Freshford SchoolProposal for a School Expansion
Designscape Architects prepared a feasibility report for the expansion of the school
accommodation. Despite being a rural school, it has no onsite playing field and only five
classrooms, but seven year groups. The school had the possibility of acquiring some
adjacent land as a playing field and needed to explore the potential in future of adding
two classrooms.
Our proposal succeeded to link the new playing field via an amphitheatre outdoor area,
and replaced the playground space given over to the classrooms with an elevated play-
deck on the classroom roofs, linking with existing first floor classrooms. The proposal
also sought to address other issues such as access and security and proposed some
ideas for parking and pick–up space.
Innox Lodge Bringing the garden into a historic home
Located on the edge of the village with wide views across the rural landscape, this unlisted Victorian house was recently renovated by its owners. They wished to add a new garden room that would link the kitchen with the surrounding landscape and provide a place where the family can gather informally. The contemporary design of the new addition remains sympathetic to its setting through the use of traditional materials including bath stone ashlar and pre-formed metal sheets that match those of the original house. In advance of the construction of the new space a number of alterations to the house were made including the creation of a large opening through to the kitchen and a new staircase into converted basement rooms below.
Hill Farm Dairy Goat farm and cheese factory
Designscape was commissioned to design a barn and dairy production facility for a new cheese making company. The design aims to reflect both the ethos of the client company and the site: a quality handmade product, using natural materials and low energy solutions, created with respect for its surroundings. Despite their size the buildings do not dominate, as they take advantage of the natural topography and step down the hill, enabling the barn and the milking parlour to sit above the dairy. The cold storage and maturing areas are pushed back into the hillside under the parlour. The result is a low impact design that naturally enhances the cheese making process, as the milk can flow by gravity from parlour to dairy, avoiding pumping and thus preserving the quality of the milk. Named by a leading French expert as one of the top 5 cheese making facilities in the world, Designscape had never previously designed a dairy.
