St. Wilfrid’s – A new residential home in Sheffield
A demolished car wash site has recently become the new home to St. Wilfrid’s residential unit in Sheffield, providing living accommodation for vulnerable adults and those living with mental illness. Once opened, residents will be offered support for up to two years, learning how to manage day-to-day activities, in preparation for independent living.
The four storey building houses 20 apartments of which two have disabled bathrooms and a further three that could be converted for disabled. It has a ground floor reception area and communal room with kitchen as well as a meeting room and disabled toilet. Each floor can be accessed by stairs or lift and security is provided by ground floor CCTV, smoke & heat detectors, sprinklers and a door access system. The site also provides parking for 18 cars and 5 disabled spaces.
Originally planned as a ten month project, the unexpected discovery of asbestos at the far end of the site delayed the works by six weeks, and a patch of Japanese knotweed is still being treated to a small external area around the building.
With a construction value of £1.9 million and final overall cost in the region of £2.1 million, paid for by way of grants and charitable donations, the brief given to architects Coda Studios was to design a functional yet cost effective building. The result is a structural block wall building with external brickwork and aluminium double glazed windows with decorative Trespa side panelling. The roofing is single ply with solar panels to reduce the carbon footprint and each apartment is fitted with condensing boilers to improve energy efficiency.
The project has been a multi-disciplined collaboration between St. Wilfrid’s day centre and local businesses, many of whom have taken part in raising funds for the charity to help with the cost of the build and subsequent furnishing. Amongst those involved have been principal contractor Henry Boot Construction and project managers Turner & Townsend, both of whom have involved themselves fully with the project on a non-profit or reduced fee basis in support of the charity.
“Initially Turner & Townsend became involved with the charity under a corporate social responsibility assignment, however due to our continued involvement and knowledge of the build we were delighted to provide the project management”, commented Chris Booth, senior cost manager from Turner & Townsend. Chris further added, “Turner & Townsend have welcomed the opportunity to be an integral element to the delivery of this asset for the community and the commitment of both businesses and individuals has been both heart-warming and humbling.”
Indeed, in the words of Josie Brooks, director of the day centre, “St. Wilfrid’s day centre has been an integral part of the local community for the last 25 years, offering support to vulnerable people within the area. Now, with the construction of this new facility, we will be able to extend that support by offering live-in accommodation and the opportunity to help integrate people back into the community.”
