Camphill Village Trust, Newnham-on-Severn, Gloucestershire:
new pottery, cafe, games room/classroom - due for completion February 2013
Camphill Village Trust provides residential care for people with learning difficulties. The basis of their care is centred on the home where everyone’s share of responsibility to look after the house is found to be hugely beneficial to their well-being. This is extended into other activities at the Grange such as work in the farm, growing vegetables, baking bread, looking after the estate, gardening, pottery and woodwork.
The existing pottery studio, games room and classroom buildings came to the end of their useful life and we were asked to replace them with new. This site within Grange Village is tight, bounded to the north by huge trees on a steep bank and to the south by an access road. The new buildings are built right on the boundary line to the steep bank to make as big a courtyard as possible to the south. Everyone passes through here and it is a natural heart of the village where people stop and chat.
The design includes 3 buildings which all share the same kind of structure and construction but with 2 different sets of cladding and roofing to distinguish pottery from the other facilities. Walls and roofs are built up with wood fibre insulations around timber frame. Ridge beams and columns are laminated timber. Each building opens up to follow its pitched roof. Ceilings are lined in timber. The new café has a professional kitchen where meals for up to 60 people are prepared.
*
*
Pottery
*
*
*
*
*
*
Café
*
*
*
*
*
Games room/Classroom
*
© All images are the copyright of Peter Abrahams
* © images are the copyright of Setford Manasseh