Utopia provides shared social and meeting room facilities for tenants on the 1200-hectare Broughton Hall estate, where redundant outbuildings have been converted to provide workspace for up to 40 businesses.

The welcoming new communal building acts as a focal point for the businesses’ 500 or so staff by providing a large common room for lunch and for evening events, plus associated meeting, catering and service spaces.

Designed for construction by the estate team themselves, Utopia is located within the walls of the former walled kitchen garden. Elevated by an oak plinth, this position gives commanding views over the landscape, which has been remodelled by Dan Pearson, and the countryside beyond.

The single-storey pavilion is organised around a central common room with a glazed front and back. This space is bookended on either side by timber-clad wings housing the smaller rooms, whose structure incorporates laminated oak structural columns. These support the steel truss roof structure, which forms a clear span across the space, which has a central roof light and a glazed clerestory. The timber soffit extends beyond the column line as part of the overhanging eaves, which shade the windows and protect the surrounding open veranda. An outside seating area and graded steps lead down to the garden.

As well as serving as a central hub for the businesses on the estate, Utopia is available to rent and has hosted events, concerts and theatre performances.