South Norfolk Design Awards 2004

Further information

Existing Building Category

Winner: Orchard Cottage, Forncett St Peter
Architect : Kenneth Farrant

Orchard Cottage is a Grade II listed 17th century timber framed building, rendered externally with an exposed frame. The two storey extension, at right angles to the original building is linked by a hallway and staircase and provides kitchen & dining facilities at ground floor level with a bedroom and bathroom at first floor and a full height galleried space above the dining room.

The extension is simple in form and detail with white render and black joinery. A variety of contemporary elements have been incorporated into the design, giving the extension a distinctive character. These include the first floor cantilevered glass balcony projecting from the bedroom, the internally exposed composite oak roof trusses with stainless steel tension cables and the rainwater disposal system with stainless steel chains discharging into an external channel.

Certificate of Commendation: The Dovecote, Ashby St Mary
Designers : Copeland Associates

The Dovecote at Ashby St Mary is a Grade II listed 17th century landmark building within a courtyard adjacent to Ashby Hall.

The building had been unoccupied since 1994 and was in very poor condition when the current owner purchased it in late 1998. The project involved a sensitive restoration of the building which included internal re-arrangement and a small extension which builds on the character of the existing building, to provide additional accommodation and create a private rear courtyard. Repairs have been carried out to a high standard including complete refurbishment of the roof lantern with careful attention to detail throughout, without loss of historic character.

Certificate of Commendation: Classroom of the Future, Thurlton Primary School
Architect : Mark Kenney, NPS Property Consultants Ltd

This scheme combines the Classroom of the Future project with a mobile replacement classroom project and seeks to achieve educational innovation, community use and sustainable architecture.

The extension is designed to be sympathetic to the setting of the existing Victorian brick and slate building which also has a later flat roof extension.

The new extension also incorporates a slate roof but at the same time creates a solution which is clearly contemporary in appearance.

The sustainable approach to the design incorporates underfloor heating, hot water boosted by solar panels and a 9m high wind turbine which combines an educational tool with useful electrical power. The turbine dramatically marks the entrance to the building and is a source of great community interest.

New Building Category

Winner: Woodland Burial Park, Colney
Designers : Graham Brown & John Dejardin, Landscape Architect

This development is located within 12 acres of formerly un-managed woodland to the west of the Colney Hall estate in the Yare valley, an area of high landscape value. The design has focused on preserving and enhancing the woodland setting and includes a group of 3 Key buildings – the Ceremonial Hall, Gathering Hall and administration building plus a smaller woodland retreat set further within the park.

The buildings are of a highly sustainable design with a multi-sided circular plan form based around a unique reciprocal frame with a spiral roof beam element, creating an elegant clear span structure, which harmonises with the woodland setting. Built principally of timber and other materials from renewable sources, combined with high levels of insulation, the design achieves exceptionally high standards in energy conservation ensuring low levels of embodied and used energy. Construction techniques were developed to cause minimal disruption and damage to trees, habitats and natural features and local contractors, craftsmen and materials have been used wherever possible. The park is managed as a haven for wildlife and to encourage the regeneration and rejuvenation of the native woodland.

Careful attention to detail is evident throughout all of the buildings and the use of glass to one wall of the Ceremonial Hall creates a strong visual link between the interior and the exterior woodland setting.

Certificate of Commendation: Jubilee Building, Easton College
Architects: LSI Architects

This building provides a variety of new teaching rooms and laboratories on two levels and an IT learning centre and library. The internal layout and circulation spaces have been designed to provide constant visual links with the external landscape through the glazed entrance. Externally the design successfully combines a variety of materials including brick and timber cladding, whilst internally stronger colours have been used to delineate different areas.

The building has created a focal point at the heart of the campus and is a positive response to the challenge of designing a contemporary building in a rural context.

Certificate of Commendation: Classroom of the Future, Hobart High School, Loddon
Architect : Mark Kenney, NPS Property Consultants Ltd

This scheme is a Classroom of the Future project, detached from the main building but convenient for both pupil and separate community access during the daytime and in the evenings.

The classrooms provide naturally lit spaces which can be sub-divided with raking ceilings to facilitate good natural cross ventilation. The entrance is designed as a glass pavilion to provide a focal point and space for receptions and exhibitions.The construction incorporates numerous innovative sustainable ideas for a building of relatively small size including off-site prefabrication, use of recycled newspaper insulation, a flat 'green' sedum mat roof and a rainwater harvesting and recycling system.