Fitzroy Sheetmetal Factory

by Kerstin Thompson Architects

From The Architect

A former sheet metal factory is transformed – in part by the insertion of a circular drum. The drum forms a courtyard, a lantern and a lung for the adjacent interior spaces. We used the non-directional form of the circle to suggest and grade between the spaces of stasis and of movement; one ‘room’ and the next; intimate space and open space.

The project demonstrates how a single big gesture – the drum – can direct each subsequent aspect of the buildings organisation and detail. The new works amplify the rawness, scale and history of the existing shell: enabling domesticity while resisting the urge to domesticate or banally refine this formerly industrial building.