Ribbon cut on new nursery extension
The new extension to Mother Goose Corner Nursery in Huntingdon is complete.
Chris McCrae (Director) was kindly invited along to the official opening ceremony, to witness the ribbon cutting carried out by the mayor of Huntingdon, Councillor Bill Hensley.
Campbell McCrae Ltd were approached by the owners of the nursery for ideas about how to better utilise an under-used courtyard, surrounded on three sides by the existing nursery buildings. The brief was to provide a multi-purpose activity area, which better utilised the space and provided a greater relationship with the extensive garden area. In addition, floor area was in desperate needs to help alleviate the growing demand for nursery placements in the district.
Just a couple of sketch options later, a final layout was chosen, and the intricate detailing of the curved features of the extension began. With the aid of Tyton Building Solutions of Huntingdon, the nursery extension was completed in time for a new influx of children to enjoy.

From initial concept, 3D visualisations and Planning applications, through to technical drawings and detailed fit out specifications, this project in Bluntisham, Cambridgeshire has been a pleasure to work on. The clients brief on this project included a large flowing living area which took advantage of both the northern garden aspect and the natural light from the south. This element of the brief has been met through the provision of a large open plan Kitchen/dining room with flexible pocket doors accessing generous seating areas with large triple aspect windows and doors providing views and unrestricted access into the garden to the north and the suntrap courtyard to the south. In addition, the brief also needed to provide futureproofing for the occupants, and thus an emphasis was put on the provision of generous ground floor sleeping accommodation with associated dressing and en-suite facilities. With a relatively large footprint to accommodate the ground floor single level accommodation, we worked hard with the external appearance of the property to break it down into smaller elements, reducing the perceived overall cumulative mass of the building. This was achieved not only with the use of a mixture of flat and pitched roofs, but also with the clever use of the carefully selected materials pallet, which emphasise the separation between elements. The Planning Authority clearly agreed, as the application was approved within the statutory 8 weeks and without the need for any revisions. Externally, we worked closely with a Landscape Designer to provide a hard and soft landscaping proposal that will help settle the new house quickly into its mature surroundings, whilst also providing private and defensible zones for both humans and pets alike. We are looking forward to breaking ground on this project later this year and will be sure to post more progress images. Watch this space (as they say)!













