Chapter House

Chapter House provides 38 one and two-bedroom units for the over-55s. It includes a communal kitchen and reception space with a central fireplace, a guest room for visiting family or friends and a central courtyard overlooked by two shared balconies.

The building has accommodation around three sides of a cloister-like courtyard, all of which gets direct sunlight at some part of the day. The interior south-west wall of the courtyard is faced with light-coloured brick, which reflects light into this space
he architect has created a roofline which is both varied and ‘busy’, with numerous gables, each treated slightly differently. Although this is a modern, high-spec building, it is reminiscent of a structure that has grown organically over time.

Set within the simple and robust red brickwork frame of the colonnade, a series of corduroy brickwork panels give rhythm and texture to the façade. The panels consist of vertically laid bricks in two different colours with dark-red 65mm bricks forming the backdrop to projecting light-red 50mm brickwork bands. On the upper levels of the building the colour tones of the corduroy brick panels change, with the dark-red brick coming to the foreground, contrasting with a Staffordshire Blue brick in the background.

Above the main entrance a pre-cast canopy welcomes residents and visitors with large individually cast GRC letters, which are secured to the projecting entrance lintel. 

Powder-coated perforated aluminium panels have been used across the project as balcony balustrades. Their scallop-shell pattern refers to the coat of arms of Erasmus Darwin, a famous Lichfield resident (and grandfather of Charles Darwin) and to the shape of madeleines, Proust’s trigger for involuntary memories. The panels are laser-cut and sit within a slender aluminium frame fixed back to Velfac window frames behind.