PROJECT // 1ST NORWICH SEA SCOUTS

LOCATION // NORWICH, NORFOLK

TYPE //COMMUNITY

We were approached, on the centenary of 1st Norwich Sea Scouts troop, to look at a replacement building to their original 1960's precast concrete hut, in the Lakenham area on the River Yare. 

The current building has served the troop well but had come to the end of its useful life with issues such as concrete deterioration and limited scope to insulate.  This has meant it is uneconomical to maintain or refurbish.

Working closely with the Scout Troop we designed a new building on the existing site. It combined good working elements of the existing building with new ideas to provide a vibrant and functional headquarter building.

The building fronts onto the river with a series of folding sliding doors so the main hall can integrate easily with the external space and provide plenty of natural light.  A series of ‘dens’ are located along the main hall, formed by polycarbonate sheet clad walls and the future installation of climbing walls, to provide niches for scouts to plan and plot!

A timber clad, timber frame solution with zinc roof was carefully detailed.  The simple contemporary building provides additional space and enables shared use with other scout troops and community users to ensure a long-term future base for this historic scout troop.

The building was officially opened in July and was awarded an NAA Craftsmanship Award 2013.

Alongside this, Neal become an 'Honorary Mate' of the 1st Norwich Sea Scouts in recognition of his input to the project.