New Community Haveli

A new two-storey haveli in the grounds of a Hindu temple in Hertsmere, Bhaktivedanta Manor. The new building was conceived as a large village or church-style hall to provide multi-purpose, teaching and associated facilities around a courtyard. Whilst referencing the large, ornate temple havelis of India, the buildings were designed not to overshadow the existing manor. Although spaces within the building are large, the low eaves reduce the visual impact of the building.

Early in the project structural designs for fully timber-framed structure were developed. Although the building does feature timber in the single-storey structures, due to budgetary pressures, the hall buildings became steel framed, which offered the flexibility of providing large column free spaces.

The grid of the structure of the entrance area was chosen to allow a framework of sawn green timber to be adopted, with a hierarchy of deeper and shallower structures reflecting the loadings applied. Traditional carpentered connections were referenced to produce the clean interface between beams.