights in the ceiling with long-life fittings and diffusers, which
evenly illuminate the double-height space. Looking up from below, the wires are
almost invisible against the light. Looking onto the wires from the offices above,
they appear like a fine glistening veil floating in midair.
Postscript:
Bernhard Blauel is a principal at Blauel Architects.
Have you solved an architectural problem in an ingenious manner? Contact
Amanda Birch on 020 7921 8213 or email abirch@cmpinformation.com

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