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MonolithStudio

Process

Approach

Six stages, in the order we work through them on every project. None of them is skipped, and none is finished until the building is: we go back to the site the week before handover.

Section 1 of 6

Site

Every project starts with a walk, a measured survey and a section through the ground. We draw what is there before we draw anything new.

Link to this stage
Site diagramA section through the ground: the terrain line, two strata below it, the ±0.00 datum, five survey points and the walked route across the site, drawn in red pencil.±0.00Survey pointThe walkClaySand
Fig. 01 · SiteNot to scale

Section 2 of 6

Mass

We test the brief as volumes first: plaster blocks on a site model, cut and recast until the mass sits. Most decisions are made at 1:500.

Link to this stage
Mass diagramThree plaster blocks on a site model at 1:500, a taller earlier version of the middle block shown dashed, and a void cut into it in red pencil.First cast: too tallCut50 m · 1:500
Fig. 02 · MassNot to scale

Section 3 of 6

Structure

The structure is the architecture. We work with engineers from the first week so that the spans, walls and cores are the building, not hidden behind it.

Link to this stage
Structure diagramA structural plan: a lettered and numbered grid, two load-bearing walls, six columns and a stair core, with the 12-metre spans dimensioned in red pencil.ABCD12312.012.012.0Core
Fig. 03 · StructureNot to scale

Section 4 of 6

Material

As few materials as possible, each used honestly. We sample every concrete mix on site and keep the panels in our library.

Link to this stage
Material diagramA board-marked concrete sample panel: horizontal board lines of uneven length, a grid of six tie holes in red pencil, and three smaller panels from the sample library.Panel 14 · 1.2 × 0.8 mTie holeLibrary
Fig. 04 · MaterialNot to scale

Section 5 of 6

Light

Openings are cut where light is needed, not where elevations look busy. We model daylight for every room before we fix a window.

Link to this stage
Light diagramA section through a room with a single roof light. Three red-pencil rays of the noon sun pass through the opening and land on the floor; the lit patch is marked.21 June, 12:00Lit floor+4.20
Fig. 05 · LightNot to scale

Section 6 of 6

Time

We design for the second and third users of a building. Weathering, staining and reuse are drawn in, not left to chance.

Link to this stage
Time diagramAn elevation of a concrete wall with four windows and the streaks that weathering will draw beneath their sills, above a hundred-year timeline from first use to the third user.20262051207621012126First useSecond userThird
Fig. 06 · TimeNot to scale

The stages are easier to see in a building than on a page.

See the projectsStart with Silo No. 7