Beacon Barracks Junior Ranks Hub Stafford, UK
Beacon Barracks Junior Ranks Hub is a perfect example demonstrating where we worked within constraints to create spaces that people want to use.
Corstorphine & Wright is the multidiscipline design leader and lead consultant for the £150 million redevelopment of Beacon Barracks.
As part of this specific project, we were tasked with increasing site capacity to accommodate 3 signal regiments. This included creating a junior ranks hub, a key social space.
The hub had to cater for different uses, meeting the increased capacity needs and adhering to minimum military requirements – while being an appealing space people wanted to use.
Our intelligent design generated a series of high-quality spaces, which work together to create volume.
Using JSP scales as the foundation, we created a top-lit passage through the centre of the building. The roof accommodated daylighting from above in a way that avoided solar glare.
This allowed us to increase light without overcomplicating the building form or taking costs above minimum military requirements.
Main dining rooms, coffee rooms and meeting spaces flowed off the wide passage. In this way, the passage became a key internal design feature acting as a strong wayfinding device, allowing users to be constantly aware of where they are in the building.
Since coronavirus, it has also helped facilitate an effective one-way system and social distancing.
9 years after construction, the hub remains a well-used, well-maintained facility.
Feedback has been that people didn’t realise barracks buildings could be like this.
Rather than being purely utilitarian, it’s a place people enjoy using – and has contributed to morale and retention among junior ranks.
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