‘163 PRS/ Olivers Place’ by Moxon is an office building located in the North West of England. The building is perhaps most striking for its unusual façade. While the main exterior is clad in glass, a superstructure sits on top of it featuring an array of aluminium fins all oriented in the same direction.

The following is from Moxon:

‘Moxon is currently working on a 40.000 square foot office building for commercial clients in Preston in the North West of England. The primary architectural expression of the building is through an array of anodized aluminium fins suspended from tensile rods on all four facades of the building.
The aluminium fins, or Reeds, are all orientated in the same direction. On the SW facade they act as a large scale brise soleil and rain screen, but appear more visually permeable on the SE facade. Early morning and winter sunlight is able to enter the building while high summer sun is excluded and so does not adversely alter the environmental conditions within the building. The Reeds also appear as a thicket of material that gives the building a striking appearance that changes dramatically depending on the position of the viewer.
The roundabout and the 3 dimensional nature of the cladding system combine to create animation as one moves towards the building obliquely along the approach roads. By turns the building appears solid and then transparent depending on the viewers position: it reveals the interior as one moves around it.’

While the building was designed a few years ago, it was submitted for planning last fall and if approved will begin construction.

For more pictures visit: www.moxonarchitects.co.uk.