St John’s Music Room

Date: 2018

Architect/Designer: Clementine Blakemore Architecture

Structural Engineers: Webb Yates Engineers

Location: Buckinghamshire

Timber Workshop were selected to convert an existing school shelter into a fully enclosed and heated music classroom. The first phase of the building had been built as a university project by Clementine Blakemore Architecture, working with members of the local community.

Acting as the main contractor, this second phase entailed stripping the existing building back to its existing structural skeleton. From there it could be cleaned and refurbished after a few years of exposure to the seasons. New walls, floor and roof were added to enclose the structure, whilst updating it to satisfy modern building regulations. The tight budget was an important part of the project. We worked closely with Clementine Blackmore to find inventive and pragmatic solutions to many of the architecture details and material choices.

The building utilises timber in a number of different ways. Externally a green, rough sawn European Larch rainscreen gable wall faces the school. The roof and side walls are clad with black stained, feather edged boarding, whilst the internal walls and floors are lined with Spruce plywood and Norwegian Spruce soffit boards. A polycarbonate wall encloses the rear gable end.

Photos: Will Scott Photography