MILTON COMMON
Why can’t a highways service building be on the cutting edge of architecture? This question inspired the creative design process for Milton Common. Challenging the status quo is the only way to achieve truly sustainable change. A low embodied carbon material palette is carefully arranged to create a bold geometric design.
Not your average depot facility. Milton Common is a series of crafted office and light industrial buildings located off Junction 7 of the M40 near Thame, Oxford. A sensitive design approach provides modern, flexible and robust structures to support our client’s ability to respond to severe weather events. Enabling operational efficiency alongside resilience was key.
The site is currently home to a series of poor quality buildings which include both office and garage / maintenance facilities. Working alongside Carter Jonas and the wider team, our brief was to consolidate and optimise the existing maintenance depot to create an efficient use of the site whilst providing a high-quality working environment for those using the site.
In addition to the depot buildings, the project includes extensive landscaping. SuDS ponds alongside filter drains, swales, rain gardens and permeable paving. The water meadows promote ecological biodiversity and flood water attenuation. An embedded approach to sustainability has been essential from the outset to ensure a BREEAM rating of Excellent is achieved.
(01) OFFICE
(02) WORKSHOP
(03) SALT BARN
(04) STORAGE AND REFUELLING
(05) SUDS POND
(06) M40
Context – Located just off Junction 7 of the M40 provides the site with essential connections onto the road network for gritting lorries. A holistic design language has been utilised across the site to unify the office, workshop and salt barn. A sensitive massing approach has been taken to mitigate any impact on the residential community to the north of the site, with generous breaks between the blocks.
Context – Located just off Junction 7 of the M40 provides the site with essential connections onto the road network for gritting lorries. A holistic design language has been utilised across the site to unify the office, workshop and salt barn. A sensitive massing approach has been taken to mitigate any impact on the residential community to the north of the site, with generous breaks between the blocks.
Creating a centralised facility which encourages the collaboration of staff from both the office and on-site and maintenance teams was a primary aspiration of our client. Equally important was site safety and the management of both people and vehicles navigating across the site. The integration and consideration of both of these elements within the brief provided us with a challenging design task which forged the layout and program of the different spaces.
Low-rise residential dwellings are situated adjacent to the site along the northern boundary. The pitched roof typology has been influenced by these residential units. The pitches also assist in improving the natural ventilation throughout the building, while also creating an internal acoustic barrier.
Acoustics – The site sits within close proximity to residential houses. Given the nature of a working industrial yard, intelligent architecture had to be employed to minimise the impact on this neighbouring community. The workshop’s folded roof geometry creates a natural sound baffle which suppresses the noise created by the work trucks. Furthermore, the site layout is arranged to assure no reversing is required to keep work noise to a minimum.
Acoustics – The site sits within close proximity to residential houses. Given the nature of a working industrial yard, intelligent architecture had to be employed to minimise the impact on this neighbouring community. The workshop’s folded roof geometry creates a natural sound baffle which suppresses the noise created by the work trucks. Furthermore, the site layout is arranged to assure no reversing is required to keep work noise to a minimum.
Project Info
STATUS
PLANNING APPROVED, 2023
TYPE
OFFICE AND INDUSTRIAL
LOCATION
COUNTY
OXFORDSHIRE
CLIENT
CONFIDENTIAL
AREA
1600m²
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