Cornerstone, South Oxfordshire District Council’s new multi-million pound centre for arts, culture and entertainment, which opened last month, has been hailed as the “architectural jewel in South Oxfordshire’s crown”.

The 2,010 square metre centre was designed by architects Ellis Williams Architects, who designed the Baltic Centre in Gateshead. South Oxfordshire District Council has worked closely with the architects and artists, local community groups and schools to give this landmark building a distinctive and contemporary look.

The exterior of the building is encased in silver aluminium cladding and its giant floor to ceiling windows are framed with mustard yellow and bright orange panels.

Art and creativity are central to the building’s look and feel. Unique design features created by artists Richard Layzell and Jacqui Poncelet, which won funding for their ingenuity from the Arts Council, Lottery Fund and other external funders, give warmth to the building making it feel welcoming and part of the local community. These features include:

The Window Wall. Faces out to the street and offers community groups, artists and schools an exhibition space for their work. Each window is designed to be used by a different group from the under 5s to local professional artists. The Window Wall connects the art inside to the people outside, demystifying what is going on inside the centre and making local people feel comfortable and welcome inside.

The Everyday Jewels display case will be a permanent sculpture exhibit developed with the community. The concept is to value small things that are unique to Didcot. The every day jewels displayed will include archaeological items excavated from the power station site and more modern items relevant to young people

The Perforated Panels idea came from a winning pupil at St Birnius School. Ian Caswell’s design was selected by Ellis Williams Architects and has been adopted into the fabric of the building. The perforations and cut outs in the cladding create a textured, three dimensional effect and are back lit to provide an eye catching feature at night.

Finally, Style Acre, a body working closely with adults affected by learning disabilities, greatly influenced the design of the door handles used to access the auditorium. The design is tactile and unusual, made of birch wood and easily manageable for all abilities. Renowned handle makers, John Planck Ltd, have realised the concept beautifully.

The centre comprises a seated (up to 278) auditorium for drama, music, dance and comedy, plus exhibition and studio space, and a café, bar and restaurant.

In addition to attracting top quality, national touring acts, Cornerstone, which is funded by South Oxfordshire District Council, aims to nurture and showcase the best local talent.

It will also host a wide range of cultural and creative activities with everything from photography exhibitions and creative writing sessions to yoga and hip hop classes. There will be entertainment and classes for children and young people too.

Cllr Bill Service, South Oxfordshire District Council’s Cabinet member with responsibility for leisure, said: “Ellis Williams has designed a contemporary and colourful new home for the arts, able to embrace as many different art forms and genres as possible, and to be accessible and welcoming to all.

“All those involved can be justifiably proud of the final product. The design is breath taking. It truly is the architectural jewel in South Oxfordshire’s crown”.

Architects Ellis Williams, said "It's been an exciting process for us, developing the design collaboratively with the council, artists and local arts groups. We're really pleased that we've been able to realise a unique design and Cornerstone looks fantastic as the centrepiece to the new town square."

Email: ruth@3-monkeys.co.uk