The Micah Centre
The Micah Centre is a two storey community facility that both adjoins and is linked to the neighbouring Willowfield Parish Church. The development consists of classrooms, drop-in caf, lounge, crche and administrative accommodation. It can be entered from either Jocelyn Street or My Ladys Road.
The double height entrance foyer can be entered from both church or exterior and leads directly into the drop-in caf. Beyond this is a crche / youth room. Ancillary accommodation including male and female toilets is also provided. An enclosed play area to the front of the building is accessed via the creche & drop-in cafe. On the first floor 2 No. classrooms, community lounge, WCs and affiliated staff facilities are provided.
Contextually, the building needs to relate to a number of different scales. Stretching between church and rectory, the centre makes use of the same polychromatic brick colours found on the church. These are implemented as layers rather than bands and are further broken up by the timber protruding lounge bay window, splayed blue glazed brick entrance porch and splayed timber clad office window on Jocelyn Street. On Jocelyn Street the building has a slate pitched roof and window sizes similar to the terraced housing opposite. On My Ladys Road the larger glazing proportionally is more in keeping with the church and rectory.
The splay of the new My Ladys Road entrance porch cuts through the building to the opposite side acting both as directional device and tie between both Jocelyn Street & My Ladys Road. The building can also be seen and approached from the busier Woodstock Road at night the glass block screens within an expressed steel framework can be back lit as both cross and beacon for the surrounding community.