Anderson Bell + Christie were awarded the contract to design the new Coll Community Building following the architectural competition hosted on Coll in November 2007. Members of the public present at this meeting were given feedback sheets, allowing them to post comments that would be considered during the process of design development. These comments have been abridged as follows:

 Aesthetics

• Traditional exterior is favoured.
• Scale should be tackled by presenting domestic buildings to the front/village and by sitting the building down in the landscape.
• Materials such as white render/stone preferred to concrete.
• Use of appropriately sized glazed areas seen as important. Size?
• Mixed views as to whether large expanses of timber would be a suitable external material as a result of poor weathering elsewhere.
• Slate was a clearly preferred option for roofing when compared to turf/zinc.

• The nearby Manse provides ideal opportunity to tie the building into the village but there was a desire not to be overly conservative with this approach.
• Some appetite for a building that is respectful of context and local style but is honest about the new departure it will bring. Should simultaneously feel new + like it has always been there!

 Main Hall

• Usable spaces should be able to expand/contract to double up as a meeting room for example.
• ‘Boxing down’ to spaces suitable for approx 20 and 60 persons was mentioned.
• Floor space of badminton court is an appropriate size, but height seemed to be unnecessarily large.
• Incorporate seating areas into alcoves was a real favourite.
• Fixed stage preferred by committee for acoustic reasons. However, others commented that the act of performing/participating should take precedence over acoustics.
• Dedicated storage space seen as important.
• Proximity of changing rooms seen as important.
• Exciting roof structure such as glue-lam beams if in budget
• Other attractive materials should be used internally where appropriate

• Kitchen could be shared with bunkhouse
• Bar and kitchen should be linked/integrated
• Breaking up the scale of this as lots of small buildings seen as preferable. However, too many side rooms were considered complicated.
• ‘Cosy corners’ were received favourably
• Equally, large shared spaces with other social facilities coming off them were also favoured.
• These two ideas can work in the same building.
• Reception should be able to greet car users/pedestrians equally well. This space should highlight how the community come together.
• Library/exhibitions could use this without needing dedicated space.
• Adaptable spaces that could be opened into a bigger capacity were received favourably.

• Clear source of revenue.
• Opinion evenly split over whether it should be separate from/joined with rest of building.
• May be appropriate to use a different material – like timber – due to its different scale.

• Car access to be from Church end.
• Trade off between concealing car park and providing quick, easy route from car to front door.
• Pedestrian access to be from village end.
• Curvy landscaping preferred to straight lines.
• Sheltered garden should be overlooked from adult/child seating area.
• Covered deck access would allow market/car boot.
• Strong desire to make the burn a feature at the front. 

• There should be a core to the building that works all year round.
• Important to consider sun path/prevailing winds.
• Short construction period seen as important.
• The importance of avoiding ‘ribbon development’ was highlighted.
• Maximise local skills where possible.

  Following a period of further design, three options were developed: ‘The Courtyard’, ‘The Steading’ and ‘The Church’. These were posted on the internet and then presented by the architects through a public meeting, community drop-in session and dedicated discussions with school children of all ages. The following comments were observed:

 Aesthetics

• As the drawings are still at a basic stage, it was not possible to pass a great deal of judgement over the aesthetics.
• However, robust materials such as stone, slate and render continue to be favoured.
• The use of timber internally received positive feedback but there is still concern that it should not be used extensively on the external of the building.

 Main Hall

• Proportions of the main hall need further consideration. It was unanimously agreed that it was not necessary to provide the 6m+ clearance height for badminton.
• Therefore, it was agreed that it was not appropriate to use the dimensions of a badminton court as the determining factor.
• Consider what capacity is appropriate for the hall. Design is for 186 people at present. Some suggested that this is the maximum attending current dances, and subsequently the hall should be bigger. Further debate necessary.
• Extra width is useful for dancing.
• Older members of the community would like to see facilities for sports such as table tennis and carpet bowls. The needs of children and PE lessons must also be taken into account.
• When asked, the young people saw the main hall as the most important space.
• Consider providing storage beyond one large space at the back. This could improve the currently long hall elevation.
• Would be useful to have a plan/dimensions of existing hall in order to allow comparison between new and old.

 Other Spaces

• The most important space here was perceived to be the shared social/greeting space. Interesting point that those who live remotely or off the main road don’t have visitors dropping in. Therefore it is important to make this space public and prominent so those passing by know what is going on.
• People like the idea of snug areas. While some designs, such as ‘The Steading’ already suggested these, it was hoped that it could still work in other approaches.
• Could a fireplace be used here?
• Meeting/working spaces will always be public so ‘interview’ type rooms should be avoided.
• Changing areas (with showers) were seen as an important addition worth making. It was pointed out that these would a more expensive use of space but it does tie-in with the idea that the building should encourage performance and participation.
• Ditto fixed stage.
• The relationship between WCs and performance space was seen as crucial. If possible, a link similar to that in ‘The Steading’ would be good as it allows performers to access WCs and potentially changing areas.
• Need to show disabled WC in plan. Unisex?
• There was concern that the kitchen was not big enough in any of the plans. It needs to be able to cope with both serving cups of tea to small meetings and full-on wedding receptions. Therefore, it is important to show the layout of the kitchen in order to ascertain if it is big enough. Discussions with the Hotel/First Port?
• Different approaches towards the position of the bar were raised. Some felt it had to be a separate entity, while others preferred linking it into the kitchen.
• By integrating it into the kitchen as a separate space (with it’s own servery?) both groups could be satisfied without compromise.
• Lockable cupboards may need to be provided.
• The prospect of allowing the kitchen to serve both the communal space off the hall and a secondary room is appealing to all.
• Worth remembering that if the kitchen has more than one servery, it should have more than one door.
• Different ideas regarding partitions. This will require further debate at the detailed stage. Options include using conventional doors, sliding panels, tapestry curtains, blinds etc.
• Double, triple the amount of storage asked for!
• All rooms should have built-in storage. This can developed into a design feature such as seating.
• When asked, school-boys felt that the music space was most important space after hall.
• Suggested that the music room could be a simple large storage room with good acoustic insulation.
• It was suggested that this could be detached from the building. This would attenuate nuisance noise and encourage a sense of ownership amongst young people. Has already been christened ‘The Quiet Room’!
• When asked, school-girls felt that gym facilities were most important space after the hall.

 Bunkhouse

• Opinion over how near these should be to the main building is still divided.
• Washing/drying facilities required.
• These laundry/shower facilities would provide income.
• ‘Yachties’ mentioned as a possible market here.
• Camping facilities could be provided for overspill. This should be considered when landscaping.
• Agreed that basic catering facilities should be provided. Encourage groups to use island caterers if possible.
• Support for differentiating these from the rest of the development through the use of a different material, such as timber.
• The possibility of integrating flats above other facilities in the main building was raised.
• Extensive research has already been conducted although Emma Lee at Dervaig and Judith Boyd on Tiree were both highlighted as important contacts worth re-visiting.

Landscaping/Access

• Car parking could be broken up into smaller areas. Potential to have a small number addressing the every day use of the hall and an over-spill area for larger functions.
• Interest in combining car park with sports facilities, even if this was only for an informal kick-about area.
• Necessary to accept that people will use this space anyway and subsequently the landscaping should be sympathetic to it.
• The provision of some outdoor sporting facilities was broadly seen as an important aspect of the project. Ideally this would be included in the initial build, but if this is not possible, appropriate space should be left for future provision.
• Grass Crete received favourably. However, some queried whether this would provide the smooth, dry surface necessary for sports.
• If the building has to step back from the road, consider how the landscaping/garden area can make use of this space.
• Look into mirroring the triangle of land opposite?
• Allotments were mentioned. If successfully integrated and well used, these would make the building seem busier to passers-by.
• Coll stone should be used. If budget restricts this, it should be maximised at the public entrance.
• Consider whether any clay from the site could be used in pottery on signage etc.
• Consider outdoor facility for smokers.

 Summary of ‘The Courtyard’

• Broad feeling that the use of a courtyard would be of benefit to the project.
• For courtyard to work to it’s potential, it must maximise solar gain while maintaining shelter from prevailing wind.
• This approach had the possibility of allowing a feeling of indoor/outdoor space even when weather/midges forced users indoors.
• Isolated work rooms provided a good balance to the large main hall.
• Young people preferred this approach as the courtyard would give them an external space to hang-out in.
• Traditional frontage important.
• However, the South facing elevation into the courtyard could be much more open/contemporary.

 Summary of ‘The Steading’

• Social space seen as a key feature worth replicating in whatever approach is taken.
• “The steading was the most suited to the meeting of a 7-year-old with a 70-year-old”
• Concern expressed about the lack of windows shown. Potential use of rooflights?
• The exterior was considered messy at present.
• Rationalising the roof structure would help here.
• Look at how chimneys could help elevations and massing.

Summary of ‘The Church’

• Broadly, this was seen as the least favoured option.
• The prospect of presenting the centre as a large building was not appealing to many. Consensus that this would dominate the landscape.
• Concern was expressed about the proximity of the kitchen to the social space, connected by a long corridor.
• However, as the most efficient footprint it has elements that proved popular.

Conclusion

• Other community buildings which were raised through discussion included: Colonsay, Islay, Lochboidsdale, Glen Garry and Iona. Further investigation required.
• A realistic approach to future-proofing the design to accommodate extensions, fit-outs and additional external facilities (such as an all-weather pitch) was shared by the community, the committee and the architects.
• Planting could take place shortly once a site strategy has been agreed. This would allow the landscaping a chance to bed in before construction work begins. Planting trees was discussed, but further consideration of other types of planting would be helpful. For example, the site was previously a corn field?
• Broadly, adults, young people + children agreed that the primary concern should be about getting the main hall and service facilities working well whichever approach was taken: “The hall is in for the long haul”.

On May 23rd, the designs for An Cridhe’s planning application were submitted to the Oban Planning office. It is estimated that this process will take at least two months. The architects, Karen Anderson and Michael Holliday will be visiting Coll on the 9th/10th June to discuss further details of building design. You can view the latest designs in the design process section.

As part of the project to design and fundraise for the proposed new community centre, the working group decided to run a competition to find a name for the new building.

We received over 50 entries, so many thanks to everyone who took part.

The working group decided on the name in two rounds of voting.
By the time we got to the second round we were down to five nominations.

The final vote was unanimously in favour of An Cridhe.

The group was very gratified to then find out that this had been entered under the names of ALL the primary school children!
However, this led to slight difficulties over the prize, which had been stated as 2 free tickets on Highland Airways’, Connel to Coll run.
The working group has organised a new prize, and the school children have now all been invited to the First Port to enjoy a dish of ice cream. The two tickets will be held over for another fundraising event. Many thanks to Highland Airways for their kind donation.

Now that we have a name we have asked local graphic designer, Ross Evans of Rosco&Ross design to come up with a logo for An Cridhe.

Derivation :-

Cridhe pronounced cree ( noun – male) of a place meaning Heart – Centre of a person Beloved or Heroic.

Cridhe na baille – centre of the village

Alasdair cridhe nan gleann – beloved Alasdair of the glens