The unbroken exterior is clad in black vertical weatherboard
Croydon-based contractor STP Solutions has completed a £360,000 timber-framed Design Technology block for a private school in Ashford, Kent.
Architect Squire & Partners designed the teaching block to occupy an area within the St James Senior Boys’ School grounds that was previously home to an ad hoc collection of sheds and storage units.
The 175 sq m building houses a workshop for 20 students and two teaching staff, as well as an office, plant and store room.
Internally the block has an exposed timber frame, supplied by Carpenter Oak & Woodland, that takes inspiration from the craftsmanship and simple technology of timber-framed buildings in the south east of England.
The exposed timber frame has been built using traditional methods
The frame has been constructed using traditional methods, with pegged mortise and tenon joints. These traditional elements are counterpoised by steel hex-head fixings and the sheets of birch-faced ply panels that line the walls.
In contrast to the traditional interior, the building’s envelope is starkly modern. It is clad in a black vertical weatherboard and cover strip system, within which a concealed gutter and flush pyramidal rooflight has been placed to create an unbroken building form.
According to the architect, exposing the timber structure and employing traditional construction methods were an important part of the project, as this approach clearly displays to the students the beauty, longevity and practicality of timber as a building material.
