Year | 2011
Location | 150th Wadsley Scout Hut, Sheffield
Client | 150th Sheffield Scout Group / Ingunn Holen
Wadsley Scout Hut is home to the Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers of the 150th Sheffield Scout Group. The group has been in existence since 1925 and in the last few years the numbers of young people and children using the building has rapidly expanded, stretching the HQ to capacity. The result of this is that an ever-increasing volume of items, for a variety of activities, has created clutter spread throughout the entire building. Furthermore, space is limited and ease of access within the building has been compromised with the greater numbers of members now attending.
The Live Project team has provided viable short, medium and long term proposals to allow for the future-proof development of the Scout Hut, based on a number of consultation exercises carried out both domestically, and at a community scale.
The short term proposal is a colour-coded storage system – built to accommodate the current layout of the building as well as any future proposals. The solution is entirely bespoke, designed to house both the existing, specific scouting equipment and allow for equipment that is acquired in the future. The design is also tailored to the safety of a young, lively user group. We engaged in participatory sessions with the scout groups, playing card and height games to determine their functional and preferential requirements. We also renovated the downstairs Scout Leader Room, repainting the walls and organising the refitting of the floor and blinds.
Longer term proposals involve the development and optimisation of the building in two key phases. The first involves a more efficient internal layout of the scout hut and a number of new kitchen designs which allow increased accessiblity into the building. The second phase involves four different proposals for an extension to the building, providing for community use. We have consulted with the local community to gauge potential interest in areas such as group activity sessions or birthday parties, which could be held in the building when the scout group sessions are not taking place and provide additional funds for the scout group. To ensure this can actually happen, we have produced planning application drawings for all options, as well as a series of action points and a fundraising application to the Awards for All Lottery Fund. This will allow the scout group to take these proposals forward as and when future fundraising permits.
