The SiOO X Story – Protecting the Planet - Book - Page 33
Materials and textures play an important role in the construction
of the buildings that enclose these spaces and affect our behaviour within them. Wood has much to offer in this regard, and
its value in the promotion of mental and physical wellbeing in,
for example, hospitals and care facilities can be seen in the use
of cladding and engineered timber in several Maggie’s Centres;
initiated by landscape architect, Maggie Keswick, in reaction to
the absence of a place where she could go to deal with her own
cancer diagnosis. There are now many of these facilities around
the UK, designed by architects commissioned by her husband,
Charles Juncos. The Centres provide free, practical, emotional
and social support to people diagnosed with cancer and, having
no precedents to draw upon, can be seen to represent a new
building type, the design interpretation of which has continued
to evolve. Arguably, those that have made use of timber in their
structures, cladding and interior finishes have been amongst
the most successful, recent examples being the centres in Manchester (by Foster+Partners), Oldham (by DRMM Architects) and
Oxford (by Wilkinson Eyre Architects).
Located in County Kildare in Ireland, the Barretstown Childrens
Charity (illustrated in Case Study 4) offers free specially designed
camps and programmes for children and their families, from all
over Europe and the UK, living with a serious illness – supported
behind the scenes by 24 hour on site medical and nursing care.
The Elizabeth Tree House was specifically designed to meet the
needs of campers providing a combination of excitement and
tranquility inside its modern tree house design. At the ’heart’
of the camp, the Dining Hall is a hugely important space where
all of the Barretstown campers, staff and volunteers meet three
times a day for meals, dancing, fun and games. The extensive
larch cladding is treated with SiOO:X.
External appearance is very much part of the appeal of timber
buildings: done badly, it can create an environment that seems
blighted and potentially threatening: done well and suitably
protected, it can encourage a feeling of environmental wellbeing and a desire to spend leisure time in close proximity to
well-designed timber structures.
Barretstown Children’s Centre Ireland, McCauley Daye O’Connel Architects. Photo: Donal Murphy.
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