Queen Elizabeth Hall is the new girls boarding house at Shrewsbury School, the historic private school famed for its beautiful campus perched above the river Severn. The new house sits on the edge of the campus with panoramic views over the river towards the centre of Shrewsbury town. The design makes the most of the location with a double-height moon door on the main internal communal space, addressing the view. This space is at the eastern end of the linear building which wraps around a centuries-old cedar of Lebanon creating an enclosed private garden for the girls.

The new building is designed to feel like a home not an institution. Externally the form of the building is informal, with a picturesque massing composed of pitched roofs, tall brick stacks and a chequerboard arrangement of the windows which offset floor on floor. These elements all combine to give the building an Arts & Crafts feel, albeit expressed in a contemporary manner.

Internally the floors flow around the garden with social spaces built in at every kink in the plan. The house is built as a haven for the girls to feel safe, comfortable, and socially engaged, i.e. at home.

The gable ends of the house each sport a pair of ventilation stacks which not only reference the chimneys of the Edwardian neighbour, but also flag the sustainability of the building, which will have a very low carbon footprint in use. This is achieved with a ‘fabric first’ highly insulated and airtight skin, plus a mechanical ventilation system, air source heat pumps and a large array of PV panels on the roof.

Design: Adrian James Architects
Photography: Fisher Studios