The Little Hall
Subscribe now to instantly view this image
Subscribe to the Architects’ Journal (AJ) for instant access to the AJ Buildings Library, an online database of nearly 2,000 exemplar buildings in photographs, plans, elevations and details.
Already a subscriber? Sign in
View towards Hall from Playground
Jack Hobhouse Download Original
A multi-use dining hall and after-school club space for Prestwood Infant School
Taking influence from Roald Dahl (who lived in the area for 36 years) the design concept is inspired by the Grand Feast Hall from the children’s book, Fantastic Mr. Fox
A timber and glulam structure creates a multi-use dining hall and after-school club space. A brightly coloured stained cedar facade wraps around the two main elevations to link the new hall back into the school setting, as the roofline of the existing school is echoed in the shape of the new facade.
New windows at different heights offer glimpses into the hall from the playground, on the interior creating seating ledges and shelves for the children and their work
The materials and detailing are cost-effective and simple: insulation is on the underside of the structural slab so its top surface can be polished as a floor; the walls are clad in oiled birch-faced plywood. Behind the timber facade is a corrugated polycarbonate rainscreen over an insulated timber frame.
Data
- Begun: Jul 2015
- Completed: Jan 2016
- Floor area: 110m2
- Sector: Education
- Total cost: £158,000
- Funding: Private
- Tender date: Jan 2015
- Procurement: JCT minor works with contractors design
- Address: Prestwood Infant School, Moat Lane, Prestwood, Great Missenden, HP16 9DF, United Kingdom
Professional Team 
- Architect: De Rosee Sa
- Client: Prestwood Infant School
- Structural engineer: Alcock Lees Partnership
- Contractor: RIR Construction