Meadow End Spa

We experimented with two main building systems forming the building envelope; the building’s enclosing and forming elements (i.e. internal and external walls, roof deck, dropped ceilings) and the external timber rainscreen cladding. The former was constructed as a kit-of-parts - to be CNC'd from plywood sheets - developed by Neutral Projects. This project was intended to test at a small scale what would be possible at a larger, multistorey scale. And, this is where the system departed from other kit-of-parts systems. We designed the building enclosure as a solid - but non-loadbearing - framework to accept a series of load-bearing glulam columns and a ring beam. No setting out or special equipment was required. The columns slotted right into their place; the CNC kit located them precisely and ensured their verticality. This sequence of installation, i.e infill first, post and beam after, reverses the traditional sequence. The facade is imagined as a three dimensional threshold between the exterior and interior. The vertical board-on-board and locally sourced Douglas fir timber rainscreen and the trellis are conceived as a single element. Together they clad the building, frame views out to the garden from the interior and provide solar shading to the glazing behind. For the facade, we designed a dynamic jig - itself assembled from a series of CNC-cut plywood parts - to complete the cladding in panels rather than installing each board one-by-one as is the tradition. All cladding panel types, both ‘standards’ and ‘specials’ could be produced by a single jig by swapping in or out small parts.