Architecture practice, Barr Gazetas, has designed a new wing for The Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children in Clerkenwell, reportedly London’s only facility of its kind.
The architects delivered a ‘simple, yet fully equipped’ 45 m2 extension, constructed by Cornish Builders, that will double the space for speech and language therapy sessions ‘on a small budget of £250,000’.
“The new wing responds to the growing needs of a facility named after the Monty Python member, whose father had a stammer all his life,” the practice explains.
Externally, Barr Gazetas wanted the new wing to complement its surroundings. The traditional banded brick elevation ‘subtly references’ the adjacent Grade 1 listed church of Our Most Holy Redeemer. Director, Alistair Barr, who has personal experience of stammering, led the project, ‘with the premise that good design would promote calm in the children and their parents’. He attended parent/child meetings, and ‘followed every step of the design and construction process to ensure the best possible space was provided for the young attendees’.
Barr Gazetas added: “The resulting warm, calming space significantly enriches the therapy process: large windows allow in generous amounts of natural light, acoustic plasterboards make for a quiet environment, and a lively colour palette connects with the young users.”
Image Credit: Courtesy of Rob Baker Ashton
