Project Title: Woodside Mental Health Care Home
Location: Northampton
Wood Species: SPRUCE (AUSTRIA) LARCH (AUSTRIA)
Project Description
The Project
Woodside is a 20 bed care home catering for young people with mental health problems who are unable to live on their own and require 24 hour care.
The building is located in the garden of a large house dating from 1897, formally part of the Spencer Estate, and is organised on two floors in an ‘L’ shape plan form enclosing the mature wooded garden. One wing contains the 20 bedrooms with en-suite facilities and the other, the lounge, reception and treatment room. This creates 2 communities of 10 people. Support facilities including activity room, staff room, laundry, kitchen, and plant rooms are located in a basement.
The building uses modern methods of construction and is assembled using solid timber panels, supplied and fixed by KLH. These structural panels are used for all of the above ground walls, floors and roof and range in thickness from 95 mm for walls, 108mm for roof panels and up to 200 mm for floor panels over the lounge.
The panels are left exposed on the interior and treated with a white natural wax. 60mm thick panels have been used for the non load-bearing walls to the built-in wardrobes and shower rooms.
Oiled solid oak, contrasting with the white wood walls and ceiling is used for the floors to the lounge and circulation areas including the staircase.
This comprehensive use of wood has resulted in a very simple aesthetic with the elimination of skirtings, architraves and, in some cases, doorframes. The doors to the bathrooms and wardrobes re built directly into the openings formed in the KLH timber panels eliminating the need for frames. This flush and simple detailing is carried through the rest of the building. The focus is on material and light rather then detail.
Where doorframes are used, principally to the fire doors to the bedrooms and external doors and windows, these are clear finished to give the necessary visual contrast with the white- waxed spruce walls.
With the exception of the white-waxed solid spruce panels, all of the internal wood surfaces are clear wax/oil finished.
Solid Oak furniture has been chosen to compliment the simple wood aesthetic.
Timber is used sparingly on the exterior hardwood (bangkiral) boarding to the entrance bridge and Thermowood to the timber decking.
Where services and lighting distribution is required this is contained in a separate wall lining which, folds into a lighting shelf. This also acts as an acoustic layer between adjacent bedrooms and between bedrooms and corridor.
Externally the solid timber panel system is finished with an external insulated render system to the walls and a zinc strip to the roof. This provides a contrast with the existing red brick house.
Our aspiration has been to provide a beautiful and inspiring home, where nature is invited into every room and light filled spaces contribute to the medical care provided by the staff. In essence, providing an internal and external environment that is robust, sustainable and healthy.
BUILDING OWNER: GOLDCARE HOMES LTD
ARCHITECT: DAVID GRINDLEY ARCHITECTS
BUILDER/MAIN CONTRACTOR: DEEJAK BUILDERS (RUSHDEN) LTD
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS: TAPSELL WADE & PARTNERS LTD
JOINERY: DEEJAK BUILDERS (RUSHDEN) LTD
OTHER ASSOCIATED COMPANY: KLH LTD
