The challenges of taking over Alsop’s The Public

Long section

1. Ground floor entrance 2. The Sock 3. Ramp 4. The Cave 5. Events space

n The Sock is a black sculptural form rising through three stories containing two galleries. This was the first design challenge Flannery de la Pole had to solve. By November 2004, a secondary steel frame was already under construction, consisting of a series of independent, triangular steel frames hung from the floor slabs above, but with a potential 15mm movement at their base or between adjacent panels. Flannery developed a cladding system of Fermacell triangular panels with 80mm-wide Neoprene joints to accommodate the potential movement.