We were briefed to design a concert hall and retreat for Sistema Scotland, a charity that uses shared learning of music as a tool to better the lives of its residents in Balloch. Key themes of the brief were the consideration of Energy, Culture and Landscape, where we were free to explore these independently.

The architectural intent of the project was derived from journey- from Balloch town centre, through the park and ultimately to the beach on site. The building should respond and correspond with this idea, and act as a link when this journey is broken, at the car park.

To emphasize journey, I was primarily inspired by Hans Schaoroun, and how he crafts orientation, placement and overall form into the heart of his work. I liked especially the way he broke down space into smaller clusters, which I have replicated to a degree in the retreat.

This focus on a cluster approach has, however, some negative environmental impacts, such as having a high surface area to volume ratio, which means more heat loss is likely to take place. More material will also be needed to be consumed for a build like this.

Therefore, I have tried to rebalance the architectural intent with sustainable technology; using sustainable methods and materials wherever possible, maximizing passive gains- such as solar gain and prevailing wind to combat overheating.

I believe that architectural intent should work with technology, where neither should dominate the other, as in my view, the most successful project creates a unique blend of these potentially polarizing ideologies.