Description

This three-storey structure is organised in a serrated E shaped plan. It has a solid back wall creating a visual and acoustic barrier to the main road on the north, and three wings of accommodation, which form enclosed courtyards to the south. Each court has a particular function: there is an entrance court, secondly a playground dedicated to younger children and finally a ‘laboratory’ play yard for outside experiments and sheltered small group activities on sunny days. This is a particularly important aspect of the pedagogic approach.

The use of materials in this building is carefully choreographed to provide a strong visual and sensory environment, which aids orientation for the students. This is complemented by an emphatic colour narrative used

to good effect in the main circulation areas, the entrance lobby and main staircases; it is a type of colour/form language which is aesthetically controlled yet sends out clear messages to those students who might be partially sighted or physically limited in other ways. The message is that strong colours signify staircases and therefore may be a potential hazard; yet at the same time they are part of the everyday pleasure of life and should be utilised and enjoyed whenever possible.

The articulation of each façade is a sophisticated inter-play of solid and void, with alternately recessed and ex­pressed windows. On the south there are broad bands of glazing with fixed solar shading and openable windows in three continuous bands of fenestration. On the north there is an almost solid three-storey façade, which is punctuated by large bay windows. These bays provide occasional break-out areas and echo the internal planning as they correspond to the north/south corridor links within. It is a mature architectural language, which treats young children with respect and care because they can ‘read’ the building from the outside.

The internal architecture is just as carefully controlled as the external façades. On entering there is a large double height activity area with a grand staircase and lift. Adjacent but on the first floor there is a media centre. The lobby area is a place for meeting, for hanging out and for occasional assemblies and community meetings. It is lit up internally at night, colours radiating a welcoming visual message across the courtyard and beyond. Classrooms have a similar spatial clarity. Each is paired to another classroom. Each pair has its own entrance/cloakroom lobby and a small group room so that pupils can on occasion withdraw from the main teaching group. The use of beech chairs and storage containers provide a much-needed hint of colour and texture within these areas. Because student numbers are limited to 12 per class, and all corridors are wide enough to provide access for two wheelchairs, there is a welcome sense of space. It is generous and calm to provide a perfect environment for play and learning.

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Originally published in: Mark Dudek, Schools and Kindergartens: A Design Manual, Birkhäuser, 2015.