Cumbernauld Community Enterprise Centre submitted for Planning ...

Cumbernauld Community Enterprise Centre submitted for Planning

CCEC will form a new multipurpose facility for the Social Enterprise and Small Business sectors in Cumbernauld, using the site at the existing Muirfield Community Complex in the town centre.

The site and current Community Facility are located within Cumbernauld town centre, locally bounded by residential properties and mature woodland. The existing building currently provides accommodation for several organisations (Community Learning and Development, Women’s Aid, Unemployed Workers Centre, Alpha Centre), and contains a variety of shared community facilities that sit alongside third sector organisations and an established day nursery.

The proposed building seeks to create a strong presence within Cumbernauld Town Centre. It forms a new civic realm and parkland that aim to serve the wider Cumbernauld community and enhance the town centre.

The building form is therefore deliberately powerful and robust. This hopes to convey the importance of the uses that are held within the building and bring these together within one coherent form.

A controlled palette of materials has been chosen to reflect this. The bottom two storeys are formed in brickwork with deep window reveals and colonnades at ground level. The upper storey is formed in glazed curtain walling and cladding panels to form a lightweight ‘cap’ to the building.

The landscaping strategy is simple and clear. A network of well-lit paths are formed to adoptable standards to link with existing pathways, roads and underpasses. These form triangulated areas that are mounded and angular. Key routes are lined with indigenous trees.

The areas immediately in front of the building are provided with enhanced ground cover, planting and seating to reinforce the main entrance and civic nature of the building.