GLA were invited by the charity Dementia Carers Count (DCC), to take part in a limited Competition for a new building – and a relatively new building Type – a Carers Centre for those looking after people living with Dementia. The new building brings together the Charity’s administration hub with 20 room Accommodation for those attending residential Courses, an Education Centre, Catering Facilities and Cafe.

The Site sits at the edge of a new business park at Stoneleigh, near Warwick, and offers the opportunity (and in Planning terms, the need), for a building of some scale. On the other hand, the Carers Centre asks for spaces with intimate scale and a sense of protection and respite. These two complementary demands lead to the proposal to take on a falling form which drops from a three storey scale to a low single storey and embraces a courtyard on three sides. The fourth side remains open to the stunning views out from the site over the Avon Valley, and makes a connection with the surrounding landscape.