Ogmore Village Hall

Ogmore-by-Sea is located three miles south of Bridgend on the Glamorgan Heritage Coast, a 14-mile stretch of spectacular coastline that was awarded Heritage Coast status in 1972.

The design brief required a contemporary, site-specific response to complement the architectural design & detail of this valuable community resource. The design is inspired by the elemental nature of the site, and illustrates the elements, the geology, commerce and the salmon of Ogwr.

Watercolours painted ‘en plain air’, representing the elements, dominate the façade, which draws on the transparency of the medium, whilst the undecorated areas allow the changing sky to become part of the scheme.

The silvered elements in the glass show blueprints for some of the sailing vessels that plied their trades along this stretch of coast. They echo the boat-like architecture of the Village Hall itself, and the architectural cladding on the adjacent rotunda.

The ammonite shapes refer to the 300 million year-old fossils found in the carboniferous limestone along the neighbouring heritage coastline, whilst the salmon represent the origin of the name “Ogmore, which is derived from ‘eog’, the Welsh word for ‘salmon’.

The decorative windows were funded by Waterstone Homes as a Section 106 contribution to the local infrastructure, in respect of their Craig yr Eos (Tusker’s Point) residential development nearby.

Commissioner: Trustees, Ogmore-by-Sea Village Hall Association

Address: Village Hall, Slon Lane, Ogmore-by-Sea, Vale of Glamorgan

Architects: Air Architecture, Swansea

Commissioning Agent: Studio Response, Cardiff