Oxford Architects were appointed by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council to create a new flexible community facility and ‘village focus’ to a new housing area on the outskirts of Basingstoke.

The community hall, which will be fully managed by the local community association, needed to be very low maintenance and accommodate a range of facilities including a community hall, nursery space, meeting rooms and a bespoke Youth Club. The building utilises Glulam beams, lightweight construction and high levels of insulation.

A number of green initiatives were explored and it was agreed to use under floor heating using ground source heating, with predominantly timber flooring and other BREEAM A* rated materials such as linoleum.

• New 400sqm community centre with two halls and meeting spaces
• The building was adjacent to a large playing field providing an excellent opportunity to maximise the benefits of ground source heating
• By using lightweight construction, it was possible to minimise construction drying times and increase the response time for heating
• The centre is equipped with an air management system which measures CO2 levels, temperatures inside and out and wind speed
• Louvres and windows automatically adjust to give the optimum environment