Clifton Nurseries, Covent Garden. Covent Garden, London, 1980-1981. The second temporary building occupied by Clifton Nurseries was developed at a prominent site by the Covent Garden Opera House. Whilst retaining the focus of the earlier Bayswater site on the exploration of new technologies, the Covent Garden site was also notable for the influence which the surrounding streets and buildings had on the final design. Since land was only available on one side of the axis at Kings Street, permission was obtained for the facade to be extended along a narrow strip on the other side purely as a screen, to complete the symmetry and hide car parking behind. A classical portico based on the numerous porticos of nearby buildings, was adopted and extended in a temple "form" to become, in a light hearted way, the underlying image of the design. The side elevation was a 'rusticated' glass and timber wall. The roof was fabricated from Teflon-coated glass fibre and was one of the first buildings to use Teflon-coated fibre glass at this sort of scale in the UK.

Construction Partners:
Client: Clifton Nurseries