Village Hall

Download the newsletter following the meeting of 22 April 2009

Newsletter from meeting on 22 April 2009 (7.87KB)

Background/Evidence

Norbury Church Hall was built circa 1950 and renovated in 1997. In order to obtain a grant for the
renovations the status of the Hall was changed from a Church Hall to a Village Hall under the
Albermarle Scheme. Future development of the Hall and its site has been enhanced by the recent
purchase of an adjacent plot of land.

All age groups in the Parish use the Hall and 60% of Respondents said that they would use the
Hall more if it had better facilities. The overall position, taken from the comments in the
survey, shows that the Hall does not meet present-day needs. A new Hall, better designed
and equipped to meet the needs of the 21st1st century is expected to be a better long-term
investment than would be further enhancement of the existing building (to be assessed in a
feasibility study). The provision of such a facility would make a major contribution to
strengthening local community spirit.

NEW BUILDING PLANNING APPLICATION

PATRICK BORER & DAVID LEA Architects

Design and Access Statement for the proposed new village hall at Norbury, Shropshire.
Patrick Borer and David Lea Architects were instructed by the Norbury Village Hall Steering Group to prepare plans for a new hall on the existing village hall site.

The Steering Group need a design which:

• Satisfies the requirements of the various user groups,
• Responds to the rural site, in particular to the dramatic views to the Long Mynd,
• Exemplifies sustainable building methods,

The Group also desired a good architectural design, clearly expressing the age in which we live. Such a design, combined with the sustainable approach would also be more likely to attract the interest of funding bodies than a more 'conventional' building.

This design stands on the foundation of our very considerable experience in this field. Most of our 40+ years in architectural practice has been spent in designing sensitive modern buildings in rural areas, often areas with a conservation designation.

At present we have the Wales Institute for Sustainable Education under construction at the internationally renowned Centre for Alternative Technology in mid Wales. This is a flagship building demonstrating many aspects of low-energy sustainable design. It includes the largest rammed earth space in the UK, and the greatest use of sprayed hemp-lime for walls.

The site

The site occupies a field to the north of the western end of the Long Mynd so that the best view is on the sunlit side. The field is level, and contained by hedges and trees on all sides but the south, where a low stone field wall forms an unobtrusive boundary along the Ratlinghope road. It is an ideal site for passive solar design.

Existing Buildings

There is an existing village hall on the site, a timber-framed, corrugated iron building. Though it is well cared for by the local community it is no longer suitable or large enough for the expanding requirements of the users. In particular:

The hall is long and very narrow. The acoustics are poor and it is difficult to use it for any of the usual group activities.

The hall lacks an entrance space or foyer, giving separate access to different rooms, so it is not possible to accommodate different simultaneous activities.

There is no secondary space for small meetings.

It is poorly insulated, heated by electricity and expensive to run.

The future of the existing hall, whether it is demolished, re-used or removed, is still under review.

Summary of design strategy

Place the main spaces, the hall and the meeting room, on the south side where they can enjoy sunlight and view.

Make a wall of service rooms, WCs, storage and kitchen, along the north side.

Bring the main entrance from the car arrival area through this wall and into a foyer which connects all the rooms.

Place the kitchen adjacent to and overlooking the entrance door. The lively activity in the kitchen creates an atmosphere of hospitality.

Open the foyer to a paved courtyard garden shared with the meeting room, protected by a sheltering wall from east winds, and separated by a low wall at seat height from the open field. This is a defined outdoor play space in the summer. The foyer acts as a glazed 'loggia' between the hall and the courtyard, views out to the country beyond are oblique and restricted in order to reserve the main impact of the Long Mynd view for the hall and meeting room. The foyer is a flexible space which can serve a variety of functions, for example, a bar, exhibition space, reception area, informal meeting place, etc.

Make another 'loggia' on the south side of the hall to provide a sheltered intermediate space commanding the view to the south. Connect the foyer to this loggia as well as the hall.

To sum up, these spatial arrangements, taken together, provide a building which is easy to use and which also intensifies the inherent drama of the site by guiding the inhabitants' movements and by selecting sequences of views and light

Floor areas (internal gross area)
Existing building = 240 m2
Proposed = 357 m2

Materials and building form

Our main aims are to design a beautiful building using natural, low energy materials assembled in an efficient way, to use solar energy where possible, and to create good relationships between the internal spaces of the hall, the surrounding landscape, and the views. These aims result in a building which is related to traditional buildings from the past, it has a grey pitched roof, rendered walls, stone details, and oak joinery, but it is a building which celebrates the time we live in, not a backward looking pastiche.

Ultimately the most sustainable materials are those which can be grown, or dug from the ground with the minimum inputs of energy: Plants, earth and rock. This is why we use timber, hemp or straw, lime, and small quantities of stone.

Walls

We are at present considering three methods: timber-frame and straw-bales, or timber-frame and hemp-lime, or load bearing hemp-lime. In each case these materials would be finished with a pigmented hydraulic lime render.

Local stone will be used to face the plinth course at the foot of the walls.

Hemp-lime is a relatively new type of construction using two ancient materials. The hemp 'shiv' is a waste product from the fibre industry, grown without pesticides or fertilisers. Mixed with hydraulic lime and cast in walls 500mm thick, the end result is a solid construction that is durable and highly insulating.

Roof

The roofs are low pitched, constructed of deep ply web rafters. The full depth of 400mm is available for cellulose fibre 'Warmcel' insulation. All the roofs are monopitched, with beams or rafters spanning between walls; these roofs give the building its distinctive form. Generally they are arranged to rise towards the outside, suggesting that the interior spaces look out in an open-hearted way towards nature and the view and sunlight. However the roof over the main hall rises to the end occupied by the stage for public events, while large windows along the south, side, wall open to the view. This arrangement balances the different environments of day and night use.

Timber shingles are appropriate at a pitch of 14 degrees and they are our preferred option for environmental reasons. The BRE Green Guide recently awarded western red cedar shingles an A rating for sustainability because of its insulative properties, its low embodied energy, and its renewability. These benefits are reflected in the rating system used for BREEAM and the Code for Sustainable Homes.

'As a sustainable roofing material the timber shingle can only be matched by thatch. If sourced in the UK it has the lowest embodied energy of all roof coverings' (www.greenspec.co.uk)
We intend to use UK grown western red cedar or sweet chestnut shingles. Either of these will weather beautifully to a warm silver-grey.

Windows

The windows are not designed as conventional 'holes in the walls'. They are more like balconies: open spaces where there is no wall. Except for the framed doors and vents, the glass is in the largest possible sheets direct glazed without frames into the walls and sills, in order to enhance the sense of continuity between internal and external spaces. The glass is low-E, 'I plus' or similar.

Solid insulated oak or larch boarded panels, constructed like the external doors, provide ventilation.

Visual impact from outside the site

The building is screened by trees and hedges to the north, east and west, but the site is open to the south and to the Ratlinghope road, so that it will be clearly seen from the road and the land beyond. This south elevation has, we believe, a balanced and calm arrangement of solid walls and glazed openings set within deep and often shaded loggias. The colour of the rendered walls will be derived from earth pigments - a warm yellow ochre mixed with some burnt umber to give it an earthy quality.

Energy system

It is a key part of the brief to make the building as energy efficient and as sustainable as possible.

A balance is struck between often conflicting constraints, for example, site topography, ratio of internal volume to external surface, solar orientation, insulation values, heating zoning and controls, heat source and cost.

In this case the energy design has the following components:

Hall and meeting room are glazed to the south for passive solar heating. The roof overhang reduces high summer sun while allowing winter sun to penetrate deeper into the interior.

Airtight construction with high levels of insulation.

Wood pellet boiler or ground source heat pump serving underfloor heating zoned to heat only the areas which are occupied.

Heat recovery ventilation to kitchen and toilets.
Solar hot water array on roof.

The client is planning to have the existing overhead electricity cables across the field re-routed underground.

Drainage

Foul drainage. There is an existing septic tank and drainage field serving the existing hall. If this is unsuitable, a new tank will be installed 10 metres to the south east of the new building with a new drainage field. This is to be investigated.

Surface water. It is intended to collect rainwater in an underground cistern for flushing the low water use WCs. Any excess water from the roofs will be piped to soakaways.

Access

The existing vehicle access will be retained. The site is level, and the floor will be level throughout, including the external paved areas, with fully accessible thresholds to the doors.

Landscaping

We intend to preserve and enhance the existing nature of the site, so all of the present visible planting will be retained. A grove of native trees will be planted between the car parking area and the building to soften the transition between car and hall, to offer a breathing space and to enhance the sense of expectation on entering. The courtyard garden will be planted with flowering climbing plants such as clematis and honeysuckle to soften the appearance of the walls and to delight the people.

Hard surface areas (materials will be of a colour appropriate to the area.)
Car areas: gravel.
Footpaths and terraces: Sandstone or limestone flags.

Lighting

External lighting to car arrival area, entrance area, and courtyard will be mounted at low level, masked to shine downwards, and of minimum brightness to avoid light pollution.

Conclusion

This design responds to the latest government directives which reflect the growing worldwide concern about the environment. We trust that South Shropshire Council will approve this carefully considered building which will be an exemplar for sustainable design and construction.

The pictures below show a model of the Hall viewed from the south-east