Hypocaust Building, St Albans, UK

RESEARCH BACKGROUND The research field and context is the process of design-based research in the domain of public place. In particular, the research considers how cultural landscape and history can be revealed in architecture, and also how architecture can intervene in the context of scheduled public monuments. The Hypocaust Building is sited amidst the remains of the Roman city of Verulamium in St Albans. The project asks how siting strategy, landscape, structure, materiality and perception reveal forgotten or invisible histories. RESEARCH CONTRIBUTION Design-based research considers the actions and outcomes of a design as a type of applied research. In this case the new knowledge generated by Mel Dodd is in the innovative use and manipulation of views from both outside and inside the pavilion through the design of tipped and reflective mirrored soffit. This soffit allows glimpses of the Roman floor mosaic from the outside of the building; inside, the soffit reflects a view of the cathedral of St Albans constructed from the salvaged Roman bricks of Verulamium. These manipulations position the modern day municipal park, the Roman city, and the medieval cathedral as a set of choreographed pieces. RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE The project was initially won as part of an international competition staged by the Architecture Foundation in London. Its primary significance is demonstrated through inclusion in a range of international publications including: Anglophiles: UK Architectures Rising Generation by Lucy Bullivant, published by Thames and Hudson, 2005; 10 x 10_2: 100 Architects 10 Critics, by Phaidon Press, 2006; AD: The 1970s is Here and Now, Samantha Hardingham (ed.), 2005. The work was exhibited in Gritty Brits, New London Architects curated by Raymund Ryan for the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, 2007.