Lakeview Village Hall Kent Grand Open Day

Project: Lakeview Village Hall, Great Easthall, Sittingbourne, Kent

Client: Swale Borough Council

Architect: BBM Sustainable Design Ltd.

Structural Engineer: MLM

Building Services Engineers: Norman Bromley Partnership LLP

Quantity Surveyors: QS Consultant

Project Managers: Synergy

Landscaping Architect: Andrew Ramsey Associates with BBM Sustainable Design Ltd.

Construction Manager: BMR Construction Ltd.

Total floor area: 206m²

The grand opening of Lakeview Village Hall formerly Great East Hall is scheduled for 8th July. The ribbon ceremony is scheduled for 11:00am and the event finishes at 15:00. Come and join the celebrations at: Lakeview Village Hall, Great East Hall Way, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 3TF. For further details on the day please visit the hall’s new website here.

In January 2015 we were awarded the appointment of architect for a new village hall within the rapidly enlarging neighbourhood of Great Easthall to the northeast of Sittingbourne in Kent. For the new building, named by local residents as Lakeview Village Hall, our pitch was to create a ‘marker on the map’; to provide a visual and community focal point within its emerging townscape and landscape setting.

The key features of the hall are a main space of 104 m² that can sub-divide into two smaller spaces of 37 m² and 66 m² respectively. The smaller of the two spaces directly connects to a children’s toilet to facilitate parent and toddler sessions. Notably the hall has been placed on the north side of the building, with spill-out doors facing away from the nearby housing, thus minimising the risk of noise nuisance. The design also includes a third activity space in the form of the entrance foyer which, as supported by the serving hatch of the adjoining kitchen, the architect’s foresaw as a place for hosting coffee mornings and provide catering for parties. It faces back to the lake at the heart of the new housing area. In effect this compact village hall can accommodate up to three independent activities simultaneously and as such it affords a sustainable potential for revenue generation.

The use of timber products includes the structurally insulated panels (SIPs) of the external walls, the glulam softwood structural frame, the oak shakes of the light canons and the glulam coppiced sweet chestnut of the external wall cladding. Coppiced sweet chestnut is not only grown and processed within the Kent and Sussex Weald, it also pays homage to the hop poles that are prevalent in the landscapes around Sittingbourne. Internally, the Granwood floor blocks are formed of a wood/cement composite as are the acoustic ceiling panels.

Upon completion we are hopeful that the Village Hall will provide a great home and focus for neighbourhood events and parties well into the future. We hope the new facility will stimulate a sense of place and belonging to the residents of Great Easthall.