Net Zero Carbon design featuring EQUITONE facade material

HLM Architects were asked by Wokingham Borough Council to create a community centred and modern building to replace the old and dated Activity Centre. HLM’s design is inspired by the centre’s beautiful and natural setting and supported the Council’s commitment to be carbon neutral by 2030.

Celebrating the natural lakeside surroundings, the modern £2.4million scheme provides educational and leisure facilities for the local community in Dinton Pastures County Park for adventures on water and land. The new centre includes an activity hall, adults and children’s changing areas, dual-use teaching and conference spaces, and a coffee shop opening on to a spectator terrace overlooking the lake and park to cater for all the needs of the users and visitors.

HLM worked with Reds10 to complete the structure offsite, with the facade applied later on-site. The designed is noted as it doesn’t look like the often maligned rectangular ‘shipping’ container shape which comes to mind when off-site production is mentioned. The size and presence of the two-storey building is specifically designed to be in harmony with the surrounding landscape and sits like a hidden oasis nestled between the treeline and shoreline. 75 per cent of the building was completed offsite; 16 modular frames were built and then transported to Dinton Pastures Country Park and then lifted into place. The facades were then added to the substructure on site. The modular approach significantly reduces the carbon emissions in the construction process.

EQUITONE was used on the ground-level of the building. The high-density characteristic of EQUITONE worked well for the high footfall areas that will be getting a lot of contact, and where durability is crucial.

The colour was considered a sympathetic complement to the FSC-certified Siberian larch chosen for the upper building, which is designed to weather overtime and blend in further with setting. Another important consideration was that EQUITONE is naturally resistant to many living organisms (fungi, bacteria, insects, vermin, etc.) and requires no harsh chemicals to clean.