Recognised for their sensitive approach to materiality Adam Richards Architects have created a collection of award-winning projects from the exquisite black zinc and tile clad cross-laminated timber Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft to the new-build home, Nithurst Farm, designed for the architect’s family.
The practice’s architectural language is joyfully visible in their new work at Mayfield School, an independent Catholic boarding and day school for girls. The Health and Wellbeing Centre has both architectural heft and a sense of playfulness with its half-moon ventilation ‘pavilion’ chimneys that grace the roof and are visible from the school’s art block echoed in the large window on the south façade. It’s a project bound to win awards.
Established in 1872, the school boasts an eclectic mix of architectural styles from a 13th century chapel to 20th century additions all set in the lush green landscape of East Sussex. Appointed in spring 2020 during the pandemic, Adam Richards was tasked with rationalising the school’s layout alongside the commission for the new health and wellbeing centre to replace an existing facility.
From the outset there were high ambitions for the project, which represents a return to architectural excellence on the site. As the first element in a wider masterplan the intention is that the design and specification of the health centre will set a precedent for further development.
The building is a striking addition to the landscape of the school. The use of stone bricks cut from pale cream coloured French Massangis limestone ensures that the building glows on the dullest of days. The exceptional geometry of the building features curves, corners and perforated boundary walls. Views from the inside out have been given equal consideration and are moderated according to the need for either connection or privacy. An internal courtyard forms a ‘secret garden’ and will be lushly planted.
The new building presents a palette of natural materials - stone and timber - in a way that is both recognisably sustainable and industry pioneering. Natural materials include felt acoustic wall lining in the reception area and Troldtekt sustainable ceiling panels with an acoustic performance.
There is an impressive attention to detail in the interior of the building which features two counselling rooms, a treatment room, two isolation rooms and a four-bed dormitory. Fisher Morrison fitted the curved wooden pieces of the corridor, adding to the bespoke handmade quality that really elevates this building. The practice specified beautiful sustainably-made furniture by Another Country enhancing the sense calm.
I visited the site in August 2024 shortly before completion and spoke to Adam Richards and project architect Joe Chilvers.
VN: Was the site a challenging context to work with?
JC: Around the school there's quite a few different things going on and we felt like the new building had to speak to all of those parts of the school to feel like it was part of the family. Obviously architecturally that's quite a challenge; to do something modern but something that speaks to the beautiful 13th century Chapel at the same time. There are stone buildings but then there are also brick buildings hence a stone brick building makes sense in that way.
VN: What was the client’s brief?
JC: The brief asked the practice to replace the old infirmary and to consolidate other facilities that were scattered around the school. They gave us a functional brief that we then workshopped into more of a conceptual brief. Early on there was this idea about a girl having a cup of tea and centring herself and that would be a key moment in the design. The kitchen is a flexible space with a big table that can seat quite a few. They might have informal mental health chats but also, they might have lessons. Sick pupils can have their meals in here.
VN: The building has serious sustainability credentials. Was that there in the brief?
JC: The client was keen for the building to be as sustainable as possible and had identified the use of CLT early on. Every opportunity was taken to be sustainable. We’ve been incredibly lucky with the client who knows that this building is important. The quality of the architecture of the school is really good but had gone figuratively and literally downhill. He saw that the school could get back to its roots and that’s why it is so important that this is a good building.
VN: The switch from clay bricks to low-carbon stone bricks is both simple and a total game changer. Can you say more about how you used the bricks?
JC: Brickwork and traditional stone walling speak to both the older and contemporary elements of the school. We tried to reflect the mixed bonds used in a more traditional stone wall. We looked at the option of having a standard stretcher bond which felt too ‘bricky’. Once you have the mix of singles and doubles the texture that creates is more reminiscent of a stone wall and much more monolithic. The idea came from our conversation with Polycor, the stone brick suppliers.
There were differences with laying stone bricks; they are more clinical than traditional bricks so the consistency of the mortar is vital. We chose the lime mortar with a limestone aggregate to match the colour of the bricks.
VN: You have wonderful references for your work, Adam. You had cited the work of Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky as an influence on Nithurst Farm. Where did you look for inspiration for the school?
AR: The outside wall is based on Renaissance fortifications with the idea to evoke a city wall in a medieval painting. Part of that was to try and reinforce a sense of a boundary. When you see it from the playing fields it ‘gathers up’ the miscellaneous buildings and make them feel like they are part of a city. It gathers them into a group and helps create the idea that this is a community that has a series of buildings in which it operates.
The 17th Century French military engineer Vauban was an influence for the shape of the roof. Vauban’s work was about the response of fortifications to artillery. Fortifications dropped in height massively when artillery came along – it was no longer about high walls to stop people with ladders, it was about low walls you could fire back from. The forts were beautiful with completely symmetrical plans like a lotus flower. They could resist attack but at the same time had an incredible beauty.
We looked at the existing buildings on the site. These references weren’t a literal duplication but instead were abstracted elements. We looked at other ecclesiastical buildings and there’s also a cheeky bit of Stirling in the overhang.
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