Sands End Arts & Community Centre shortlisted for the Stirling Prize

The scheme with Mae Architects for Hammersmith & Fulham Council sets a new benchmark for what a community centre could be and addresses wider concerns about sustainability that are important to the client and the local community.

The centre consists of a completely restored Edwardian park keeper’s lodge surrounded by a newly built cluster of pavilions that provide spaces for exhibitions, events, café and a nursery, all run by a local residents’ association. It was designed with a circular approach from the outset, and in addition to the reduction in embodied carbon afforded by using structural timber, the glulam and CLT structural system brought simplicity, efficiency and beauty to the whole design.