Dorset Chartered Builders, Greendale Construction, are helping to make dreams come true for one Ringwood charity, with the construction of two new craft workshops at their campus which will enable adults with special needs to benefit further from the community’s holistic approach.
The Lantern Community, which offers adults with a learning disability the possibility to contribute and partake in a mutually supportive environment, has spent over ten years fundraising for the project. The new pottery and weavery, being built by Greendale, will use green and ecological methods wherever appropriate and will enable the 34 adult residents and 10 day placements with a learning disability, to experience meaningful day opportunities from 9-5pm, 5 days a week.
The design of the workshops, by CASA architects, has been developed to a very high environmental standard, planned to substantially exceed the energy conservation requirements, reducing the dependence on energy. The buildings are designed to work as a pair, of similar form, materiality and in detail. The roofs are proposed as cedar shingles with small elements of copper and the walls in materials to reflect the use of the internal spaces, so clay bricks for the pottery and flexible workshop with small elements of render and woven oak lathes between brick ‘book ends’ for the weavery and seasonal crafts areas within the buildings.
The 48 week project will also incorporate a “foundation stone” for each building. Made of copper in one of the workshops, the dodecahedron will be filled with whatever each member of the community feels expresses their connection to the Lantern. This is then buried within each building on a special occasion with all the community in attendance.
The Lantern Community Day Services Manager, Emma Borbely-Bartis, explained: “Our new craft centre will create many more places for people with a learning disability to be involved in meaningful work each day, being part of a team and creating beautiful products which they can all feel proud of. We have worked creatively with our architects “Casa” on the design of our buildings and we are very pleased to entrust the project to local builders Greendale. After 10 years of fundraising, dreaming and planning for this new project to begin, we at last feel like the dream can become a reality!”
Greendale Director, Rob Hooker, said: “Greendale’s are proud to be working on this “green” project to create what will be a terrific working facility for the members of the Lantern Community.”