Our community building
The community building design
The community building is sited on the south east boundary of the scheme. It has been designed with mix of pitched and flat roof to minimise mass and impact on neighbours.
The residents of the properties that the community building sits adjacent to have been consulted by HNCLT and were amenable and comfortable with the proposal.
The principle spaces of the building run along the front edge of the building, engaging with the public realm. This design ensures minimal overbearing on the adjacent gardens while giving privacy and separation to these houses.
Large windows provide connection and surveillance of the shared spaces while planting and landscape provide privacy for the overflow bedrooms.
Structural summary
The superstructure of the community building will be similar to that of the North and South Terraces being timber-framed but will only comprise of a single storey structure.
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The main area will be open to the roof with exposed softwood trusses and purlins on a softwood post and beam structure.
The requirements for a community building on the site have been extensively explored through multiple community consultations. A need has been identified for a community building that is accessible and open all the time. It should be a domestic scale and easy to heat, to complement the large halls that already exist in the village. Workshop space, a library of things, laundry and overflow bedrooms were also seen as valuable additions to the community.
We carried out a consultation with the village about the communal building and the most popular need was for a community run café that would be open during the day on most days of the week. Large glass doors that can be opened would allow a natural extension to a café in good weather.
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The main multi-use space has been conceived to allow for a variety of uses, including the provision of a co-working hub, a community café, a space for evening classes/workshops, and other elements that the community might need. The space will be designed to offer flexibility both now and for the future.
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The guest bedrooms would be prioritised for the residents of the 12 flats. Rather than living in a larger home with bedrooms empty for most of the year, this would enable residents to live in a smaller flat and have friends and family stay in the overflow bedrooms. One of the bedrooms could be used as a treatment room for visiting therapists to provide local treatments.
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The shared greenhouse and growing beds would allow the residents and other Hook Norton villagers access to a protected growing space to reduce reliance on shop-bought food.
Flexible space
Proposed Plans for Community Building
Further reading
