Abbey St Bathans Village Hall

LOCATION: Duns, Scottish Borders

CLIENT: Abbey St Bathans Village Hall Trust

CONTRACTOR: Jon Cruickshanks & Sons Ltd

The Vision

Nestled in the steep wooded valley of the Whiteadder Water, Abbey St Bathans is a small picturesque village in the rural landscape of East Berwickshire. Dating from the 1920’s, with its striking blue façade and red tin roof, the village hall had long been a feature in the surrounding, agricultural landscape. Originally built as a drill hall, it remained popular as a venue for gatherings with the community developing a strong sense of affection and ownership.

Despite its significance to the local community, however, the building was fast approaching the end of its natural life,

with deterioration obvious not just in its dilapidated exterior, but also in its poor environmental performance, resulting in issues such as dampness and rot. The inevitable discomfort and high running cost aside, concerns had also been raised about the integrity of the structure.

The Solution

Appointed by the Abbey St Bathans Village Hall Trust, CSY’s collaborative approach protected this social capital via a programme of briefing and design, involving multiple user groups that ensured ongoing investment in the project’s success, beginning with the establishment of prioritised need followed by a participative approach to the design process.

The lush woodland surrounding provides a unique backdrop to the village hall.

The addition extensive glazing to the east elevation and a generous hard landscaping to the north of the building opens up the building to its surroundings, making the valley landscape an integral part of the over-all spatial experience.

A strong sense of delivering a sustainable building using local suppliers emerged,

with the proposed lightweight, highly insulated building sitting on specialist, lightweight foundations to mitigate ecological impact and ensure a robust and thermally efficient envelope. Careful internal planning built in an element of future-proofing and flexibility; critical to the Trust when considering multiple income streams.

It is an absolute triumph!

James

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Community Trust

The simple form and materiality, inspired by the surrounding agricultural architecture, allowed the hall to sit comfortably within its rural context.

Heating is provided via a ground source heat-pump, thereby minimising utility costs to the client with wood-fibre insulation used as a natural solution to achieving high thermal efficiency.

The Conclusion

By specifying lightweight, timber construction, CSY worked closely with a local contractor to ensure that the loss of the previous village hall was mitigated by prioritising fast construction methods without compromising on quality.

The completed building houses a large hall supported by a series of ancillary spaces. CSY has aimed to provide the client with maximum operational flexibility, giving resilience day to day and through the life of the building, reducing energy costs and always responding to the needs of the community.