The Sunbeams Music Therapy Center is located in the famous Lake District: near the town of Penrith in Cumbria, in the Ullswater Valley, one of the lake's namesake. It houses an institution that was founded by musician Ann Mawson in 1992, but until recently did not have a building of its own. Mawson and her colleagues help children and adults with physical and mental disabilities, elderly people with severe disabilities, including dementia, and hospice patients.
The center provides assistance free of charge and subsists on donations, funds raised through charity concerts, etc.; therefore, for a long time, there was no talk of building a special structure for organizing. However, in 2001, when Will Mawson, the nephew of the founder of Sunbeams, completed his architectural education, designed a building for the center of music therapy as a diploma work, this idea liked Ann. She took up fundraising, by the end of the 2000s, the final project was ready, and at the end of 2016, after almost two years of construction, the building with a budget of just under 2 million pounds was commissioned.
The building is inscribed in the slope of the valley; The "natural" appearance is emphasized by the facades sheathed with oak boards and cedar shingles, slate walls and a green roof. Slate and wood have also "penetrated" the interiors. Most of the materials were produced nearby (say, insulation at the PassivHaus level is made from wool of local sheep), among other environmental components of the project are extensive use of natural lighting and ventilation, geothermal heating system. The structure consists of steel elements and laminated timber beams.
An important place on an area of 600 m2 is occupied by the oak-clad "Classic Hall" for 100-120 spectators: it is named after the composer Philip Glass, one of the trustees of the Sunbeams. It is planned to hold concerts there, thus raising money for the center. There is also a recording studio, offices, but most importantly - acoustically isolated rooms for group and individual music therapy sessions.
