• Location: Bogota
• Country: Colombia
• Year of Completion: 2009
• Client: Secretaria de Integración Social, Bogotà
• Architect: Giancarlo Mazzanti Arquitectos Website
• Size: 1,630 m²
• Pupils: 300 [mixed]
• Construction Sum: £1M [2009]
• School building Programme/ Initiative: N/A

Overview

The kindergarten is located in a shantytown on the outskirts of Bogota, characterised by a lack of town planning and by high rates of violent crime and poverty. The new school has become a symbol of civic regeneration and the boost for social change, in line with many other comparable urban regeneration experiences conducted in Colombia by Sergio Fajardo, former major of Medellin and current candidate as vice-president for this year’s elections.

An oval belt, made by an external screen and a sheltered space, characterises the exterior aspect of the school and defines the separation between the school and the public space, creating secure spaces for children’s play: the quality of this building is a statement of “gentle order” that creates a stark contrast to the roughly built homes surrounding it.

Within the oval enclosure, the plan is composed of a series of modular classrooms arranged in an informal way, providing spatial variety in the indoor circulation areas and in the exterior courtyards. The choice of using a module has been done to keep the cost low and to shorten the construction time. The outdoor spaces are characterised by thematic gardens that are designed specifically for different age groups.

This school is an example of Mazzanti’s approach to the conception of architectural design: such an approach consists of using biological forms as inspiration for the generation of the building form, bringing about the creation of modular elements that are combined in different ways and leave it open to opportunities for future expansion.

Themes

Integrated flexibility for space and learning

The sheltered space under the oval enclosure works as a flexible space for outdoor learning and for socialising: it is connected to the gardens and can be considered as an outdoor extension of the classrooms, creating a spatial continuum between indoors and outside.

Integrated social and physical context

The school acts as a public hub for the community, being a built symbol of change. The spaces that can be used by the community, including an auditorium, a dining hall and a children’s club. These facilities are located outside of the oval enclosure to mark the difference with the more intimate spaces for children play. The edges of the site are left clear – concentrating the play areas within the enclosures – in order to create a green area around the oval: this accommodates changes in the flow of people to and from the school and integrates the school with the neighbourhood.

Innovative solutions to specific areas or smaller spaces

The oval membrane, acting as a border, represents an innovative way to address the issue of fencing. It separates the public space from the school realm but at the same times it is partially transparent. Its vibrant sculptural character, created by a series of white wavy metal pipes, brings a new image to the neighbourhood.

Sources

Architectural Review article, El Porvenir Kindergarten, Issue 1361, July 2010, by Catherine Slessor.

Lotus International article, Social Kindergarten El Porvenir, Bosa, Bogotá, 2007-09, Issue 143, August 2010.

Links

World Architecture News Article Website

• Location: Wolverhampton
• Country: UK
• Year of Completion: 2009
• Client:  Wolverhampton City council
• Architect: Archhitype Website
• Size: 2,911 m²
• Pupils:  450 [of which 30 in the nursery]
• Construction Sum: £6M [2009]
• School building Programme/ Initiative: N/A

Overview

The new “eco-school”, located in the Blakenhall district of Wolverhampton, is part of an area that is undergoing a process of urban regeneration. The St. Luke’s pastoral community has a strong sense of belonging and a series of values shared by those who live and learn there. Indeed, the school has been designed and created as part of integrated landscape that incorporates a community building and the existing church.

Environmental sustainability is at the core of the design brief integrating which is manifest through the use of low embodied energy timber frame construction and high levels of thermal insulation. Building users can easily adapt the internal environment through opening windows and under-floor heating is provided by a woodchip biomass boiler.

Large sloping roofs characterise the volumes of the building. Both the roof and the facades are clad in timber in order to provide a material continuity across the building. The shape of the roof affords the creation of double-height spaces and visual connections between the ground and the first floor. The layout is organised around two main social hubs, one of which is used by infants and juniors (being surrounded by their classrooms), while the other is the centre of the foundation unit. Also, the interior space is characterised by the presence of coloured glass panels that tries to recreate the atmosphere of a religious building – faith being an important aspect of the ethos of this school.

Themes

Integrated environmental design

This is the first school in the UK to have achieved the Excellent standard in the BREEAM rating. The architects define their approach to sustainability “eco-minimalism”: this means that the most important point is defining the right priorities and that technology is used only when necessary. All the classrooms, facing south and north, have a system of cross ventilation – the second air intake being on the roof. Natural materials are displayed as they are in nature in order to help children understand where they have been harvested. Also, children can check the real-time energy performance of the building through their computers. Finally, every space has cartoon boards that give children direction about the way the building works and the best way to use it. The last three points add an instructional value to sustainable design.

Integrated flexibility for space and learning

The design allows a certain flexibility of use of the main educational spaces. The school doesn’t have corridors; rather, the two social hubs, which give access to the classrooms, can host a multiplicity of activity for their rectangular shape. The classrooms are paired and divided by a movable wall that allows the development of large group activities or working in interclass groups. Movable partitions also separate the two halls located in the smaller wing of the building. 

Examples of stakeholder and user participation in the design process

A participatory design process has been undertaken. Such processes involved students, teachers and other members of the community in design workshop led by the architects during which physical models were displayed and discussed. Also, on such occasions, artists were involved in order to help the stakeholders develop small pieces of art, like signage, that can give a more welcoming aspect to the school and can show to the children that their contribution has been taken seriously.

Sources

World Architecture News Article Website

Architecture Today Article Website

• Location: Sidney
• Country: Australia
• Year of Completion: 2010
• Client: Northern Beaches Christian School
• Architect: MCA Architects Website
• Size: 3,100 m²
• Pupils:  1100 (Kindergarten to Yr 12)
• Construction Sum: AUD18M [2010]
• School building Programme/ Initiative: N/A

Overview

The Sydney Centre for Innovation and Learning [SCIL] building is located within the Northern Beaches Christian School campus in the northern suburbs of Sydney. It is a building that has been designed around an innovative pedagogical project that puts a strong emphasis on the development of problem solving skills of learners.

The different spaces, arranged on two storeys, have been given imaginative names in order to foster learning as an engaging activity: among them, the “Brainforest”, a sort of small theatre, the “Parklands”, large common spaces to work and meet, the “Glasshouse and Greenhouse”, suitable for seminars, the “Sandpit”, a place for concentration, the “Bridge and Deck”, for small group meetings, and the “Loft”, a senior study area. What is striking in all these spaces is that formal desks and chairs have been eliminated, along with the role of the teacher as pedagogue. Instead the flexible spaces can be adapted by pupils to suit their own learning agenda, with the teachers acting as mentors and supporters to the students. This approach is supported by a range of easily accessible source materials and digital devices.

The exterior aspect of the building is characterised by a series of sharp corners and sheltered spaces that give it a distinct boat-like character and a dynamic quality. The SCIL building is surrounded by a series of interesting outdoor spaces – like the Agora, for meeting, and the Stoa, a sheltered space – that are aimed at expanding its cooperative learning areas to the rest of the campus.

Themes

Integrated environmental design

The architects adopted a series of design strategies for energy efficiency and sustainability in general. The most important ones are the maximisation of natural light, the use of recycled materials, an efficient system to collect and reuse rainwater and an internal layout that fosters cross-ventilation.

Integrated flexibility for space and learning

The fundamental architectural design decision is that space should be completely flexible. Most rooms have blended boundaries with the main public spaces, the “Parklands”. Also, the diffused technology plays a fundamental role in creating spaces that can be used in multiple ways.

Responses to developing integrated ICT

All the spaces have wireless internet access so that learning can happen wherever and at any time. Also, most spaces are equipped with large screens, touch-screens and projectors – allowing easy connections with the personal electronic devices. 

New pedagogies and blended learning styles

The educational activities follow the collaborative inquiry based model. The development of a series of skills that are not included in the Australian national educational standard is fostered in this school: interpersonal communication, collaborative teamwork, conflict resolution, adaptive, intuition, resilience. In this sense, diffused technology – that allows to access resource anytime – and spaces that foster collaboration among students play a primary role.

Sources

Sydney Centre for Innovation in Learning Website

• Location: Harrow
• Country: UK
• Year of Completion: 2009
• Client: I-Foundation
• Architect: Cottrell & Vermeulen Website
• Size: 2,000m²
• Pupils: 234 [mixed]
• Construction Sum:£7M [2009]
• School building Programme/ Initiative: N/A

Overview

Krishna-Avanti is the first state-funded Hindu school in the UK and as such marks an important milestone in the creation of non-Christian faith schools. Its design and construction follows the traditional Vastu Shastra science which imposed specific requirements including; organising the school on a strict north-south grid, erecting the buildings on a flat site (facilitated through the construction of a level platform) and eliminating ferrous metals (including steel) from the construction due to the negative electro/magnetic fields they generate, interfering with meditation.

The school is set round a temple, built by Rajasthanian craftsmen, that provides the spiritual focus for the school. The temple is visible from all public spaces within the building placing it at the centre of daily life. A walkway to the temple has laser cut Mendhi designs to ease the transition between the simple modern building and the ornate temple. Hindu teaching provided a strong guide in the design - governors wanted the design to demonstrate the school’s philosophies.

Themes

Integrated environmental design

In addition to the specific set of faith-related requirements the building  performs to a very high environmental standard. 70% of the school’s heating is provided by ground source heat pumps. Krishna-Avanti also received one of the highest BREEAM scores of any school in the UK with 75.64% [yet to be certified by the BRE].

Integrated social and physical context

The creation of faith schools funded by the government is a hot-topic in the UK, where some view their establishment as a way of building community and others see them as a barrier to wider community cohesion. Krishna-Avanti’s admissions policy states that parents wishing to send their child to the school are ‘expected to support the ethos and values of the School.’ It is therefore not specifically aimed purely at practising Hindu’s, fulfilling its role as a community primary school.

Innovative solutions to specific areas or smaller spaces

Certain activities (meals, yoga, music, religious festivities) are required to take place under the eyes of deities. The design of the building accommodates this requirement by creating a direct link between the main hall, ‘small’ hall and temple. Food has to be blessed by the deities before consumption and this arrangement enables children to do this simply without having to carry food long distances. Hand and mouth cleaning facilities are also provided in the small hall which are used in preparation for dining where everyone sits on the floor.

Examples of stakeholder and user participation in the design process

The specific Hindu requirements for the building made for a close relationship between the client body and architects. As Brian Vermeulen, architect, suggests, “The most important lesson (that can be applied to faith and non-faith schools) is that the more consultation that you have at the brief writing/ design stage, the more the school architecture will reflect the community it is designed for.” As well as consulting the local community, the architects consulted a range of wider stakeholders and undertook their own research in order to build a clear picture of what was required from this new building type. Workshops were held with parents and teachers from an existing private Hindu primary school to further understand faith aspects. Meetings with priests, Hindu scholars and visits to temples enabled a greater understanding of the specific and technical requirements.The participation carried on throughout the design and construction process with land being blessed by priests prior to construction and a foundation ceremony being held.

Sources

BD Article, Cottrell & Vermeulen’s Krishna-Avanti School in Harrow, 05 February 2010 By Ellis Woodman Website

Building Design Article. Brian Vermeulen on how the African site of Great Zimbabwe has influenced his work, 05 June 2009, by Brian Vermeulen Website

Conversations with Brian Vermeulen (architect), March/April 2010

Links

Krishna-Avanti Primary School Website

Project Facts

• Location: Solihull
• Country: UK
• Year of Completion: 2008
• Client: Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council
• Architect: Nicholas Hare Architects Website
• Size:unknown
• Pupils: 1400
• Construction Sum:unknown
• School building Programme/ Initiative: Building Schools for the Future (BSF)

Overview

The spaces created within and around the new Park Hall Academy in Solihull are finished with a level of refinement and simplicity not often seen in BSF projects; the use of colour and materials is restrained, proportions on the whole appear elegant and the internal spaces feel light and airy. The plan arrangement is clear and simple with three classroom wings radiating out from an arced spine building that accommodates more communal facilities. As a result Park Hall Academy won the award for 'Best Design for a New School' at the 2009 Partnerships for Schools Excellence in BSF Awards.

Themes

Integrated flexibility for space and learning

Park Hall School was designed with changing pedagogies in mind. Walls can be added or removed to create open teaching spaces and / or larger and smaller classrooms without detrimental affects to circulation or natural light. This system has already been tested when, shortly before the project was due to go on site, the proposed education model for the school was changed from a 'school within a school' arrangement to a departmental system. The in-built flexibility within the plans meant that this change could be accommodated without a major re-design.

Integrated social and physical context

The school is orientated to make the most of the long views available from the large open site. Double height glazing from the main entrance and cafe area onto the courtyards set between the departmental wings allows these views and the sky above to be framed and provides a real sense of openess in these communal spaces. 

The winged building design creates a number of sheltered courtyards and external spaces immediately around the building. These have been landscaped by FiRa in a mature and understated way that compliments the design of the building and creates external spaces that have a relationship to internal functions; an external dining area adjacent to the cafe, a performance area adjacent to the main entrance and opposite the main hall, and a sixth form break-out area by the sixth form entrance and cafe.

The wider landscape of the large school site has also been carefully considered. In particular tree-lined pedestrian and cycle routes to the school building that are distinctly separate from vehicular routes, put an emphasis on more sustainable ways to get to school.

Sources

Nicholas Hare Architects, 'Park Hall School', website

Links

Park Hall School, website

FiRa landscape architecture and urban design, website

Project Facts

• Location: Washington DC
• Country: USA
• Year of Completion: 2006
• Client: Sidwell Friends School
• Architect: Kieran Timberlake Website
• Size:3110m² refurbishment and 3620m² new build addition
• Pupils: 340
• Construction Sum:$28.5 million [2006]
• School building Programme/ Initiative: N/A

Overview

The refurbishment and extension of Sidwell Friends Middle School is part of a masterplan, also designed by Kieran Timberlake, to transform the buildings and landscape of the wider Sidwell Friends School campus. This particular part of the strategy extends and refurbishes the existing middle school building, constructed in the 1950s, with a scheme that is an exemplar of environmentally sustainable design. On its completion in 2006 the building was awarded LEED platinum status, the US Green Building Council’s highest possible green building certification.

Themes

Integrated environmental design

Environmental sustainability was the main driving factor behind the design response to improving and extending the Sidwell Friends Middle School; an approach that supports the school’s Quaker principles of sufficiency, stewardship and simplicity. When the idea of a ‘green’ building was put forward early on in the design process, the school realised the potential value that this approach could have, not only in terms of building performance, but also the much wider educational and environmental benefits it could create.

The addition of a new three storey wing to the existing cranked building creates an external courtyard which has been developed into a delightfully landscaped wetland area which treats the school’s waste water. After passing through the wetland, the water is in fact up to the same standards as the city’s drinking water, but legislation means that at this time it can only be used for toilet flushing. The terraced wetland, which has been constructed from reclaimed stone, also provides a rich wildlife habitat within the campus and an exciting educational resource.

New habitats have also been provided on the vegetated rooftop of the new build addition, whilst the existing roof area now houses a photovoltaic array that provides 5% of the school’s electricity needs. The façade of the existing building has also been transformed with high performance glazing, elements of timber cladding made from re-used cedar wine casks and a series of louvres (vertical on east and west facing walls and horizontal on south facing walls). These striking visual elements also continue across the façades of the new build element and provide a unity to the whole building.

Internally the environment is passively heated and cooled when and where possible. The external louvres and openable windows throughout help to control daytime temperatures. This is assisted in the new build element by solar chimneys on the roof which help to draw air up, through and out of the building. When air is moving through the chimneys, the building’s mechanical heat and ventilation systems are deactivated and chimes located in the shafts sound making the building's operation audible as well as visual.

In addition the pupils can monitor the building using the 'Building Dashboard' which monitors various aspects of the building' operation such as water and electricity consumption. Pupils can compare statistics between days, weeks, months and years and put them into understandable units such as electricity use in 'hairdryer hours'!

Recycled or re-used materials were used where possible within the construction and 78% of materials were sourced from with the 'region' (defined by a 500 mile radius around the school site) to reduce transportation needs. Displays about the materials used in the building have been integrated into school corridors so each successive generation can learn about how the building was made.

The process of refurbishing and extending this building has led the school to question many of its operations and the transformation has extended far beyond the construction of the middle school walls; the school's cleaning company has developed a new 'green' cleaning scheme, incentives are being offered for not coming to school in a car, and, perhaps most importantly, a new generation are learning about the world in which they live and how they can reduce their impact upon it from first hand experience.

Examples of stakeholder and user participation in the design process

In 2004, when this building was first being conceived, the adoption of such a committed approach to ‘green’ building was a bold move and one that was met with trepidation by some of the school’s board members, particularly in terms of putting the financial viability of the rest of the campus developments at risk. The school brought in a number of external experts to discuss what the creation of an environmentally sustainable school might mean.

To alleviate financial fears the school’s assistant head, who is also its chief financial officer, developed a ‘three-buckets’ approach spending; bucket one was for environmental strategies that were free or low cost to implement such as building orientation, bucket two was for those that would have a higher capital cost, but would financially pay back over a period of time such as insulating walls, the third bucket was for those which would not redeem themselves financially but would have a higher educational or environmental value which would make them worthwhile (such as the wetland development).  The board agreed that appropriate technologies or methods that fell into the first two buckets should be implemented whereas those in the third bucket would be used if budget permitted.

Sources

Timberlake, K., and Saxenian, M., 2009. 'Sidwell Friends Middle School in Washington DC', DETAIL - School Modernization, 9 2009.

Sidwell Friends Middle School, The Green Middle School, Website

Sidwell Friends Middle School, MS Green Building, Website

Archidose, Sidwell Friends Middle School in Washington, District of Columbia by Kieran Timberlake Associates, Website

Architectural Record, Green building techniques match a school's structure to its Quaker values, Website

Links

Sidwell Friends Middle School, Green Building Media, Website

Lucid Design Group, Sidwell Friends School Building Dashboard, Website

Malin, N.  Case Study: Sidwell Friends Middle School. GreenSource: The Magazine of Sustainable Design. Website


US Green Building Council – LEED Awards Website


Chen, A., 2007. Teaching Tools. Metropolis Mag Website


AIA, Website

Project Facts

• Location: Leiden
• Country: The Netherlands
• Year of Completion: 2008
• Client: Gemeente Leiden Dienst Bouw & Wonen en Bureau Openbaar Onderwijs.
• Architect: Atelier PRO Website
• Size: 4,700m²
• Pupils: 900 [mixed]
• Construction Sum:€5,187,000 [2008]
• School building Programme/ Initiative: N/A

Overview

Creating a primary school for 900 pupils aged 3-11 without making it feel daunting is a difficult design challenge. An added complication in this instance was the need to design a school that also has an appropriate massing for the urban area in which the school is located. Lorentzschool overcomes these problems with a solid but approachable building. The external brick walls of the building are broken down to a more child-like scale through the careful manipulation of window openings, offering a visual connection between inside and out. Inside the building, classrooms are grouped in houses and pupils move up through the school as they grow older. Circulation spaces are cleverly articulated to include meeting spaces, an ICT suite and informal music areas. The aim is to have a legible plan for children to navigate through, but at the same time provide events round every corner so that children are also encouraged to explore.

Themes

Integrated flexibility for space and learning

Each year group of the school have their own floor, within which a series of houses have been organised, each with its own identity. Children are encouraged to explore the school building in the knowledge that they have the security of their own base to return to.

A series of event spaces have been created along the main circulation routes around the school, transforming corridors into more useable and enjoyable spaces. The ground to first floor stairs are used to as a meeting and congregation area, which then leads up to a flexible ICT space and several group meeting spaces along its length. Each space forms part of a route up through the building, augmented by windows looking on to the internal courtyard and roof lights flooding the space with natural light.

Integrated social and physical context

Lorentz School was designed as part of a wider urban regeneration project which included the creation of an apartment block by the same architects. Both projects look onto a new piazza which forms the focal point for the neighbourhood. This wider architectural remit helps to maintain a continuity of vision and the neighbourhood as a whole benefits from an architecturally coherent strategic design.

Innovative solutions to specific areas or smaller spaces

The organisation of toilets is quite unique in that two cubicles are paired-up with hand basin in between. These units then line one side of the corridor and are associated with a particular classroom. This approach helps to reduce journeys by children to and from the classroom, and reduces the anxiety of using larger centralised toilet facilities.

Responses to developing integrated ICT

An ICT suite is cleverly integrated with an open access library and staircase. The inherent versatility accommodates group teaching and individual work for formal lessons and at break times. The book shelf units help to soak up the changes of level and turn into workstations for the tier above. Using steps to make the tiered space enables easy supervision, particularly from the top of the stairs, where a teacher could see all computer screens. Conversely, a teacher standing at the front may not be able to see all pupils as faces may be hidden behind the computer monitors.

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Sources

Schools: Education Spaces. Kramer, Sibylle. Braun. 2010

Links

Video of Lorentz School construction with tour of the building, led by pupils website

Project Facts

• Location: Stamford, Connecticut
• Country: USA
• Year of Completion: 2007
• Client: The Children's School
• Architect: Maryann Thompson Architects Website
• Size:1400 m²
• Pupils: 120
• Construction Sum:unknown
• School building Programme/ Initiative: N/A

Overview

The design for this Montessori School for children aged 2-8 is based around the concept of a ‘one room schoolhouse’. The main learning areas all flow as one space, but are cleverly separated by shifting roof planes, changes in floor level and low furniture rather than walls. This concept of flowing spaces continues in the relationship between inside and outside; every space has a visual, and in most cases a physical, link with the tranquil wooded site in which the school sits. The natural environment is also high on the agenda in the school’s construction with the building obtaining a LEED certification.

Themes

Integrated environmental design

The natural setting of the school lends itself well to a ‘green’ approach to building; large south facing windows capture views but also passive solar gain, rainwater collection from the roof planes is used to create waterfalls in the landscape and deep roof overhangs prevent overheating in summer whilst providing sheltered external learning areas. In addition the building is naturally ventilated throughout, interior finishes are free from Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) to create a healthy learning environment and natural or recycled, locally sourced materials have been used where possible. The building achieved LEED certification in 2009.

Integrated flexibility for space and learning

The Montessori approach is based around learning in an environment in which a number of physical objects are situated to stimulate natural instincts and self-directed learning in the children. The teacher or 'guide' is an observer who can manipulate this environment to encourage the children's natural responses. The ‘one room schoolhouse’ at The Children's School is a direct response to this method, allowing both easy observation of the children and manipulation of the environment. The large open spaces created in the new building can easily be adapted to create different situations with lightweight, low levels units that can be moved to demarcate different zones allowing spaces to be used for large group sessions or smaller, more focused activities.

Integrated social and physical context

The open plan nature of the new school buildings and the large amounts of glazing in both the walls and the roof allow the mature woodland that surrounds the site to be seen from every space within the building. Externally timber cladding has been used on walls and the soffits of the projecting roofs. In places these timber soffits continue internally and help to blur the boundary between inside and outside. The building is single storey throughout meaning the shifting roof planes that help to define internal space are also expressed externally and help to break down the volume of the building in its natural setting.

Innovative solutions to specific areas or smaller spaces

Whilst the school is conceived as 'one room', the architects have created some delightful and intimate spaces at various points. For example in one corner a small library is nestled under a low roof plane with an inbuilt seat tucked below a window between the bookshelves. In another area one whole wall is covered in white board surface providing a place where the children can gather with a teacher, without a white-borad becoming the focal point in the room towards which everything is orientated.

Sources

Kramer, S., 2010. Schools: Education Spaces. Salenstein: Braun.

Links

The Children's School Website

• Location: Islington
• Country: UK
• Year of Completion: 2008
• Client: London Diocesan Board for Schools
• Architect: Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios Website
• Size:11,260 m²
• Pupils: 1360
• Construction Sum:£28,700,000 [2008]
• School building Programme/ Initiative: Academies Programme

Overview

St Mary Magdalene Academy sits on a tight urban site in the middle of Islington, London.  The site was previously occupied by an early years centre and primary school.  The project has increased the site's programme to include a secondary school with sixth form facilities.  The urban context of the site and a complex planning and development phase has lead to one of the best planned schools in the country.

The Architects, FCBS, have risen to the inherent challenges admirably, knitting together the three major components of the school [early years, primary and secondary schools] and locking them into the site, giving each its own unique spatial experience within a unified civic facade.  

Themes

Integrated environmental design

As with much of FCBS's work, the collaboration with Buro Happold has resulted in a building where sustainability is integral to the building, yet low key.  Solar orientation, natural lighting, ventilation and careful planning maximise the use of the site and are core to the buildings development.  Although too early to need to comply with recent carbon reduction measures, the strategies used to develop the St Mary Magdalene Academy are now informing new school planning.

Integrated social and physical context

The school sits within a predominantly domestic context, surrounded by two and three storey housing.  The architects have stacked the larger elements of the school - the hall/theatre and sports hall at the front end of the site, creating an element that speaks of the school's civic importance.  The remaining class blocks are stepped along a spine route that culminates in a four storey atrium.  This massing allows the building to rise and fall, respecting the form of the adjacent properties.

The new academy was sponsored by the London Diocesan Board for Schools.  The need for a new Christian school was debated at length during the project's development, eventually finding in favour of such a scheme.  The school has a small prayer room at the top of the atrium 'ark'.  The Christian identity of the school is further referenced through a large Ichthus [early Christian fish symbol] that is carved into the timber rainscreen on the school's front elevation.  The symbol is overlapped twice and is only read when the sun hits the screen obliquely.

The school cuts into the site, maximising the single storey rise from end to end.  The roofs are further used to gain vital space, providing room for a five-a-side sports pitch as well as green roofs and terraces that can be used as teaching spaces.  The playground areas have been as carefully considered as the building, creating a synthesis between internal and external space.  The main school hall is sunk by a storey into the ground at the front of the site.  This is then terraced back up to the level of the main playground, creating an amphitheatre space that enables the hall to turn towards the outside.

Innovative solutions to specific areas or smaller spaces

Maintaining an individual identity for each of the three components of the school was paramount.  The secondary school is entered from the busy Liverpool Road end of the site, whilst the early years and primary school provision are entered independently from the opposite end of the site.  This helps to provide security and a sense of place to each age group.

New pedagogies and blended learning styles

It has been a decision of the school that innovative teaching methods should be the driver for the spatial configuration of the classrooms and not the other way around. However, alternative pedagogicla models explored at other schools such as Hellerup were rejected in favour of more traditional class spaces.  The project still manages to achieve spatial delight and a variety of experiences throughout the building.

Examples of stakeholder and user participation in the design process

The project was politically contentious during its early phases and led to extensive consultation with the staff, governors, Local Authority and planning departments, and local community.  The scheme had a difficult planning phase which included a local parent challenging the closure of the existing primary school on the grounds that it would compromise the children's human rights.  The resulting building illustrates the importance of engagement with the end users and the local community in developing a successful project that embeds itself into the community.

Sources

The Architect's Journal 24.09.09

Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios

Buro Happold Website

Churchman Landscape Architects Website

Links

Academy Website

Designing Libraries Website

Project Facts

• Location: Birmingham
• Country: UK
• Year of Completion: 2008
• Client: Joseph Chamberlain College / LSC
• Architect: Nicholas Hare Architects Website
• Size:14,300 m²
• Pupils: 1250 [mixed]
• Construction Sum:£40M [2008]
• School building Programme/ Initiative: N/A

Overview

Joseph Chamberlain College has won many awards for creating an incredibly high quality learning environment, that has had a huge impact on local people living in one of the poorest areas in the country. Serving a population who are predominantly Muslim, the college is now over-subscribed, with a marked increase in the number of girls applying to school. This is in no small part down to the oasis that the new school building creates in the chaotic urban sprawl of warehouses, retail outlets and dual-carriageways.  Solidity, calm and openness is created through careful arrangement of buildings around three landscaped areas. The robust Dutch brick outer-wall is transformed into a white rendered wall on the courtyards, that are dissolved by large areas of glazing, linking inside and out. Copper is used to accentuate key spaces within the school from the courtyards and clear linear circulation routes enable these jewels to be easily strung together. Inside, the class spaces are arranged in traditional banks, however a range of easily accessible breakout spaces off the corridor provide more flexible group working opportunities.

Themes

Integrated environmental design

The load-bearing semi-circular Dutch brick facade uses lime mortar joints, which means that no expansion joints were required. In the long-term, the mortor enables the bricks to be easily re-used and recycled.

Integrated flexibility for space and learning

A range of breakout spaces are carved out from the wedged-shaped classrooms and circulation space for individual study or group work. Each space is tailored according to the departmental specialism. All spaces look out onto the courtyard with adjacent double doors so that students can easily move inside and out.

Integrated social and physical context

The hard edges of the building create a barrier to the surrounding area, which seems an appropriate response given the surrounding urban context. Having said this, glimpses of colour and views through to the classrooms mean that the school building acts as a beacon for the community.

The building contributes to the urban design development of the area by providing a new pedestrian boulevard along the entrance to the school. The boulevard finishes at the car park, which is minimized and provides a positive contribution to the overall quality of the landscape.

Innovative solutions to specific areas or smaller spaces

The Prayer Room and associated wudu offer opportunities for worship by people of different faiths. A flexible screen facilitates mixed or single sex prayer and the east facing large window looks onto the external boulevard.

Sources

Prime Ministers Better Buildings website

BD Online Article website

RIBA / LSC award website

Links

JCC School Images and Virtual Tour website