Sunnyside Rural Trust are an established local charity that provides opportunities for vulnerable people with learning difficulties to work in rural activities including horticulture, beekeeping and with various animals. We worked in collaboration with other architects at D-Lab Studios in Berkhamsted on the design of the project, whilst working closely with Sunnyside Rural Trust to achieve a low cost, sustainable facility.
The project comprises a series of three barn like community buildings that provide improved facilities at the Northchurch site. The project involved a simple timber framed design, raft foundations and a large array of PV panels that offset electrical consumption. The charity self built aspects of the building and materials were donated by stakeholders and local businesses. The project features a large greywater recycling tank for irrigation and planting.
Sargeant Architects were involved in the collaborative concept design stages and led the project during the technical design and contract administration stages. The project was created in collaboration with Nicola Few at Rise Architects and Kirsten Holland at Shape Terrain Studio.