The fact that the building
has already been well
adopted by a wide range of
community groups and
individuals, providing a
diverse range of activities
and clubs, is the practical
evidence the building
is working
of the two buildings’ entrances.
Car access does not spoil the immediate
surroundings of the building; as befits its
school and community role, the whole
frontage has been made a pedestrian
piazza, including an area where the cafe
can spill out in good weather. The space is
also intended to be used for local amenities
like farmer’s markets or fetes, and to be a
safe space for children exiting the school.Internal arrangement
The ground floor of the Community Hub
contains a cafe, as well as some bookable
wellbeing space, and the nursery to the
rear. A sliding/folding screen allows the
downstairs to be opened up into one
large area for community functions, or
closed to provide an area separate from
the cafe. According to Nick, it’s been
well used already: “Every time I’ve been
there it’s been closed and is being used
for something.”
The cafe area blends with a double-
height volume at the centre of the building,
dubbed the ‘Heart Space’ by the architects,
which sits behind the front door, and
provides a visual connection between the
ground and first floor. Adjacent to the
stairs, this volume “helps the spaces flow as
a sequence, rather than just being a ground
floor and then stairs, says Fairham.
Up the stairs, the first floor is divided
broadly in half by the double-height space.
A large exposed truss carrying the main
load of the storey above runs front to back
and backspans across both areas. “We
didn’t worry too much if a cross member
went past a window or not, we kind of
saw it as part of the playfulness of the
interaction of the structure and the mass of
the building,” says Fairham.
On this floor are further wellbeing
spaces – potentially for use by health
professionals such as a GP, and there is a
mechanically ventilated room suitable for
physiotherapy (the rest of the building is
naturally ventilated). A smaller
balcony/roof terrace at the front provides
visual connection to the pedestrianized
‘piazza,’ and offers some breakout space
from the group rooms.
The double-cantilevered second floor
contains the ‘enterprise space’ – this is
comprised of open-plan office space with a
raised floor. “The intention is that over
time community uses or local businesses
will populate it,” says BDP’s project
director. Fairham adds that this will “help
to activate the space, by looking at
opportunities including training.”Flexibility of adaptability
The client was “very keen that the building
chassis was as flexible as possible,” for
example to cope with future demand
scenarios like the enterprise zone
“becoming totally oversubscribed.”
However, Nick Fairham says it’s “more
about flexibility of adaptability – over time,
as the community changes, and what they
want out of the building alters, it can be
adapted to suit that changing need. He
adds: “Because it’s going to be owned by
the community in the future, having that
flexibility to adapt to their needs is very
important – it should be able to deal with
most things.”
The ‘loose-fit,’ easily screened-off spaces
are designed to be shallow in plan so they
can be naturally ventilated and lit, but
“deep enough to allow some flexibility in
use,” says Fairham. By the same token, the
fact that the vast majority of spaces aren’t
highly serviced means their function can
easily be switched if required. The flexibility
of the building in terms of being able to use
outdoor areas as well as indoors is “already
being shown” a few months since opening,
says its architect.
The school is something of an unknown
quantity, as it serves the new Mulberry
Park development and demand is as yet
uncertain (it will be taking in one initial
year group only). In terms of design, it also
has “large, flexible volumes,” says Fairham,
as befits the unknown nature of how it may
need to adapt. The designers hope that
the school, although physically separated,
will, like the nursery, be able to use the
community spaces within the centre as
needed in future.Conclusion
The fact that the building has already been
well adopted by a wide range of community
groups and individuals, providing a diverse
range of activities and clubs, is the practical
evidence the building is working. In more
symbolic terms, the Community Hub is an
important example of a developer and
architect maximising value for the local
community, in a built result which offers
something visually exciting as well as
highly functional.
According to the architect, working with
Curo, an organisation whose values he
says align with BDP’s, has been “really
refreshing – we are based around social
value, and a huge proportion of our work is
around community and the public sector.
There is a real ambition to make the most
of opportunities like this as they come.” Images ©Hufton+Crow34PROJECT REPORT: MIXED USE SCHEMESWWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK ADF JUNE 2019