The Greenhill Building, Harrow Arts Centre
Westcoast Windows was pleased to supply Swedish designed and manufactured composite windows and doors for a new development at Harrow Arts Centre.
The focus of the existing Harrow Arts Centre (HAC) campus is the grand Grade-II listed Elliott Hall, a 1904 Gothic building containing the large theatre. The new Greenhill Building, designed by Chris Dyson Architects, sits to the rear of this, next to the former boiler house, and a cluster of brick single-storey buildings, now artist studios.
The new building provides spaces for yoga classes, art clubs and celebrations that the local community asked for during public consultations, while also supporting HAC’s aim to be more financially sustainable. Inspiration came from the site’s legacy of agricultural buildings, which informed the L-shaped plan around a ‘yard’ and the red corrugated façade, made from a fibre cement more typically found on farms.
A design that maximised usable space
The simple two-storey building maximises usable space. The two large teaching rooms on the ground floor feature Westcoast Windows composite double doors opening onto a courtyard.
Above this are two further top-lit teaching rooms beneath the roof, and a small studio with a view of trees. Each asymmetrical pitch of the roof takes advantage of north light and incorporates glazing to create bright, top-lit rooms; to the south, the roof will have solar photovoltaic panels to generate power for the electric heating.
The budget was focused on the elements that would most impact everyday use, such as providing acoustic insulation between floors. There are still a few flourishes, such as a generous picture window (Westcoast Windows fixed lights) illuminating the timber stairs, which wrap around a central lift. Internally, the warm grain of the CLT is exposed, complemented by the interior of the composite windows and doors in natural lacquered pine.
Material and fabrication for efficient construction
The structural design by Webb Yates employs a simple frame entirely formed from prefabricated glulam and CLT elements.
The choice of material and fabrication has allowed for efficient construction, both in terms of programme and carbon.
By adopting a ‘rhythmic’ structural design that makes used of repeated components, both the prefabrication and construction programmes were streamlined.
The resulting swift, low-impact build offered both HAC and the community a modern, sustainable addition to the campus with minimal interruption.
Window design to support the building’s industrial character
Westcoast Windows supplied 100 m2 of windows and doors for the new building, in the Classic Series, with exterior aluminium finished in RAL 7016 (Anthracite Grey) and internal timber in a clear lacquer.
The window design was carefully considered to support the building’s agricultural-industrial character, with a lattice of glazing bars to the ground floor screens that reference the site’s heritage steel windows, complementing the corrugated cladding and distinctive zig-zag roof profile.
Credits:
Chris Dyson Architects: https://www.chrisdyson.co.uk/
Webb Yates Engineers: https://webbyates.com/
David Churchill photographer: https://davidchurchill.co.uk/
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