{"id":758178,"date":"2024-10-02T08:02:05","date_gmt":"2024-10-02T07:02:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=758178"},"modified":"2024-10-02T10:34:03","modified_gmt":"2024-10-02T09:34:03","slug":"adrian-james-architects-completes-arts-and-crafts-inspired-girls-boarding-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/adrian-james-architects-completes-arts-and-crafts-inspired-girls-boarding-house","title":{"rendered":"Adrian James Architects completes Arts and Crafts-inspired girls\u2019 boarding house"},"content":{"rendered":"

Having gone fully co-ed in 2014, the public school held a limited architectural competition for a new girls\u2019 house in 2020, which Adrian James Architects (AJA) won.<\/p>\n

The brief from the school was that the new building should feel more like a home than an institution for the cohort of 70 girls it houses.<\/p>\n

The school has a picturesque setting on a plateau above the River Severn, with its listed buildings arranged around playing fields. The new house sits on the edge of the campus with views out over the river towards the centre of Shrewsbury town. Its front follows the kinked building line between one of the boys\u2019 houses and an adjacent teaching block completed in 2015 and also designed by AJA.<\/p>\n

The building wraps around a large cedar tree and private garden court, while internally a route leads through to a communal assembly room at its eastern end, which has a large double-height moon door facing out to the view.<\/p>\n

The building’s architectural language has a syncopated rhythm, with bedroom windows offset floor-to-floor. Arched openings combine with the chequerboard fenestration, steep-pitched roofs, dormers and tall ventilation stacks to imbue the overall form with a domestic Arts and Crafts air.<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/span>\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The pair of brick ventilation stacks marking the gable ends of the building with precast stone cappings reference the chimneys of a neighbouring Edwardian building and also flag the new building\u2019s sustainability. Its low operational carbon footprint is achieved by a highly insulated and airtight skin, combined with a mechanical ventilation system, air source heat pumps and a large array of PV panels on the roof.<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/span>\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Architect\u2019s view<\/h3>\n

The front of the house follows the kinked building line between one of the boys\u2019 houses and the adjacent teaching block, Hodgson Hall, completed in 2015, also designed by AJA. The architectural language of the new house is less formal than the teaching building, with a syncopated rhythm to the bedroom windows which off-set floor on floor. But it does pick up on the arched doorway to Hodgson Hall with arches of a more domestic scale demarcating all the entrances to the house. These arches, combined with the chequerboard fenestration, the steep-pitched roofs, dormers and tall ventilation stacks imbue the house with a domestic Arts and Crafts air, albeit with a strong contemporary treatment in the detailing.<\/p>\n

The building has an extremely low carbon footprint in use. This is achieved by adopting a \u2018fabric first\u2019 approach; the external envelope is highly insulated and very airtight. This hugely reduces the heating demand; that in turn means it can be heated purely by air source heat pumps. It is the first building on the school campus which has no gas supply. In addition the building generates its now green energy via a large array of PV panels on the roof.<\/p>\n

The chequerboard fenestration would at first glance seem to be structurally nigh impossible. Since the openings on alternate floors meet at a point, there is nowhere where the structural load from above can carry straight down vertically to the ground.<\/p>\n

Inside the building the partitions between bedrooms are lightweight; this futureproofs the building allowing for different bedroom configurations in the future, and also it means the walls can be offset floor to floor. So they can be located to suit the windows rather than vice versa, and the windows are spaced frequently enough to ensure there is daylight for all rooms whatever the layout.<\/p>\n

To provide this internal flexibility the building has a streel frame and the question the chequerboard fenestration poses is how the columns in the external walls can run vertically up the fa\u00e7ade. The answer is that the glazed openings all have a precast surround and a precast central mullion. These are sufficiently wide to allow for steel columns to run vertically behind them both on the edges of the chequerboard panels and on the panel centrelines. So the visual effect of the chequerboard is maintained but the building can still stand up.<\/p>\n

In the event, the tougher structural challenges occurred where the rhythmic chequerboard pattern relaxed to allow for internal events such as staircases and arched openings. These required some structural ingenuity.<\/p>\n

The bedrooms are spacious and carefully organised so that every girl has their own ‘defensible space’, framed by their furniture. All rooms have plenty of daylight and views. Each year group has their own common room on their floor, and other incidental social spaces. On the ground floor there are three communal spaces for all the girls to share. The large communal garden which the house surrounds and spills onto is also a feature the girls really appreciate. The house is enjoyed not just by the girls but also by their parents who are very appreciative of the quality and generosity of the home from home for their daughters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/span>\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Engineer\u2019s view<\/h3>\n

The chequerboard fenestration would at first glance seem to be structurally nigh impossible. Since the openings on alternate floors meet at a point, there is nowhere where the structural load from above can carry straight down vertically to the ground.<\/p>\n

Inside the building the partitions between bedrooms are lightweight; this futureproofs the building allowing for different bedroom configurations in the future, and also it means the walls can be located to suit the windows rather than vice versa. The windows are spaced frequently enough to ensure there is daylight for all rooms whatever the layout.<\/p>\n

To provide this internal flexibility the building has a steel frame and the question the chequerboard fenestration poses is how the columns in the external walls can run vertically up the fa\u00e7ade. The answer is that the glazed openings all have a precast surround and a precast central mullion. These are sufficiently wide to allow for steel columns to run vertically behind them both on the edges of the chequerboard panels and on the panel centrelines. So the visual effect of the chequerboard is maintained but the building can still stand up.<\/p>\n

In the event, there were tougher structural challenges where the rhythmic chequerboard pattern relaxed to allow for internal events such as staircases and arched openings. These required some structural ingenuity. Relieving steel beams frame the fenestration openings with additional curved steel framing around the circular windows. Outer leaf steels get their bearings by tucking underneath the adjacent precast window surrounds.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/span>\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Client\u2019s view<\/h3>\n

Shrewsbury School, named Independent School of the year in 2020, went fully co-ed in 2014.\u00a0 To meet the demand for places for girls, it became clear we would need a new house for them, so in 2020 we held a limited architectural competition and Adrian James Architects (AJA) emerged the victor. Part of the brief was that the new house should feel more like a home than an institution; the entry from AJA achieved this in a way none of the other competition entries managed. It also made the most of the location, using the existing majestic cedar of Lebanon and the extensive views over the Severn valley to their best advantage.<\/p>\n

The planning process went as smoothly as could be hoped. The school\u2019s historic campus is \u2013 quite rightly \u2013 a Conservation Area and several of the historic buildings, including an existing boarding house adjacent to the site, are listed. The planning and conservation officers understood and welcomed the school\u2019s and AJA\u2019s design intentions which respected and reflected the precious built context while at the same time looking to the future both in the architectural style of the building and in its sustainability \u2013 something the school was very keen to prioritise. In the event, planning permission came through without any major bumps along the way.<\/p>\n

Tendering the project soon after the Covid crisis was, of course, challenging; the prices came in substantially above budget. There then ensued a stringent value engineering process, but the school was determined to ensure that certain key elements in the brief did not get lost in the drive to reduce cost: not just the basic requirements such as room numbers, but also such things as the generosity of daylight in the rooms, the provision of large and small social spaces for the girls to gather both as a whole house and in smaller year groups, plus the external feel of the house which was critical to it feeling welcoming and homely.<\/p>\n

The build process encountered the normal hitches and issues found on any project, but the house was completed in time for the start of the 23\/24 academic year as planned and has now been occupied for a year. It has proved to be remarkably popular with both the girls and their parents; the building fulfils its brief to feel like a home from home, it has a generosity of space and a strong sense of communality. The building has no gas and relies entirely on ASHPs and this, too, works well. It is a real success.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/span>\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Project data<\/h3>\n

Start on site<\/strong> April 2022
\nCompletion<\/strong>\u00a0September 2023
\nGross internal floor area<\/strong> 1,922m2<\/sup>
\nGross external floor area<\/strong> 2,397m2<\/sup>
\nForm of contract<\/strong> JCT Design & Build 2016 (AJA novated)
\nConstruction cost<\/strong> Undisclosed
\n<\/em>Construction cost per m2<\/sup> <\/strong>Undisclosed
\n<\/em>Architect<\/strong> school
\nClient<\/strong> Shrewsbury School
\nStructural engineer<\/strong> SOLID
\nQS<\/strong> Virtus
\nPrincipal designer<\/strong> Adrian James Architects
\nApproved building inspector<\/strong> Socotec
\nMain contractor<\/strong> Pave Aways
\nCAD software<\/strong> Vectorworks<\/p>\n

Environmental performance data<\/h3>\n

On-site energy generation<\/strong> 9kW PV
\nAirtightness at 50Pa<\/strong> 5 m3<\/sup>\/h.m2
\n<\/sup>Heating and hot water load<\/strong> 35.58 kWh\/m2<\/sup>\/yr
\nOverall area-weighted U-value<\/strong> 0.34 W\/m2<\/sup>K
\nDesign life<\/strong> 100 years
\nEmbodied\/whole-life carbon<\/strong> Not calculated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Having gone fully co-ed in 2014, the public school held a limited architectural competition for a new girls\u2019 house in 2020, which Adrian James Architects (AJA) won. The brief from the school was that the new building should feel more like a home than an institution for the cohort of 70 girls it houses. The …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32845,"featured_media":758218,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[706],"tags":[1737,1351,68906],"yoast_head":"\nAdrian James Architects completes Arts and Crafts-inspired girls\u2019 boarding house<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The distinctive design of Queen Elizabeth Hall at Shrewsbury School combines features such as arched openings and chequerboard fenestration, steep-pitched roofs, dormers and tall ventilation stacks\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/adrian-james-architects-completes-arts-and-crafts-inspired-girls-boarding-house\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Adrian James Architects completes Arts and Crafts-inspired girls\u2019 boarding house\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The distinctive design of Queen Elizabeth Hall at Shrewsbury School combines features such as arched openings and chequerboard fenestration, steep-pitched roofs, dormers and tall ventilation stacks\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/adrian-james-architects-completes-arts-and-crafts-inspired-girls-boarding-house\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Architects\u2019 Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-10-02T07:02:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-10-02T09:34:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/09\/30172313\/Queens.1.front_.small_.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"620\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"414\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rob Wilson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rob Wilson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/adrian-james-architects-completes-arts-and-crafts-inspired-girls-boarding-house\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/adrian-james-architects-completes-arts-and-crafts-inspired-girls-boarding-house\",\"name\":\"Adrian James Architects completes Arts and Crafts-inspired girls\u2019 boarding house\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-02T07:02:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-02T09:34:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/12806917e77ff2de74f79bac098aac26\"},\"description\":\"The distinctive design of Queen Elizabeth Hall at Shrewsbury School combines features such as arched openings and chequerboard fenestration, steep-pitched roofs, dormers and tall ventilation stacks\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/adrian-james-architects-completes-arts-and-crafts-inspired-girls-boarding-house#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/adrian-james-architects-completes-arts-and-crafts-inspired-girls-boarding-house\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/adrian-james-architects-completes-arts-and-crafts-inspired-girls-boarding-house#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Adrian James Architects completes Arts and Crafts-inspired girls\u2019 boarding house\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"The Architects\u2019 Journal\",\"description\":\"Architecture News & Buildings\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/12806917e77ff2de74f79bac098aac26\",\"name\":\"Rob Wilson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/ed60d01e238ce7e0d3e0737fc651d917\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/48d9a751a55d1fed69daf73efdcee3c2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/48d9a751a55d1fed69daf73efdcee3c2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Rob Wilson\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/author\/rob-wilson-2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Adrian James Architects completes Arts and Crafts-inspired girls\u2019 boarding house","description":"The distinctive design of Queen Elizabeth Hall at Shrewsbury School combines features such as arched openings and chequerboard fenestration, steep-pitched roofs, dormers and tall ventilation stacks","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/adrian-james-architects-completes-arts-and-crafts-inspired-girls-boarding-house","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Adrian James Architects completes Arts and Crafts-inspired girls\u2019 boarding house","og_description":"The distinctive design of Queen Elizabeth Hall at Shrewsbury School combines features such as arched openings and chequerboard fenestration, steep-pitched roofs, dormers and tall ventilation stacks","og_url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/adrian-james-architects-completes-arts-and-crafts-inspired-girls-boarding-house","og_site_name":"The Architects\u2019 Journal","article_published_time":"2024-10-02T07:02:05+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-10-02T09:34:03+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.rt.emap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/09\/30172313\/Queens.1.front_.small_.webp","width":620,"height":414,"type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Rob Wilson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Rob Wilson","Estimated reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/adrian-james-architects-completes-arts-and-crafts-inspired-girls-boarding-house","url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/adrian-james-architects-completes-arts-and-crafts-inspired-girls-boarding-house","name":"Adrian James Architects completes Arts and Crafts-inspired girls\u2019 boarding house","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-10-02T07:02:05+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-02T09:34:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/12806917e77ff2de74f79bac098aac26"},"description":"The distinctive design of Queen Elizabeth Hall at Shrewsbury School combines features such as arched openings and chequerboard fenestration, steep-pitched roofs, dormers and tall ventilation stacks","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/adrian-james-architects-completes-arts-and-crafts-inspired-girls-boarding-house#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/adrian-james-architects-completes-arts-and-crafts-inspired-girls-boarding-house"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/adrian-james-architects-completes-arts-and-crafts-inspired-girls-boarding-house#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Adrian James Architects completes Arts and Crafts-inspired girls\u2019 boarding house"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/","name":"The Architects\u2019 Journal","description":"Architecture News & Buildings","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/12806917e77ff2de74f79bac098aac26","name":"Rob Wilson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/ed60d01e238ce7e0d3e0737fc651d917","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/48d9a751a55d1fed69daf73efdcee3c2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/48d9a751a55d1fed69daf73efdcee3c2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Rob Wilson"},"url":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/author\/rob-wilson-2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758178"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32845"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=758178"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758178\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":758455,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758178\/revisions\/758455"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/758218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=758178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=758178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=758178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}