Jockey Club Primary School

Mark Dudek

Description

The 18 classroom primary school is as a model school, which forms part of a larger conglomeration of education buildings on the Tai Po, Hong Kong Institute of Education campus. The primary school, whilst being a laboratory for educational experimentation, research and innovation in curriculum methods, is also an integral part of the new living and working community. The building straddles the dramatically sloping site which climbs steeply up from the lower road to the upper access road level where the main entrance is located, almost 20 metres above.

The architects needed to balance the requirement for outside space with the difficulties of the site and the extensive accommodation schedule. A stepped courtyard arrangement has been developed which provides a range of secure outside areas. They are ingeniously integrated into the complex sectional arrangement, organised in the form of a monumental concrete structure which appears as a massive six-storey volume at the lower level and a more conventional two-storey building on the upper level. So at the lowest level, the assembly hall has a triple-height external terrace immediately adjacent to provide access and a forecourt during busy times when the hall is in use for community events. The top level has an open basketball court adjacent to a multi-purpose area which is formed out of the natural extension of the floor plate.

Access via a ramp beneath a sculptural canopy at the side of the building takes the visitor gently down towards the main entrance, where he will get a dramatic view of the city and bay below, framed by the open slot between two secondary structures. The route down can then be experienced by way of a variety of stairways, both open and closed, which lead to the main teaching accommodation below. Here an external space utilises the slope to form an amphitheatre-like terrace of seating for the adjacent performance area and large covered playground. Beneath this space there are a multi-media room, library and other teaching areas. Whilst the linear building spreads itself across the landscape over six levels, the planning is organised around a central axis which embraces the main entrance, stepped gardens and lift core; this provides a clear sense of orientation.

The building is most legible when you analyse the section. Its orientation and the relationship between solid and void have been carefully choreographed to maximise the effects of day lighting and cross ventilation. All classrooms are south-facing to benefit from the summer breeze and to shelter from the cold winter winds from the north. West-facing windows are avoided as the light creates too much glare. The central courtyard helps a great deal in bringing natural light in and promoting cross ventilation. The intention was to create flexible accommodation with an independent structural frame and the use of high performance acoustic moveable wall panels between each of the paired classrooms. With the easy variation of the partitioning between the classrooms, spatial transformations can be achieved with ease to host different group sizes. The open corridor areas outside the classrooms are skilfully offset to create project areas. A small observation area is attached to each classroom to enable future teachers to observe teaching and learning activities.